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OPINION 8

MANMOHAN SINGH HAS

TO ANSWER ON COAL SCAM

RNI NO.2016/1957, REGD NO. SSP/LW/NP-34/2013-15

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WORLD 13

FERGUSON AGAIN ON BOIL:

TWO POLICE OFFICERS SHOT

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Late City Vol. 151 Issue 69

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LUCKNOW, FRIDAY MARCH 13, 2015; PAGES 16 `3

PRIYANKA
TONY BENNETT
MISSES
TO SINGBEING
AT
AT
HOME
LADY
GAGA'S
ON
HOLI
WEDDING
13
VIVACITY
14 VIVACITY

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CAPSULE
EX-CONG MLA RELEASES
AUDIO CLIP
New Delhi: With stings flying
left, right and centre, the AAP
was hit by another one as an
audio tape released late on
Thursday evening revelead that
party convener Arvind Kejriwal
was trying to polarise Muslim
voters before the Assembly
elections in Delhi. In audio clip
released on a television
channel by Congress' former
MLA Asif Khan caught
Kejriwal as saying, Muslims are
not supporting us because we
are giving tickets to Muslims
from Muslim dominated seats
but they will vote for us to stop
the Modi wave. He added,
"Congress is finished and now
it's only up to AAP to stop this
wave." The party, however, has
clarified saying there was
nothing in the tape that indicates
polarisation.

LANKA HURLS PETROL

BOMBS AT TN FISHERS
Rameswaram: Sri Lankan naval
personnel on Thursday allegedly
hurled petrol bombs at a fishing
boat from Thangachimadam
here causing damage to the
boat, police said. The five
occupants of the boat escaped
unhurt and managed to douse
the fire and bring the boat to the
shore. Local police said the the
Lankan Navy allegedly hurled
bottles and wood to chase the
fishermen who were fishing near
Katchatheevu.

RAHUL EXTENDS HIS

SABBATICAL AGAIN
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi has
extended his sabbatical. Yet
again. The Congress vice
president will now return only by
the end of March, sources said
on Thursday. Gandhi was to
have returned to Delhi by March
10, but sources said that he
extended his leave of absence
till the end of this week.

SUNANDA CASE: MEHR

TARAR TO BE QUIZZED
New Delhi: Pakistani journalist
Mehr Tarar is likely to be
questioned in connection with
the murder of Sunanda Pushkar,
wife of Congress MP Shashi
Tharoor, police said. Tarar is a
relevant person in the case... If
necessary, she will be
examined, said Delhi Police
Commissioner BS Bassi.

HC ALLOWS JETTISONED
GREEN ACTIVIST TO FLY
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court
on Thursday set aside the
lookoout circular issued against
Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai,
who was offloaded from a flight
to London two months back,
saying her fundamental right to
travel cannot be curtailed.

NDAs economic
reforms lift off
Insurance Bill
gets RS nod,
FDI cap to
go up from
26% to 49%

COVERINGALLBASES
The smooth sailing of the Bill
in the Rajya Sabha, where the
ruling NDA is in a minority, was
possible with the help of
Opposition parties like
Congress, AIADMK, NCP
and BJD besides allies Shiv
Sena and Akali Dal

PNS n NEW DELHI

Moving the Bill for consideration

and passage, Minister of State
for Finance Jayant Sinha said
the measure was necessary for
expanding the penetration of
insurance in the country which
is very low at present

he Modi Government on
Thursday passed its first
major economic reform measure with the Rajya Sabha
approving the Insurance Laws
(Amendment) Bill, 2015 to raise
FDI cap in the insurance sector
from 26 to 49 per cent. The Bill
replaced an Ordinance promulgated in December 2014.
The Congress backed the
Government on the Bill, but
Trinamool Congress, DMK,
SP and JD(U) tried to create
roadblocks over rules, technical clauses and procedures as
well as propriety of two identical insurance Bills in the
Rajya Sabha.
After these parties forced
two adjournments, a Business
Advisory Committee (BAC)
meeting was called to discuss
the allotment of time for
debate, and then the House
proceeded smoothly.
The long-pending Bill providing for raising foreign
investment cap from 26 per
cent to 49 per cent in the
insurance sector was passed by
Rajya Sabha after 18 members
debated for more almost twoand-a-half hours.
The speakers included CPI
(M) members D Raja, P
Rajeeve, who moved a resolution to oppose the Centres
motion. Senior JD(U) member
Sharad Yadav, SP leader Ram

Smriti, Najma
out of Shahs
new-look
National Exec
PNS n NEW DELHI

nion Ministers Smriti Irani

U
and Najma Heptullah and
actress-turned-BJP MP from
Mathura Hema Malini were
dropped from the BJP National
Executive as party president
Amit Shah reconstituted it by
inducting new members like
Suresh Prabhu and Birender
Singh, both Ministers at the
Centre. Senior party leader
Subramanian Swamy also finds
a place in the top panel.

He said the measure would help go beyond life insurance

to cover other aspects like health and crops besides
providing more funds for development of infrastructure

IN

Seeking to allay apprehensions, Sinha said the premium

will not flow out of the country but will remain
within the country and the interests of policy
holders will be protected by the IRDA

OUT

Gopal Yadav, Congress member

Rajeev Gowda and the Select
Committee Chairman of the
Insurance Bill Chandan Mitra
also took part in the debate.
The smooth sailing of the
Bill in the Rajya Sabha, where
the ruling NDA is in a minority, was possible with the help
of Opposition parties like
Congress, AIADMK, NCP and
BJD besides allies Shiv Sena
and Akali Dal.
Parliamentary Affairs
Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu
and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also
played their part in ensuring the
support from the Opposition.
They were seen appreciating the
Speakers, and even when some
members cited procedural
grounds to either prevent or
delay the Bill, they did their best

to avoid a standoff.
The Bill, which was passed
by Lok Sabha on March 4, was
introduced in the Rajya Sabha
at around 5 pm. The original
Bill, which was brought by
Congress in 2008, was withdrawn and the new Bill was
passed after a debate of about
two-and-a-half hours.
The Government had
received positive signals on
Wednesday when the main
Opposition Congress indicated support to the Bill. The issue
had come up for discussion in
a meeting held by Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley with
leaders of all parties in Rajya
Sabha. The meeting saw
Congress indicating willingness
to support the Insurance
Continued on Page 6

Former Finance Minister

Yashwant Sinha who vacated
his Lok Sabha seat, Hazaribagh,
for his son Jayant Sinha, now
Minister of State for Finance,
has got a place in the team.
Union Ministers VK Singh,
Rao Inderjit Singh were also
included as members in the
111-member
National
Executive.
The partys Rajya Sabha
MP Chandan Mitra and Delhi
Lok Sabha MP and Dalit face
Udit Raj have been included
in the top decision-making
body.
Delhi BJP leaders Jagdish
Mukhi, Vijay Jolly and Ramesh
Bidhuri have also been excluded from the new executive.
Twenty seven other leaders,
including incumbent Chief
Ministers, Deputy-CMs
Continued on Page 6

PNS n NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI

PNS n NEW DELHI

day after the CBI court

summoned former Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh as
an accused in the coal scam, the
Congress threw its weight
behind him and vowed to challenge the order in the Supreme
Court on the fact that the CBI
had earlier ruled out his involvement in any wrongdoing. On
Thursday, Congress president
Sonia Gandhi consulted lawyers
and then led a march of support from party headquarters to
Singhs residence to express solidarity with him.
The Congress party has
also accused the Government of
maintaining a studied silence
and not challenging the summons. It is very difficult in view
of the tragic silence of the BJP.
The CBI is the executive arm of
the Government. The CBI has
said that there is no change, no
ground to take criminal action.
But the Government must
speak up and say we stand by
the CBIs report. If CBI has
already said that there is no

criminal case, Government

must say its stands by the CBIs
report. Why is the Government
reluctant to do that? questioned former Finance Minister
P Chidambaram.

Raids 6 spots in
Delhi, detains
3 for passing
sensitive info
PNS n NEW DELHI

lose on the heels of the corC

porate espionage case, the
CBI on Thursday busted
another major racket involving
leakage of sensitive documents
from various departments of
Union Finance and Commerce
Ministries for the last over
two years.
The agency conducted
searches at six places in the
national Capital relating to
two suspected Government
officials and two premises of a
Mumbai-based chartered
accountant who allegedly
passed on the leaked information to corporate houses.
The searches were conducted after the CBI registered a case of alleged sale/leakage of confidential documents
related to foreign investment
policies which were passed on
to major corporate groups of
the country. The agency has
slapped Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 381 (theft)
under the Indian Penal Code
and sections of the Prevention
of Corruption Act relating to
abuse of official position.
During the daylong searches, the CBI sleuths recovered `60
lakh in cash from the official and
residential premises of the
accused Chartered Accountant
Khemchand Gandhi.
The two other accused
include Under Secretary in the
Department of Disinvestment
and Grievances, Ashok Kumar
Singh and Section Officer in
the Department of Economic
Affairs, Lala Ram Sharma.
CBI sources said a major
coordinated search operation

SPYING, PRYING & LYING

z The agency conducted
searches at six places in
the national Capital relating
to two suspected
Government officials and
two premises of a Mumbaibased chartered accountant
who allegedly passed on the
leaked information to
corporate houses

z During the daylong searches at

six places in Delhi, the CBI
sleuths recovered `60 lakh in
cash, besides loads of
electronic data have been
found on the laptop, tablets
and hard disks, were
recovered from the office
and residence of the
officials and the CA

z The three detained officials Chartered Accountant Khemchand

Gandhi, Under Secretary in the Department of Disinvestment and
Grievances, Ashok Kumar Singh and Section Officer in the
Department of Economic Affairs, Lala Ram Sharma
were arrested by the CBI late on Thursday night

was conducted at various locations including a number of

offices of Finance Ministry and
Commerce Ministry, residences
of its officials and Gandhi.
The sources said a large
number of confidential documents besides the cash was
recovered from the residence
of the accused Chartered
Accountant besides loads of
electronic data have been
found on the laptop, tablets
and hard disks recovered from
the residence of the officials
and the CA.
The sources said Gandhi,
Singh and Sharma, who were
earlier detained, have been
arrested by the agency late on
Thursday night.
In its FIR, the CBI has
alleged that these Government
servants allegedly sold documents related to Foreign
Investment Policies to Gandhi
who in turn passed them on to
big corporates for a consideration. The sources said big names
in banking, pharmaceuticals
and realty business are under
the scanner of the agency which
CBI officials termed as tip of
the iceberg. All these groups
under scanner have applied for
foreign investments.

The companies under the

CBI scanner include HDFC
Bank Ltd, IndusInd Bank Ltd,
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and
DLF Limitless Pvt Ltd. Other
companies suspected to have
procured such documents are
Kakardi British Realty, Modril
India Pvt Ltd, Prime Living and
Nova Lead Pharma.
The agency conducted the
searches at Department of
Economic Affairs and
Department of Disinvestment
under the Finance Ministry
besides Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion
under the Commerce Ministry.
The sources said the racket was active for last over two
years and might have sold and
influenced the policy of
Government regarding foreign
investments in India.
The Under Secretaries and
Section Officers of Ministries are
custodian of policy documents
and also initiate policy notes/proposals. We suspect that they
might be influencing the policies
in favour of corporates by compromising the Government decision-making processes. But that
is a matter of probe, a senior CBI
official alleged.
Continued on Page 6

to back Make in
UP campaign

their command. The party,

which went in a huddle following the CBI courts directive, has consulted legal experts
on how to challenge the summons. Singhs former Cabinet

Slams BJP for studied silence;

its not about his integrity but
inaction, responds BJP
Responding to
Congress barbs,
U n i o n
Parliamentar y
Affairs Minister
Venkaiah Naidu
said it is not about
questioning Dr
Manmohan Singhs integrity but
his inaction. The Government
is not misusing any investigating
agency. The Congress needs to
explain to the country how all
this happened. They should also
take responsibility for this, only
one individual cannot be
blamed, said Naidu.
Sonia Gandhi too declared
that her party would fight the
case with all legal means at

Chandraprakash Dwivedi
accused him of disregarding
collective decisions of the
Board.
In a Facebook post,
Pandit said Anushka
Sharmas NH10 was a
victim of Nihlanis crass
functioning.The films

release was postponed by a

week due to the Boards objection to certain scenes in it. It
will now hit the screens on
Friday.
Nihalanis diktats
are supported neither by
logic nor law, nor does he
appreciate the intelligence

he simmering discontent in
T
the Central Board of Film
Certification (CBFC) came out
in the open on Thursday with
two prominent members slamming Chairman Pahlaj
Nihalani for his alleged dictatorial functioning and ignoring the voices of the majority.
While film-maker Ashoke
Pandit went to the extent of
calling Nihalani a tyrant,
another
member

CBI blows the lid off

corporate espionage-II

Sonia hits the streets for Manmohan CM wants Centre

colleague and ex-Law

Minister Kapil Sibal
along with Rajya
Sabha member KTS
Tulsi are likely to represent him in the
Supreme Court.
Chidambaram said
he was confident that the summons against Singh will stand
withdrawn after some time.
We respect our judicial
system, we respect our judges.
In the past, courts have taken
a misstep and stumbled.
Numerous examples can be
cited, he said while expressing
confidence that when Singhs
lawyers appear before court...
Continued on Page 6

PNS n LUCKNOW

Congress president Sonia Gandhi leads

a march of party leaders from the AICC
headquarters to the residence of former
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in
New Delhi on Thursday to express
solidarity with him
Alwin Singh | Pioneer

Time to snip out autocracy?

CBFC chief Pahlaj
Nihalani accused
of disregarding
collective decisions
of the Board

Nihalanis diktats are supported neither by logic nor

law, nor does he appreciate the intelligence of the
film-maker & the audience. He literally functions
like an archaic monarch treating CBFC and its office
like his own fiefdom Director of NH10 Ashoke Pandit

of the filmmaker & the audience. He literally functions like

an archaic monarch treating
CBFC and its office like his
own fiefdom, Pandit said in a
letter posted on Facebook.
In his letter, Pandit claimed
that other members like
Dwivedi, Mihir Bhutala and
Nandini Sardesai were also
upset by Nihalanis diktats.
At the same time, Dwivedi
also fired a strongly-worded
letter lamenting that collective
decisions of the Board were
being ignored and sought an
urgent meeting to address
uncomfortable issues.
I have started feeling
uncomfortable for being a part
of an esteemed institution
where, collective decision of the
board is ignored or collective
voice is unheard, he said.

In an apparent reference to
hurdles faced by Hollywood
film Fifty Shades of Grey in getting clearance for release in
India, Pandit said Nihalanis
ridiculous diktats and autocratic functioning had made
CBFC a laughing stock.
The biggest victim of his
warped worldview is the
Hollywood films, which are
finding it difficult to get a
clearance through the certification board because it does
not suit the absent sensibilities
of Nihalani. Films after films
are becoming innocent victims of his mindless tyranny.
The recent victim of his crass
functioning is NH-10, he
wrote in the letter.
The Board has been
embroiled in controversies
since Nihalani was appointed

following Leela Samsons resignation. A circular issued by

him, banning cuss words triggered widespread criticism and
was subsequently put on hold.
In his letter, Dwivedi said
it was resolved that thecircular
issued by chairman or the
office of the CBFC, banning
certain words, will not be
implemented till there is a
detailed discussion.
However the said circular
in discussion was implemented and cuts were given regarding cuss words. I am also
informed that your goodself
was the presiding officer for
the revision committee,
Dwivedi wrote.
When contacted by PTI,
Dwivedi said, I wrote the letter to solve the differences
within the Board through discussion. I dont know how it
was leaked. It is a constitutional
body and we respect that.
Issues within it should be
ironed out internally.

aking a cue from Prime

Minister Narendra Modis
Make in India campaign, Chief
Minister Akhilesh Yadav mooted the idea of Make in UP and
said the Union Government
should help the state in improving infrastructure so that
investors could set up their
shops in Uttar Pradesh.
The state Government is
ready to extend all help to Modi
in his Make in India campaign.
In turn, he should help us in
our Make in UP drive, Why
not? We have the Prime
Minister, the Home Minister
and the Defence Minister from
Uttar Pradesh. Besides, many
other Union ministers belong
to this state. It is their responsibility too to take the state on
the path of development,
Yadav said while replying to the
debate on general budget in the
Vidhan Sabha on Thursday.
He said the Prime Minister
was asking investors to invest
in India and Uttar Pradesh
should also get its share.
With our efforts, many
investors have shown their
willingness to invest in Uttar
Pradesh and we are moving in
this direction, he added.
Yadav said that his
Government was setting up
market hubs in the state so that
farmers and traders could sell
their products directly to the
consumers.
There are many sectors in
which UP excels. There are
small weavers hamlets which
need attention. In the farm sector, we are numero uno in potato and wheat production. The
Government has done excellent
work in dairy production.
Besides, we are working to
improve infrastructure, he
said.
If the Centre can moot

Make in India, why cant we

launch Make in UP campaign? he asked.
The Chief Minister
revealed that he had written letters to all the MPs from Uttar
Pradesh to take up the states
cause in the ongoing Budget
session of Parliament.
We have ideas. We need
the Centres help to implement
them, he said.
In his over 50-minute
speech that won applauds from
even Opposition leaders, Yadav
talked about his Governments
efforts to improve infrastructure by building highways and
linking district headquarters
with four-lane roads.
He spoke at length about
introduction of metros in big
cities to de-congest main city
arteries from heavy traffic. He
also talked about his
Governments commitment to
improve power generation and
provide over 16-hour electricity in rural areas and 22-hour
power supply in cities by 2016.
I know transport and
communication are two vehicles that can speed up development. If we can double the
speed, the economy will treble
in no time. Therefore, we are
going for Lucknow-Agra
Expressway, he said and added
that he had asked Union
Surface Transport Minister
Nitin Gadkari for renovation of
national highways which were
in a bad shape.
The Chief Minister, who is
also the state Finance Minister,
spoke about steps the
Government had taken for the
benefit of farmers. We are celebrating this year as Kisan
Varsh (Farmers Year), he
added. Yadav said that his
Government had provided Rs
2,000 crore as subsidy so that
sugar mills could clear the
Continued on Page 6

city 02

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

PIB clearance will not hold up work: Sreedharan

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

he Principal Consultant,
Lucknow Metro Rail
Corporation (LMRC), E
Sreedharan, said that the
LMRC would request the
Central Government to release
the Rs 50 crore which it had

NOTICE
I No. 14806297A Hav/MT Shri
Chandra Verma Unit 795 ASC
Bn (AM) c/o 56 APO
Chandigarh. I have changed my
son name from Milender Kumar
to Milendra Kumar Verma and
date of Birth from 26.11.1995 to
26.11.1996

NOTICE
My Real Name is Shashi Bala
to mistake is mentioned Sashi
Wala in documents, which corrected in documents & read
Shashi Bala, Shashi Bala W/o
Satya Prakash Gangwar, Vill
Boochanpur Post Deoranian
Teh. Baheri, Distt. Bareilly.

NOTICE
My daughter's real name is Km.
Neetu
Gangwar
to
mistake is mentioned as Nitu
Kumari in the documents
correct name as Km. Neetu
Gangwar D/o Satya Prakash
Gangwar vill Boochanpur Post
Deoranian Teh. Baheri, Distt.
Bareilly.

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OBITUARY

WANTED

earmarked for the Lucknow

Metro for the financial year
2014-15. He also said that the
money could be released before
the PIB clearance. Sreedharan
said that the PIB clearance
was not important and there
were several Metro projects
which had taken more than one
year for the PIB clearance.
The Principal Consultant,
LMRC, E Sreedharan, was in
the city on Thursday and while
talking to the mediapersons he
said that he was on a routine
visit to Lucknow to assess the
progress of the civil construction work in view of the floating of the future tenders. On
being asked whether he would
be associated with the metros
coming up in Agra, Meerut,
Varanasi and Kanpur, the
Metroman merely said, I am
an adviser to the state government without further elaborating on his role. When asked
whether the Metro at Varanasi
will be an elevated or an underground one, Sreedharan said
that it was too early to say anything on it. Commenting on
the Lucknow Metro, E
Sreedharan said that the
Lucknow
Metro
Rail

Corporation would be requesting the Central Government to

release the Rs 50 crore that it
had allocated for the Lucknow
Metro. We will be asking the
Central Government to release
the sum of Rs 50 crore earmarked for the Lucknow Metro
for the year 2014-15, said
Sreedharan.
He categorically pointed
out that the PIB clearance was
not an important issue and
would not hold up the
Lucknow Metro work.
Lucknow Metro not getting a
PIB clearance is not important
and all the other cities have

gone a similar way. In Jaipur the

work on the Metro will be completed and yet they have not got
a PIB clearance. In Chennai it
took almost a year while for the
Lucknow Metro we started the
initiative of getting the clearance in September. It will not
affect the physical completion
of the work, he said.
Regarding the progress of
the work, he admitted that
they had a tight schedule. The
progress of the work is impressive but we have a tight schedule for the completion of the
priority section, he pointed
out. E Sreedharan said that the

main task before them was the

finalisation of the Rolling Stock
tender. The track tenders and
other tenders were not difficult
but it was the Rolling Stock and
the Signalling tender which was
a crucial one. This will be
opened on March 30 and
finalised by the end of April,
said Sreedharan.
He said that the special
span balanced cantilever tender
at the Mavaiyya Crossing
would be finalised by the end
of this month.
The Special Span
Balanced Cantilever tender is
being scrutinised and the
financial bids will be opened in
a weeks time. The tender will
be finalised by the end of this
month, he said. Sreedharan
said that the foreign exchange
would be required only when
all the tenders had been
finalised and there was a
requirement for the mobilisation fund which the company
selected through the tender
process required at the beginning of the work.
Sreedharan said that the
LMRC had taken the external
funding agencies in confidence
regarding the progress of the

work. We are keeping them on

Board and informing them of
all the progress which is taking
place, he added.
On the issue of rental of the
Airport Authority Land, the
LMRC officials maintained
that they would continue to
request that they did not have
to pay the rent for the land
which was being used as a casting yard, Sreedharan said that
the issue could be worked out
on a nominal rent. There
have been precedents in this
case where the land has been
given at a nominal rent of Rs 35
lakh annually. In case of the
Kochi Metro the land was
given free of cost by the Airport
Authority of India because it
would become a permanent
asset for it, he said.
On being asked whether
the Lucknow Metro was facing
any problems, E Sreedharan
said that they needed to recruit
more engineers. He said that
the Lucknow Metro was a
very-systematically-planned
Metro with the best practices of
all the metros included in it.
The Managing Director of
LMRC, Kumar Keshav, was
also present on the occasion.

Cops threaten scribe with

dire consequences
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

he men in khaki never

care of courting a
controversy.
A case in point is that of
Madiaon where a sub-inspector allegedly threatened a
scribe of a Hindi newspaper of
dire consequences and also to
get his father rounded up for
dialling the police control
room to save a family.
Pankaj Dwivedi said a
Muslim family lives in a vacant
plot adjacent to his house. He
said that on Thursday, when
some relatives of sub-inspector
Devi Lal Chaudhary of Sri
Nagar Colony bashed up the
Muslim family, his father
dialled the modern police control (MCR) room and two
constables reached the
place.
Dwivedi alleged that when
the cops learnt that the issue
involved a sub-inspector, they
forcibly took his father to

police station.
The scribe alleged that
when he went to the police station to find out the facts, the
cops threatened him with dire
consequences.
Dwivedi lodged a complaint against the cops with
ASP, MCR Durgesh Kumar
and also met Lucknow Zone
IG who directed the SSP to
probe the case.

19 more swine flu cases detected in city

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

s many as 19 fresh swine flu cases

were reported from the state capital on Thursday. The health officials are
of the view that if the hot and dry temperature continues, the prevalence of
swine flu will decrease.
The Chief Medical Officer, Dr
SNS Yadav, said that swine flu
(Influenza A-H1N1) was like any other
seasonal flu and affected the elderly and
the young kids. Swine flu infected a person for a weeks time and if proper medication and necessary care was taken it
subsided within a week. He pointed out
that out of the 864 cases reported from
the state capital more than 700 had fully
recovered and resumed their duties.
The mortality rate too was less than one
per cent, so there was no need to panic,
he said. He asserted that the viral strain
was weak compared to the earlier times
when it was in a virulent form. With

proper care and regular intake of medicines it could be effectively checked,

he added. The state government had
made the necessary arrangements for
providing free drugs and free treatment
to the people, especially those belonging to the weaker sections of the society. Sample collection centres had
been set up at the Shyama Prasad
Mukherjee Civil Hospital and Dr RML
Hospital. The swine flu detection tests
were conducted at the King Georges
Medical University and the Sanjay
Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of
Medical Sciences.
Meanwhile, with 19 more cases
reported on Thursday, the total number of swine flu positive patients in
Lucknow has risen to 864 even as nine
patients have died. The health officials
expressed hope that swine flu cases
would be controlled in less than two
weeks time as the weather was getting
dry and warmer. Among the persons

detected with swine flu were Irfan Khan

(55), Kaushal Shukla (50), Utsav
Pandey (4) Aryan (three-and-a-half
years), Chitra Hoiyani (50), Anamika
(10), Kuldeep (35), Rithika R Shetty (7),
Pratik Kumar (2), Shanti Dwivedi (35),
Chandra Kamal (32), Akansha
Srivastava (32), Usha Devi (53), Devesh
Kumar (39), Vivek Mishra (30), Kiran
Bala Mishra (40) and Rakesh Kumar
Bal (32).
Dr Yadav said that rapid response
teams had been sent to provide medical help and medical education to the
families of the victims. Those who
needed to be hospitalised were sent to
the hospitals concerned. He confirmed
that he had visited the patients who had
been admitted to the government hospitals. After the spread of swine flu
infection here the district administration and the Health Department had
launched sensitisation programmes in
the schools and offices to educate the

people about this disease, its treatment

and the prophylactic and remedial
measures they should take. Under the
awareness campaign more than one
lakh students in 210 schools were oriented about Influenza-A H1N1. For
mass awareness the 35 big hoardings
were put on display at the important
public places and one lakh handbills
were also distributed.
Meanwhile due to a shortage of
swine flu test kits those who came for
the suspected test had to face hardships.
At the Dr RML Hospital the kits got
exhausted and so not even a single sample could be sent to the KGMU and
SGPGIMS. While at the Balrampur
Hospital and the SPM Civil Hospital
there was an acute shortage of testing
kits as a result of which only 10 samples could be sent from the Balrampur
Hospital and five from the Shyama
Prasad Mukherjee Civil Hospital for
being tested.

Missing property dealer Girl ends life after

police inaction in
found murdered
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

missing property dealer

was found murdered at a
deserted place in Rae Bareli on
Thursday. The murder accused
were identified as Harish
Chandra Yadav of Barabanki,
and his aides Ashish Yadav,
Ram Bahadur Yadav and Kallu
(all of Rae Bareli).
The victim, Ram Narayan
Verma of Brahmpuri locality
under Ghazipur police station, had gone missing on
March 9 after he left his house
along with Harishchandra
Yadav, a property dealer and
historysheeter of Satrikh police
area in Barabanki. He was to
settle a business dispute with
Harishchandra.
Despite being in the know
of Harsihchandras criminal
past and familys repeated
apprehensions that the victim
may lose his life, the cops did
not work on the case and
waited for victim to return.

The case took a curious

turn when police spotted the
car in which Ram Narayan was
last seen, and arrested one of
the miscreants, Ashish.
When grilled by the police,
Ashish spilled the beans. He
said Harishchandra called the
victim to meet him at Jugauli
railway crossing to settle a
business dispute. When Ram
Narayan reached there, he was
asked to sit in a car with the
miscreants inside before the
vehicle was driven to Rae
Bareli.
As the victim was unsuspecting, he did not mind going
to Rae Bareli with those persons, the police said.
After reaching Rae Bareli,
the miscreants took him to
Shardanagar locality and strangled him to death with a gamchha. They then buried the
body there and left the place.
Before police could lay
their hands on the prime
accused, Harishchandra, he

surrendered in court in connection with an old case in

which there was a non-bailable
warrant against him.
A native of Kanpur, Ram
Narayan lived at a house,
owned by a retired deputy
superintended of police,
Premchnadra, in Brahmpuri
locality. He wanted to invest
money in land so he contacted a property dealer and thus
came in touch with
Harishchandra.
After a deal was struck, the
victim gave Rs 20 lakh to
Harishchandra. As the victim
did not get the land despite
paying the sum, he demanded
that his money be returned.
The row escalated to such an
extent that the victim threatened Harishchandra against
police complaint.
Harishchandra planned to
kill him and made his aides
Ashish Yadav, Ram Bahadur
Yadav and Kallu his partners in
crime.

molestation case
Lucknow (PNS): A minor
girl appearing in Board examination in Mainpuri ended her
life as the local police did not
take cognisance of her molestation reported on Tuesday.
The police registered a case
only after the girl committed suicide. Reports said that 16-yearold Shashi (name changed),
appearing in Board's intermediate examination in Bewar locality of Mainpuri, was molested by
her college students, identified
as Avnendra and Sunny, after the
examination last Tuesday afternoon. She informed her parents
about the incident and they
reported it to the local police but
the cops refused to register a
case. On Wednesday, when the
girl again went to appear in the
examination, Avnendra and
Sunny allegedly threatened her
with dire consequences for
informing the police. Depressed
with the development, the girl

65 Kukaril ghariyals to be
released in Ghagra
Lucknow (PNS): Sixty-five ghariyals will be released into Ghagra
river from the Kukrail Breeding Centre on March 14 under a joint operation of UP Forest department and TSA. Endangered species conservator Sanjay Srivastava told The Pioneer that the Ghagra river had been
chosen because of its clean water and the area having a large amount
of prey fish. The ghariyals that will be released are one metre long and
three-year-old. We will be left with nearly 100 ghariyals, he said.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Forest Department (UPFD) and Turtle
Survival Alliance (TSA) rescued a 6.2-ft male Gangetic dolphin in Barabanki
recently. It took over two days and one night to rescue the dolphin which
had strayed into Sharada Sagar canal near Badosaray town in Barabanki.
It was not able to go back to the mainstream possibly due to sluices
and finally ended up in tertiary canals, much farther down than it could
have been sourced in, said Singh.
He said that after receiving timely information, swift action was taken.
Equipped with rescue apparatus and life-saving veterinary drugs, the
TSA team was dispatched to respond to the situation within two hours
of information. On the very first day of the operation, the dolphin could
not be confined to the channel due to its rapid movements between two
canals and insufficient netting equipment. Reinforcement of netting equipment was sought at midnight. After concluding first day of rescue operation, the dolphin was observed to be sluggish as indicated by intermittent surfacing. Therefore, the operation was discontinued for the entire
night as a precautionary measure, he said. Singh said Gangetic dolphins could get stressed very quickly and collapse within less than an
hour under such circumstances.

returned home and later in the

night, she hanged herself to
death in her room. Though the
police have now registered a
case, they are yet to make any
arrest. In a separate case in
Hardoi, a girl was reportedly
raped and later killed.
According to reports, an 11year-old girl of Dhondhi hamlet in Sandi area of Hardoi mysteriously disappeared after she
left the house for the field to give
food to her father on Wednesday
afternoon. The family members
launched a hunt and found her
nude body lying at a secluded
place. Circumstantial evidences
suggested that the girl was first
raped and then strangulated.
The family members have
named Ravi Sobhran of the
same area suspecting his
involvement in the rape and
murder as he was last seen with
the girl on Wednesday. The
police registered a case and
were making efforts to nab the
absconding
youth
for
interrogation.

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Printed and Published by Vijay Prakash Singh for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow-226016 and Printed at Tin Tin Printech Pvt Ltd., C-33 Amausi Industrial Area, Nadarganj, Lucknow. Tel: (0522) 2438656 / 9336266608.
Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: Vijay Prakash Singh. RNI No. 2016/57. Lucknow Telephones: EPABX: 4036600 Fax: 2345582. Allahabad Office: (95532) 2420818, 2421018, 3290460. Kanpur Office: (95512) 2304006, 2304416. Varanasi Office: (95542) 2414294, 2414295. Delhi
Office: Link House, II Floor, 3 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110 002. Tel: (011) 23755271-274, 41509074.

city 03

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

Strike against lawyer's killing continues

CJ convenes meeting, reviews situation

PNS LUCKNOW

PNS LUCKNOW/ALLAHABAD

he lawyers' protest against

the killing of an advocate by
T
a sub-inspector in Allahabad
court premises continued for
the second day on Thursday.
A young lawyer, Nabi
Ahmad, was killed and another seriously injured when a
police sub-inspector allegedly
opened fire with his service
revolver in self defence during
a minor scuffle in the
Allahabad district court
premises on Wednesday.
The advocates blocked the
Swasthya Bhawan crossing and
burnt the effigy of the police,
demanding immediate arrest
of the sub-inspector concerned.
Heavy police force was
deployed at telephone department office and Clark's Awadh
crossing to stop the irate advocates from moving towards
Hazratganj crossing, throwing
traffic on the busy road went
haywire for hours.
The police officials said the
heavy police bandobast was
made as lawyers were also
protesting against shifting of
Sadar tehsil to Dewa Road.
In Allahabad also, the
strike by the lawyers in protest
against the killing of their colleague, Nabi Ahmad, entered
the second day on Thursday
even as Allahabad High Court's
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud,
convened a meeting of the district administration to review
the incident
The meeting was attended
by senior judges of the
Allahabad High Court and top

officials of the district administration, including Inspector

General of Police, Deputy
Inspector General of Police,
District Magistrate and Senior
Superintendent of Police.
At a meeting held here the
lawyers decided to abstain
from judicial work on Friday
too.
The lawyers and judicial
magistrates strongly condemned the role of the police
and the district administration
in the incident and took strong
exception to the entry of cops
inside the district court premises and the room of the district
judge without seeking his permission and beating up
lawyers.
They also assailed the
police for damaging the vehicles of lawyers parked inside
and outside the court premis-

es and refuted the police allegation that the lawyers too

had opened fire injuring a
constable.
On the call given by Bar
Council of UP and the UP Tax
Bar Association all the Tax Bar
Associations of the state
observed a strike and abstained
from judicial work on
Thursday.
The High Court Bar
Association, the District Court
Bar Association and the Bar
Council of Uttar Pradesh, at
their meetings held here
demanded a judicial inquiry
into the incident by a sitting
judge of the High Court. They
also demanded that criminal
proceedings be initiated against
the police officials who were
responsible for the firing and
lathicharge on lawyers and
damaging their vehicles.

The HCBA said till the special security force was setup, the
security of court premises in
UP should be handed over to
the Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF).
It also demanded adequate
compensation for the families
of the deceased and injured
lawyers and those whose vehicles were damaged in the police
action.The Uttar Pradesh Bar
Council assailed the district
administration for its failure to
arrest the sub-inspector concerned who opened fire on
Nabi Ahmad and immediate
transfer of the District
Magistrate and the Senior
Superintendent of Police for
their failure to maintain law
and order in the city.
Reports said the strike was
successful in Varanasi,
Ghaziabad, Noida, Pratapgarh,

Gorakhpur, Muzaffarnagar,
Meerut, Kanpur, Aligarh,
Azamgarh, Ballia, Jaunpur,
Mirzapur, Bulandshahr, Etawah
etc and also in many other
cities of state.

Amitabh, Nutan
come to rescue
of sub-inspector
Senior IPS officer Amitabh
Thakur and social activist
Nutan Thakur came to the
rescue of the sub-inspector
who allegedly opened fire from
his service revolver, killing an
advocate in Allahabad on
Wednesday.
IG (Civil Defence)
Amitabh Thakur and his wife
Nutan Thakur claimed to have
collected information from
Naribari police outpost under

UP Congress stir has little impact on rail, road traffic

Lucknow (PNS): The
much hyped 'Rail and Road
Roko' agitation of the Congress
against the Land Acquisition
Bill of the Centre and poor law
and order in the state turned
out to be a symbolic protest
that had little impact on rail or
road traffic in Uttar Pradesh on
Thursday.
The Congress, however,
claimed that their agitation
was a big success.
But much to the relief of
UP Congress president Nirmal
Khatri, most of the party leaders participated in the agitation
to show solidarity and unity in
the party and to send out a
message no one could write off
the oldest and longest serving
political party of the country.
Congress supremo Sonia
Gandhi's march to the residence of former Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh in New
Delhi to express full support to
him in the coal scam case also
worked as a morale booster for
the UP leaders.
Over a hundred Congress
leaders, including Pramod
Tewari, Sanjay Singh (both

MPs), Rajesh Mishra, Ajai Rai

(both former MPs) were arrested in Ghaziabad and Varanasi
respectively.
To make the agitation successful, senior leaders kept
their programme a closely
guarded secret as they feared
being arrested. However, the
law enforcing agencies did not
use force anywhere in the state
and co-operated with the agitators in registering a symbolic protest and then clearing the
rail track or road.
In the state capital, the
Congressmen first stopped the

Hasan: Govt hosps

competent to tackle
swine flu menace
PNS LUCKNOW

he Government assured the Vidhan Sabha that

the state-run hospitals were competent to tackT
le the swine flu menace and appealed to the people not to panic.
"Tests of over 1,600 people were conducted in
the state and around 800 patients tested positive for
H1N1 virus and 784 of these have already recovered," state Health Minister Ahmed Hasan informed
the Vidhan Sabha during Zero Hour on Thursday.
The minister was replying to an adjournment
notice of Bharatiya Janata Party member Radha
Mohan Das Agarwal. Hasan said that so far, 16 people had died of swine flu in the state.
"The number is much less compared to fatalities reported from other states like Gujarat,
Maharashtra and Delhi," he said.
"People should not panic over the virus. The
state-run hospitals are well prepared to extend relief
to the patients. The tests for swine flu are being carried out 24x7 in King George's Medical University
and Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of
Medical Sciences. Efforts are on to start these tests
in other hospitals too," he said.
The minister said that private nursing homes
and pharmaceutical companies were making hay
because of the panic. He said private doctors were
ordering unnecessary tests and pharmaceutical companies had increased the prices of medicines.
"Tests and medicines are available free of cost
in hospitals," he said.
Later, the adjournment notice was rejected by
Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey.
Congress protest: Congress showed solidarity
with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with
its members entering the well of the House with
placards carrying anti-Narendra Modi slogans. They
alleged that the BJP-led Government at the Centre
was misusing CBI to persecute the former Prime
Minister. Later, the Congress members walked out
of the House.

Century Express near the

Buddha park in Daliganj on
Thursday morning. Later,
Khatri blocked the rail tracks
near Sadar crossing and
detained four trains. He also
blocked the Kanpur highway
near Shaheed Path for more
than one hour.
Several senior Congress
leaders, including Satyadeo
Tripathi, Pramod Singh,
Amarnath
Agar wal,
Siddharthpriya Srivastava,
Maroof Khan, Prabhujot Batra,
Virendra Madan, Dwijendra
Tripathi, RP Singh, Ramesh

Srivastava, Gaurav Chowdhary,

JP Singh, joined Khatri in the
protest. Former president of
UP Congress, Rita Bahuguna
Joshi, staged protest at the
Charbagh station and detained
two trains. Later, she blocked
the highway near Alambagh.
The Shatabdi Express from
New Delhi to Lucknow was
blocked by the Congressmen,
first in Aligarh and then in
Kanpur.
In Ghaziabad, hundreds
of Congressmen, led by party
MPs Pramod Tewari and
Sanjay Singh, staged the
protest.
In Kanpur, former Coal
Minister Shriprakash Jaiswal,
led the agitation.
Congress workers in
Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad,
Rae Bareilly, Sitapur, Hardoi,
Unnao, Agra, Mainpuri,
Ferozabad, Aligarh, Balia,
Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar,
Meerut,
Bulandshahr,
Shahjahanpur, Hathras,
Mathura, Gorapkhpur, Bareilly,
Hapur, Deoria, Varanasi,
Moradabad and other districts
blocked the rail and road traf-

Allahabad violence
rocks Vidhan Sabha

fic on Delhi-Howrah rail route.

During the protest, the
Congressmen also raised slogans against the Centre and
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi.
Congress members also
raised the issue in the state
Assembly by waving anti-Modi
posters and staged a noisy
walkout from the House.
Congress MLA Akhilesh
Pratap Singh said the party
would not let farmers die as the
Bharatiya Janata Party
Government was making all
out efforts to woo industrialists.
Talking to media persons
here, Khatri said the Land
Acquisition Bill passed in the
Lok Sabha was an example of
anti-farmers mentality the BJP
and the Congress would not
tolerate injustice with the farmers.
Targeting the state
Government, Khatri said the
recent lathicharge on advocates and the murder of a
lawyer by a policeman inside
the district court in Allahabad
showed the poor condition of
law and order in the state.

Shankargarh police station,

where sub-inspector Shailendra
Singh is posted and also from
some other places.
They claimed that almost
all the policemen revealed that
the situation had become such
that Shailendra Singh was left
with no other option but to
open fire, otherwise he would
have been killed.
The sub-inspector's outpost staff told the duo that after
the incident, Shailendra Singh
had come to Naribari and said
that nothing was bigger than
self-respect and he was forced
to act so.
Thakur said they had presented these facts, along with a
video they got, to DGP AK Jain
on Thursday, and appealed for
a fair probe into the incident.
Meanwhile, Nutan Thakur
also questioned why the government advocate did not
oppose Kailash Chaurasia's
appeal? Thakur has made a
complaint to the District
Magistrate of Mirzapur and
Principal Secretary (Law)
regarding district government
counsel (criminal), Mirzapur,
for not opposing minister
Kailash Chaurasia's appeal in
the sessions court of Mirzapur.
Thakur said that the session judge's order dated March
10, 2015 clearly stated that the
DGC (criminal) neither
opposed the appeal nor the bail
application of Chaurasia, while
as per the state Government's
Legal Representative (LR)
manual, the government advocate was duty bound to oppose
them.

he Allahabad violence
T
rocked the state Assembly
on Thursday with the
Opposition creating din and
demanding judicial inquiry
into the incident in which a
policeman shot dead an advocate in broad daylight in the
district court, sparking violent
protest.
The state Government
refused to order a judicial
inquiry while admitting that
the act of the policeman was
deplorable and blamed it to
lack of training and sensibility.
Replying to adjournment
notices given by all Opposition
parties during the Zero Hour,
Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Mohammad Azam Khan
admitted that it was 'shameful'
for a policeman to behave in
the way the cop acted in
Allahabad. He even admitted
that actions of police sometimes created problems for t
he Government as well as society.
Khan, however, refused to
accept the demand for judicial
inquiry into the Allahabad
incident.
"The Government will certainly take action against the
policeman. No one will be
spared," he said.
The Opposition members
had demanded Rs 50 lakh as
compensation to the family of
deceased lawyer Nabi Ahmed.
The
Government
has
announced Rs 10 lakh as compensation.
"I will look into the
demand," the minister said.
As the House assembled in
the morning, the Bahujan

Samaj Party members entered

into the well of the House followed by Congress, Bharatiya
Janata Party and Rashtriya Lok
Dal members, demanding discussion on the Allahabad incident. They alleged that the
Government had failed to control crime and people were facing the brunt of Government's
apathy.
Intervening in the matter,
Khan said it was strange that
the BSP members had trooped
into the well of the House
without saying a word.
"The Opposition parties
just want to grab headlines and
are wasting public money," he
said.
Leader of Opposition
Swami Prasad Maurya said his
party did not want to disrupt
the proceedings of the House
but the act of the Government
had forced them to do so.
Later, the BSP members
staged a walkout from the
House.
Even after the BSP's walkout, the BJP and Congress
members continued their stir in
the well of the House and
refused to budge even after the
Speaker asked them to return
to their seats.
Suresh Kumar Khanna of
the BJP said the Government
should step down as it had
failed to control law and order
in the state.
"The lawyers are on strike
but the Government is not at all
concerned about it," he said.
BJP member Laxmikant
Bajpai demanded a debate on
this issue. "If the Government
does agree to this, Rule 311
should be removed from the
book," he said.

city 04

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

Majlis conference to spread Elderlies can reclaim their knees with new surgical options: Dr Tomar
Lucknow (PNS): With the live a pain-free life thanks to the compared to even 20 years ulation is drastically affected by pain and stiffness in these large Most of these individuals are
political, social awareness modern,
minimally-invasive advent of minimally-invasive before the procedure is much osteoarthritis and other degen- weight- bearing joints often able to perform daily activities
and stay active. In many cases
erative joint diseases which leads to significant disability.
surgical options assisted by surgical options which are both safer and cost-effective too.
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

n order to spread political

and social awareness and safeguard their rights the Majlis-eUlema-e-Hind led by the cleric,
Maulana Kalbe Jawwad ,will
organise an Aiemma Juma Uttar
Pradesh Conference at the

Imambara Gufran Maab here

on Saturday (March 14). It
will witness participation of
all the Imam-e-Jumas from
UP, presidents of various
anjumans and other eminent
clerics. Giving this information during a press conference at the UP Press Club
here, the general secretary of
Majlis-e-Ulema-e-Hind,
Maulana Kalbe Jawwad
Naqvi, said that the conference was being organised
with the goal of unity in
mind and for demanding
their rights from the state
government. The aim of
Majlis-e-Ulema-e-Hind was
to create a strong political
platform to promote development, peace and unity in
Uttar Pradesh. He said that
the conference would also
seek participation of people of
other sects and religions who
other wise were deprived of
their rights.
He opined that all the
political parties had seen the
Shias just as a votebank and
never bothered about the
development of this sect as a
whole. Not even a single per
cent of the welfare schemes
which the government introduced for the minorities
reached the members of this
sect. Also there was a group
of people which did not want
that we should get our rights.
They also provided the government wrong data of our
exact number so that they
could have their monopoly,
he said. Addressing the
newsmen, the cleric, Maulana
Habib Haider, said as per the
correct data in UP 40 to 50
Vidhan Sabha seats were won
by our votes. Despite this we
did not get proper representation from the government
to discuss our problems and
talk about the rights that we
did not get, he said.
He said that they would
set up offices in every constituency and work for the
welfare of the Shias.

computer navigation technology, the elderly in India can now

reclaim their knees and give a
new lease to their lives.
The rising incidence of
osteoarthritis in India, affecting
the young and old alike and
women more than men, is dealing a crippling blow to the
quality of life of the patients
whose condition gets progressively worse with the passage of
time. But more and more elderly patients are now choosing to

affordable and safe.

According to a senior
orthopaedic surgeon, Dr L
Tomar, in some diseases knee
joints may get damaged causing
severe pain and posing great difficulty in movement. In such
conditions where medicines
and other non-surgical procedures are not helpful knee
replacement is the only option.
Thousands of patients all over
India are opting for knee
replacement today because

Studies indicate that over

180 million patients in India suffer from arthritis and thousands
of them are opting for surgery
every year in order to get a new
lease of life. Indias life expectancy projections by experts,
including the WHO, have been
improving over the years with
the current figures pegged at 85
years for males and 90 years for
females. This means Indians are
living longer but the quality of
life for the growing elderly pop-

make the patients bedridden

with chronic pain due to which
they are unable to carry on with
their daily activities.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease involving the
cartilage and many of its surrounding tissues. The progression of disease is usually slow
but can ultimately lead to joint
failure with pain and disability.
Osteoarthritis of the hips and
knees tends to cause the greatest burden to the population as

Stress on education to Tagore library to hold

protect human rights training programme
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Lucknow (PNS): Human Rights

mean the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the constitution
or embodied in the International
covenants and enforceable by courts
in India. Today, the main focus of law
is on the right to live a dignified life
with quality. All human beings are
born free and every human being is
entitled to enjoy freely irrespective of
religion, race, caste, sex and nationality. These views were expressed by
Justice Vishnu Sahay at the inaugural
session of a two-day national conference on Human rights education:
Synergies and challenges in a transitional society at Amity University
on Thursday. Justice Sahay, who was
the chief guest on the occasion,
pointed out the saddest part was that
those expected to protect human
rights were the violators. He under-

lined the need of human rights education. The keynote speaker on the
occasion was Manjulika Gautam,
director general and trustee, Satyam
Institute (Noida). She said: I feel this
entire legal framework and structure
to protect human rights cannot be
effective until it is linked to education.
Education is not just literacy or a
degree or a qualification. It is what
defines and refines a human being
as a thinking person, a being who can
consider all aspects of an issue, discriminate between right and wrong
and come to a definite conclusion.
The conference saw human
right activists, academicians deliberating upon issues related to understanding of transitional society and
human rights education, judicial
activism, role of media and also gender issues in perspective of human
rights.

Asher Ahmad, a class IV

student of City Montessori
School, Aliganj (Campus I),
won a cash prize of Rs 1,000
for his outstanding performance at the inter-school
Wiz National Spell Bee
Contest. Asher walked away
with the first prize. Students
of various noted schools of
Lucknow participated in the
contest and displayed their
talents. The participants were
tested on their knowledge of
English, spelling, puzzles,
phonetic symbols, fluency,
U.P.
POWER
TRANSMISSION
C O R P O R AT I O N
LIMITED TENDER
NO. 765KVETD/U/ 07/2014-15
Sealed Tenders in two parts are
hereby invited from the
Experienced
Firms/
Contractors for Refilling of fire
extinguisher equipments and
jointing of trench covers at
765/400 KV S/S Unnao as per
tender documents. Part-I of the
Tender should contain earnest
money in shape of FDR/CDR/
TDR (Tender number must be
mention) duly pledged in favour
of Executive Engineer,
Electricity 765 KV Transmission
Division, UPPTCL, Unnao.
Tenders without earnest money
shall not be accepted. Part-II
should contain rates, terms &
conditions
etc.
Tenders will be received up to
14:00 hrs. of 15.04.2015 and
will be opened on the same day
at 15 :00 hrs. publicly by the
undersigned in presence of the
Tenderers or their authorised
representatives. Tender forms
can be purchased from the
office of the undersigned on
payment of cost (Non
Refundable including VAT) in
Cash/DD up to one day prior to
tender opening at 17:00 hrs. in
any working day. Earnest
Money Rs. 2000/-, Cost of tender Rs. 285/-. The offer alongwith terms and conditions may
be submitted in the office of the
undersigned dully filled in. If the
date of tender opening is holiday, tender will be opened on
next working day at the specified time. Undersigned
reserves the right to reject
any/all tender without assigning any reason thereof. K. K.
SINGH Executive Engineer
Electy. 765 K.V. Trans. Div.
U.P.P.T.C.L. Dahi Chowki,
Unnao.
No.-357 Date
12.03.2015. Save Energy in
the Interest of Nation.

order to provide practical

experience on the software , a
need was felt to organise a
training programme so that
the library staff and other
professional may be trained in
the software, said deputy
librarian Jyoti Mishra.
She added that while
other universities in the state
were already making use of
the software, Lucknow
University lagged behind in its
installation and usage because
of paucity of funds. For this
purpose, INFLIBNET centre
was contacted to provide
financial assistance as well as
hands-on experience on
SOUL software by technical
experts to the staff, she pointed out. As many as 25 participants from other institutes
and universities across the
country are expected to attend
the training programme.
Besides, a special lecture from
IIM Professor MU Raza will
be delivered during the programme.

Seminar on geospatial
technology held
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

SCHOOLSCAN
AWARDED

ucknow Universitys
Tagore library plans to
organise a five-day regional
training programme on
library automation in collaboration with INFLIBNET centre, Gandhi Nagar.
Tagore library has recently purchased a library management software developed
by INFLIBNET to automate
all its house-keeping operations. All the information
about the books available in
the library will be made online
to facilitate students to search
a book. The programme will
focus on training the library
staff and other library professionals in handling the new
software and a practical experience will be provided during
the programme.
Experts from the university, who are already making
use of this software, will present their case studies and will
shed light on how to use it. In

r hy m i ng
words,
jumble
letters etc.
Ap o or v
Chandra
and Aadi
Shukla,
two other
s tu d e nt s
of
the
s a m e
campus, were also appreciated for their performance in
the contest. They are all set to
participate in the next round
of competition.

cience and Technology,

Minister Manoj Kumar
Pandey, inaugurated a national seminar on Geospatial technology and 3D applications for
sustainable development of
land resources at Remote
Sensing Applications Centre.
The minister expressed his
vision of propagating modern
science and technology tools
for the welfare of farmers and
masses in development hierarchy in a decentralised way. He
laid emphasis on the need for
management of agriculture,
horticulture, forestry, town
planning at micro level using
remote sensing and GIS tech-

niques. The programme was

presided over by principal secretary, Science and Technology,
Harsaran Das. Speaking on
the occasion, Das stressed the
need for more and more utilisation of geospatial techniques
by different departments.

CITYBRIEFS
CONFERENCE

al programmes organised by the Culture

department, said Verma. There will be several stalls like one by Lucknow Metro, and
other departments.

WOMENS DAY

A two-day national conference on women

and leadership in India began at Isabella
Thoburn College on Thursday. Convener
Smita Verma talked about gender bias in leadership roles in all spheres of life and the need
to hold deliberations on why women were
under-represented in leadership, equal participation and opportunity. Principal secretary,
Higher Education, Kalpana Awasthi talked
about womens participation in bureaucracy.

PLAY

A play, Tum Sam Purush Na Main Sam

Nari, was staged by theatre group Anandi at
Thrust theatre on Thursday.

BLOOD DONATION

Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan said blood

donation was life charity and people should
be made aware that it caused no deficiency in
body. Ranjan was speaking at the inauguration of a blood donation camp by Ram
Manohar Lohia Hospital on Thursday. He said
common people should be inspired to donate
blood so that no person died for want of blood.

On the occasion of International Womens

Day, Vigyan Foundation organised a women
fest at Prathmik Nirala Nagar sports ground.
Heath camp, self-defence and women helpline
camps were also organised at the fest.

CAMPAIGN

The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign,

being run by Regional Publicity Directorate,
will conclude on Friday. On the last day of the
campaign, discussion on girls education and
their security will be held.

MEGA LOAN MELA

Punjab National Bank organized a Mega

Loan Mela
o
n
T hu r s d ay.
Minister for
Fisheries &
P u b l i c
Enterprises
Nawab Iqbal
Me h m o o d
was the chief
guest on the occasion. MSME, Agriculture,
Education, Housing and car loans worth
rupees 101 crores were distributed to 251 beneficiaries during the mela. The occasion witnessed the presence of FGM Arvind
Mohan,Circle Head PN Mathur , senior officers of the bank and a large number of borrower and customers.

EXHIBITION

INAUGURATION

Governor Ram Naik will inaugurate

Janeshwar Mishra Hortifair, organised by
Lucknow Development Authority with the
support of the other government departments.
on Friday. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will
attend the closing ceremony on March 15.
LDA secretary Shirish Chandra Verma said the
programme was being organised for the first
time. There will be competitions in various
categories. There will also be several cultur-

An exhibition of Art work of Lalit Kala

Akademi scholars was organized at Lalit Kala
Akademi in Aliganj on Thursday.

However, advents in modern technology and advances in

medical science along with
enhanced surgical techniques
are ensuring that Indias elderly can have a second shot at
enjoying their old age today.
On an average about 90
per cent of the patients undergoing a knee replacement experience a dramatic reduction in
pain and a significant improvement in the ability to perform
daily activities, said Dr Tomar.

they are able to resume their

activities such as golf and walking, which they gave up years
ago due to arthritic pain, he
added.
In fact a 2011 study conducted at the University of
Bremen in Germany found that
those who undergo total knee
replacement for osteoarthritis
experience substantial improvement in the level of physical
activity within a year of
surgery.

nation 05

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

ELECTORALREFORMS

Prabhu pitches for investment in Rlys Law Commission submits report with
Rebuffs Oppositions
claims of privatisation,
announces schemes
for modernisation
PNS n NEW DELHI

he Lok Sabha on Thursday

passed the Rail Budget with
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu
making a strong pitch for a massive hike in investment for the
Railways. Allaying apprehensions of several Opposition MPs
that Railways would be privatised, Prabhu said the Railways
is a national asset and its ownership will continue to remain
with the people of India,
notwithstanding projects to seek
private participation.
Announcing schemes to

If this (hike in investement) is

not done, the national transporter
will sink further and further

m a k e
Railways
stronger
technologically, financially and
commercially, the Railway Minister said a strong push would be
given to achieve a massive hike
in the investment for Railways,
warning that if this was not done,
the national transporter will
sink further and further.
He also announced setting
up of high-level new body, Kaya
Kalp Council, to be headed by a
distinguished person to turn
Railways into a vibrant organisation commercially with the
participation of private sector.
Prabhu also sought to take
the States on board declaring

Katjus remarks draws

flak from LS too
PNS n NEW DELHI

the Rajya Sabha, the

Lok Sabha on Thursday
After
condemned the controversial
remarks of former Press
Council of India Chairman
Justice Markandey Katju against
Mahatma Gandhi and Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose. The
Lower House insisted that their
contribution to the freedom
struggle was unparalleled.
The whole country revers
the Father of the Nation and
Netaji. The sacrifice and the
contribution made by these two
stalwarts in the countrys freedom struggle is unparalleled,
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said
in a resolution.
She said the remarks made
by Katju, also a former Supreme
Court Judge, against the two
leaders were unbecoming of
him. This House condemns his
remarks, she added.
The resolution came after
the issue was raised by Rajesh
Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav
(RJD) in the Zero Hour. He

said there was need for the

House to pass a resolution
condemning the former
Supreme Court judge over
his blog.
In his blog and facebook
post, Katju had called Mahatma
Gandhi a British agent and
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
a Japanese one.
C ongress
leader
Mallikarjun Kharge and
AIADMK leader P Venugopal
sought a resolution condemning Katju, while Kalyan
Banerjee of the Trinamool
Congress went a step further.
He wanted Home Minister
Rajnath Singh to ensure
that a criminal case is filed
against the former judge for
the hate speech.
Minister of State for
Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv
Pratap Rudy said the government shared the anguish of
members on the issue and the
House could have a resolution.
For his part, Katju has
gone ahead with daring the
Rajya Sabha to punish him.

they would be partners in

progress of the Railways by executing several projects.
Detailing the massive
increase in the allocation for the
States, the Minister gave comparative figures of the last few
years to drive home the point
that each and every state has got
more from the first Rail Budget
presented by him. He said several projects announced by his
predecessors have been pending
for long for want of funds, adding that raising money from outside including PSUs and multilateral agencies like World Bank,
ADB and IFC was an option.
Citing the deal with LIC, he
said plans were afoot to partner

with other PSUs like Coal India

to boost railway infrastructure.
Prabhu agreed with the concerns
of several members that Railways
cannot just be a commercial
enterprise but added that it can
serve the poor only if it was
strong and commercially viable.
Rejecting criticism of the
freight rate hike proposal, he said
it was in fact rationalisation of
freight rate as it had gone down
in some routes. Citing a CRISIL
report, he said the freight rate
hike will have virtually no impact
on inflation.
Earlier, participating in the
debate, Opposition MPs protested on not slashing the fares, citing sharp fall in the oil prices.
Congress MP MK Raghavan
said the Budget does not provide
detailed explanation of the
source of the proposed `8 lakh
crore investment envisaged over

five year period. It is just fudging of numbers and selling of

dreams without any roadmap.
The Budget is disappointing... It
is not a Budget for common
man. The Government has failed
to present a roadmap, he said.
Attacking BJP-led Government for raising ticket prices in
May last year on the plea of rising oil prices, Tariq Anwar
(NCP) wondered if Railway
Minister Suresh Prabhu would
reduce passenger fares now
when these prices have declined
sharply. He also sought concrete
action from the Government to
ensure that passengers get confirmed reservation.
Countering the Oppositions
attack, BJP MP and actress Hema
Malini dubbed the Bugdet as
practical and pragmatic and said
it looks like Modi express has
steamed off in right direction.

SC for specialised unit to

probe heinous crimes
ABRAHAM THOMAS n
NEW DELHI

he Supreme Court wants

a specialised section of the
police to investigate heinous
crimes. This suggestion came
in a recent judgment where a
murder convict was allowed
to go scot-free due to absence
of any direct evidence to nail
his guilt.
Punching holes in the prosecution story that had survived
the test through the trial court
and High Court in Tamil Nadu,
the apex court was appalled to
note that the prosecution did
not establish a motive for the
accused to commit the crime,
no evidence was collected to
confirm the presence of the
accused at the scene of crime
and worse, the alleged murder
weapon had not been recovered till date.
The sole basis to punish the
accused with a life term was his
confessional statement from
which he resiled during trial. It

is abundantly clear that the

investigation conducted by the
police was far less than satisfactory, nay, it was non-existent, the apex court held.
Under the legal system of
the country, burden is cast on
prosecution to prove the guilt
and not the other way round,
as in this case, where accused
has to establish his innocence.
To tide over such possibility in
future, the bench of Justices SJ
Mukhopadhaya and Vikramajit
Sen said, We are constrained
to reiterate yet again that it is
necessary to have a specialized
section of the Police to investigate cases of heinous nature.
Earlier, it was in 2006, when the
Supreme Court ordered police
reforms, of which one aspect
related to separation of law and
order from investigation functions of police at the police station level.
The crime occurred on
July 25, 2000. The accused
Nagaraj and the deceased were
partners in a textile business

and were on a business trip

when the incident occurred.
At Salem, both shared a common room at a lodge. The
body was recovered from the
locked room of the lodge days
after the accused checked out.
Police was informed after
three days. It did not collect
the Lodge Register and Receipt
Book, the most crucial evidence to link the accused with
the scene of crime.
The prosecution claimed
enmity to be the motive but
no evidence was placed in its
support. An attendant at the
lodge was the only material
witness who had seen the
accused, but no test identification parade was conducted.
No finger prints were collected and neither the Manager of
the lodge or inmates of the
neighbouring room facing the
crime scene were questioned.
For three days, the lodge
Manager or attendant did not
inform police casting cloud on
their role as well.

new provisions on poll funding

PNS n NEW DELHI

he Law Commission on
Thursday submitted its latest report on Electoral Reforms
to the Union Law Minister DV
Sadananda Gowda introducing
new provisions on election
funding to candidates and political parties and a bar on independent candidates to contest
among other contentious issues.
The comprehensive report,
the second in a row on Electoral
Reforms, proposed wide ranging
reforms with regard to corporate
funding. Any contribution above
`20,000 will have to be mandatorily disclosed and information
of any contribution below this
amount too has to be furnished
if such contributions aggregate
`20 crore or 20 per cent of the
total contributions received.
The Commission headed
by Justice AP Shah introduced
transparency checks to avoid
hawala transactions by seeking
name, address, and PAN details

of individual donors which

should be through crossed
cheque, demand draft or pay
order. Corporate entities who
wish to fund political parties
must get the resolution passed in
Annual General Meeting of the
company instead of the Board of
Directors, the report said.
Changes were even suggested to penal provisions in cases of
failure to report election expenses and file the statement with the
EC. The Commission recommended that any candidate who
failed to submit an account of
expenses should suffer disqualification for five years barring his
re-election. If a party furnishes
false details, EC should be
empowered to slap a heavy fine
upto `50 lakh, it added.
In a far reaching recommendation, the Commission
proposed introduction of
Totaliser for EVMs to ensure
secrecy of votes. Using this, parties or candidates will not be in
a position to know which areas

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond after meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi on Thursday
Alwin Singh | Pioneer

Prez hails Swachchh Bharat,

Make in India initiatives
PNS n NEW DELHI

President Pranab Mukherjee, Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu and MoS Babul Supriyo lighting the lamp during the inauguration of a two-day
international seminar on Clean and Capable India of Gandhijis Dreams in New Delhi on Thursday

PTI

resident Pranab Mukherjee

on Thursday pitched in for
the success of the Swachchh
Bharat and Make in India initiatives of the NDA
Government saying that the
two missions would help realise
Mahatma Gandhis vision of a
Swachchh and Samarth Bharat.
Gandhijis dream is our
dream; his vision must lead us
through the challenges of the
present towards a clean, green
and self-sufficient Bharat,
Mukherjee said while inaugurating an international seminar
here on Clean and Capable
India of Gandhis Dream.
Noting in this regard the
crucial role of society at large
and the need for the support of
key stakeholders, Mukherjee
said a concerted effort to refur-

bish India will help realise

Gandhijis dream of a Swachchh
and Samarth Bharat.
Highlighting the two pet
projects of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, he said, We
have recently embarked upon
two important initiatives
Swachchh Bharat Mission to
achieve a Clean India by
October 2, 2019, to coincide
with the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhiji, and Make-inIndia campaign aimed at
enhancing the manufacturing
capability of our nation.
The Make in India campaign seeks to realise Gandhijis
dream of a self-sufficient and
productive India, Mukherjee
said, adding that it aims to
make India Samarth on all
fronts of economic development by facilitating investment, promoting innovation,

fostering skill development and

establishing best-in-class infrastructure.
As for the Swachchh Bharat
campaign, the President said
Gandhiji visualised cleanliness
as having three dimensions
a clean mind, a clean body and
clean surroundings.
He said that a winning
strategy to achieve a State of
cleanliness would comprise
engaging the citizenr y,
addressing the reduction of
waste and improving the processing of waste.
Also at the seminar,
Urban Development Minister
M Venkaiah Naidu said that
the NDA Government was
inspired by Gandhis philosophy of inclusive development based on the involvement and empowerment of
every individual.

No evidence of swine flu Manjhi eyes on expanding party base

virus mutation in India
To address students
in JNU today

India rejects MIT

report on H1N1
virus evolution
PNS n NEW DELHI

he Government on Thursday
trashed the alarmist report
by the Cambridge-based
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) that the
recent swine flu virus in India has
acquired mutations that makes
it more dangerous than
previously circulating strains of
H1N1 influenza.
Pune-based National
Institute of Virology (NIV), a
research institute under the
Union Health Ministry, said
there was no evidence to suggest that the swine flu virus in
India may have mutated.
The denial came in
response to the study by the
MIT conducted by a team of
Indian-origin scientists which
said swine flu virus has
acquired mutations that make
it more dangerous than previously circulating strains of
H1N1 influenza.
According to the latest figures from the Health Ministry,

50 more deaths took the swine

flu toll close to the 1,600-mark
while nearly 28,000 people
have been infected.
The MIT scientists warned
in the study published in Cell
Host & Microbe on March 11,
the flu virus in India seems to
have acquired mutations that
could spread more readily.
However, scientists at the
NIV in Pune refuted the claims
saying the genetic analysis of the
H1N1 isolates from the present
2015 outbreak do not show any
such mutations as mentioned in
the MIT publication.
The observation in the
MIT report was based on gene
sequence analysed for the
H1N1 virus taken from a database and not from actual virus
isolates from the current 2015
outbreak, they said.
A recent paper in the Cell
Host Microbes 2015 has speculated possible enhanced virulence of the 2015 H1N1 strains
circulating in India. This
observation is based on HA
gene sequence analyzed for the
H1N1 virus A/India/6427/2014
taken from a database and not
from actual virus isolates from
the current 2015 outbreak, the
scientists elaborated.

The genetic analysis of the

HA gene of the H1N1 isolates
from the present 2015 outbreak do not show any such
mutations as mentioned in the
publication, they said in an
official statement.
Moreover, the strain mentioned in the report of 2014 has
no relevance to the current outbreak of 2015. Recently NIV
has analyzed six full genomes,
which also suggests absence of
such mutations, said the NIV
scientists.
The MIT researchers in the
study claimed that the recent
Indian strains carry new mutations in the hemagglutinin
protein that are known to make
the virus more virulent.
Hemagglutinin binds to glycan receptors found on the surface of respiratory cells, and the
strength of that binding determines how effectively the virus
can infect those cells.
One of the new mutations is
in an amino acid position called
D225, which has been linked
with increased disease severity.
Another mutation, in the T200A
position, allows hemagglutinin
to bind more strongly to glycan
receptors, making the virus more
infectious, they had said.

FAIZAN AHMAD n PATNA

ormer Bihar Chief Minister

F
Jitan Ram Manjhi might be
feeling the heat over his fate in
the State Assembly but, he is
planning to make a mark not
only in the State but also in the
national political scenario.

Manjhi found himself isolated in

Bihar Assembly during the trust
vote as all his supporting MLAs
virtually surrendered when they
voted for the motion in a bid to
save their membership.
Manjhi is now preparing to
expand his party base and
attract more sections of the society. In a first, he will be addressing the students of Jawaharlal
Nehru University on Friday.
This programme is being organ-

within the constituency voted in

their favour, thus eliminating
harassment of voters where
voting trends showed negative
result for the winning party. A
petition in this regard is also
pending in Supreme Court.
The Commission took a
bold step by suggesting to bar
independent candidates to contest elections. Current regime
allows proliferation of independents who are mostly dummy/
non serious candidates. Only
registered political parties will
have a right to contest polls, in
the opinion of the law panel.
To various suggestions received on making voting compulsory and counting NOTA
votes as a basis to reject a candidate, the Commission maintained time was not ripe to accept
these proposals. The Commission recommended constitutional protection to EC members at par with Chief Election
Commissioner, besides issues of
paid news, opinion polls, etc.

ised under the banner of Birsa,

Ambedkar, Phule Students
Association. Manjhi will speak
on the subject of his experience
as a Dalit Chief Minister and
caste discrimination in politics.
In a Press release, it is claimed
that apart from JNU, the students from Delhi University,
Jamia, BR Ambedkar University
and other educational institutions will also be attending the
programme.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar with Congress leader Ashwani Kumar at Parliament on Thursday

However, on home turf,

Manjhi was effectively cornered
by Nitish Kumar and his designs
to embarrass the CM in the
Assembly failed on Wednesday
during the lobby division to
vote on confidence motion.
Fearing disqualification, all his
supporters, about ten, fell in line
and voted in support of the
motion. Manjhi, an unattached
member of the Assembly did not
attend the session.

Alwin Singh | Pioneer

NGT slams UP
Govt for failure
to perform
statutory duty
New Delhi: The National
Green Tribunal on Thursday
pulled up the Uttar Pradesh
Government for failure to
perform its statutory duty
towards identification of
wetlands in the State and
directed it to complete the
exercise within a period of
three months in accordance
with the law.
We direct Uttar Pradesh
(Government) to exercise its
powers under the Wetlands
(C onser vation
and
Management) Rules, 2010 and
take a decision in identifying
wetlands in the entire State in
accordance with law and within a period of three months
from the date of receipt of the
copy of the order, a bench
headed by Justice P
Jyothimani said.
While taking such decision, the Uttar Pradesh
Government shall give opportunity of personal hearing to
the applicant with reference to
the wetlands referred to in the
application (and) thereafter
pass orders identif ying
the wetlands. Such orders of
the State identifying the
wetlands shall be forwarded to
MoEF which shall notify the
wetlands in the State in
accordance with law expeditiously, it said.
The order of the tribunal
came during the hearing of a
plea filed by environment
activist RK Singh seeking
directions to identify all wetlands within Uttar Pradesh as
per the provisions of Wetlands
(C onser vation
and
Management) Rules, 2010.
The bench disposed of
the plea which had said that
large areas which are ecologically important, are being
lost as they have not been
notified as protected under
the law.
The plea had also sought
directions to the Centre and to
the state government to notify these wetlands without any
further delay.
The Uttar Pradesh
Government had informed
the tribunal that it has not
identified wetlands in the
catchment areas as per the
2010 rules.
PTI

news 06

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

India, Mauritius cement ties

Modi stresses on
Indian Ocean
region's importance
Port Louis: India on Thursday
further cemented its ties with
Mauritius with the commissioning of an India-built coast
guard patrol vessel, a day after
inking five agreements and
announcing a $500 million
line of credit, as Prime Minister
Narendra Modi stressing the
strategic importance of the
Indian Ocean region pressed
for a strong grouping of the
region's nations.
The Prime Minister, who
arrived here from Seychelles on
Wednesday, is the first Indian

prime minister to visit three

Indian Ocean Region countries
at one go.
He travels to key neighbour
Sri Lanka on Friday. His fiveday three-nation visit comes
amid China's moves to increase
its footprint in the key region,
through which a large chunk of
the world trade, including in
oil, passes.
Modi also strongly emphasised upon the close peoplelinks between the two countries, by his visit to the Ganga
Talao temple, where he offered
oblations at the Shiva temple,
his visit to the Aapravasi Ghat
where the Indian indentured
labourers had arrived 100 years
ago, and his talk at a civic
reception at the Mahatma

Sunanda Murder:
Delhi police may
India rejects MIT
question Tarar
report on H1N1
New Delhi: Delhi Police inves-

Gandhi Institute.
He praised the contributions of the Indian-origin people who form 70 per cent of the
country's population.
In his speech at the
National Assembly, Modi said
the destinies of both nations
were "linked by the currents of
the Indian Ocean".
Addressing the National
Parliament of Mauritius, Modi
assured that both sides would
work to avoid the "abuse" of the
double taxation avoidance convention and that India will
"do nothing to harm this
vibrant sector of one of our
closest strategic partners".
Both sides have been negotiating to amend the IndoMauritius tax treaty amid

India's apprehensions that it

was being misused to route
unaccounted money and evade
taxes through round-tripping.
Round-tripping is usually
referred to routing of domestic investments through
Mauritius to take advantage of
the Double Taxation Avoidance
Agreement (DTAA) between
the two countries.
Mauritius is one of the top
sources of foreign direct investments (FDI) into India.
Mauritius has always maintained that there has been no
concrete evidence of any such
misuse and that it has strict
checks and balances in place.
However, the uncertainties over
the tax pact have adversely
affected investment flows

between the two nations.

On Wednesday, Modi held
talks with his Mauritian counterpart Anerood Jugnauth and
both sides inked five agreements, including one to tap the
rich marine resources of this
Indian Ocean island nation.
India also offered $500
million concessional Line of
Credit to Mauritius for key
infrastructure projects.
Among his numerous
engagements on Thursday was
the commissioning of the
India-built patrol vessel, Coast
Guard Ship Barracuda, the
first such vessel to be exported by India. Modi and Jugnauth
participated in the event.
Modi said the ship was a
"symbol of our shared commitment to peace and security in Indian Ocean - our common maritime home".
He said the Indian Ocean

Region "is at the top of our policy priorities" and India seeks
"a future for the Indian Ocean
that lives up to the name of
SAGAR Security and
Growth for All in the Region".
He said that "the time has
come for a strong grouping
around the Indian Ocean. We
will pursue this with new
vigour in the years ahead"
remarks that could cause concern in China that has been
gradually building its influence
in the Indian Ocean Region
over the years.
In a tacit reference to China,
he said, "We recognise that
there are other nations around
the world, with strong interests
and stakes in the region. Our
goal is to seek a climate of trust
and transparency, respect for
international maritime rules
and norms by all countries, sensitivity to each other's interests,

peaceful resolution of maritime

issues, and increase in maritime
cooperation."
He visited the Aapravasi
Ghat, an immigration depot
through which the Indian
indentured labourers entered
Mauritius. In the morning, he
offered prayers at the Ganga
Talao, a Hindu pilgrimage site
in the country.
He also made a strong
connect with the diaspora, by
stressing on their India links.
Speaking at a civic reception at the Mahatma Gandhi
Institute, Modi praised the
contribution of Indian indentured labourers for taking
Mauritius to new heights of
development and progress by
dint of their hard work.
In an address, amid loud
cheering by the crowd and
chants of "Modi, Modi", the
prime minister said that when

No evidence of swine flu virus mutation Almonds boost immunity: Expert

tigating the Sunanda Pushkar

death case on Thursday said it
may question Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar over whom
she fought with her husband
Shashi Tharoor before her
death last year.
Delhi Police Commissioner
BS Bassi said Tarar may be
questioned, if required, as she
may throw light in the case. "If
required, we will speak to her
as she is a relevant person who
can throw light in the case. Our
efforts will be to talk to her,"
Bassi said when asked whether
the SIT probing the case will
examine her.
Sources said that a formal
request may be sent to her
through "official channels" to
join the investigations. Tarar
had two months back said that
she was ready to answer any
question on the issue.
"If they want to ask me
anythingIf they want to ask
me any question whatsoever
that they thinkI can
answer," 46-year-old Tarar
had said a day after Delhi
Police had registered a murder
case into Sunanda's death.
Sunanda was found dead in
her suite at a five star hotel in
Delhi on the night of January 17
last year, a day after she was
involved in a spat with Tarar on
Twitter over the latter's alleged
affair with Tharoor.
PTI

Workshop on
Womens
Power Line
Lucknow (PNS): The
Womens Grievance Cell of
Integral University conducted a
workshop on the 1090 Womens
Power Line here.
On the occasion Kunwar
Raghvendra Pratap Singh, state
incharge of the 1090 Power
Line, was the chief guest. He
emphasised on the initiative
taken by the CM, Akhilesh
Yadav, for ensuring the safety
and security of women in UP.
He shared his two years' experience of handling the 1090
Power Line with the audience
and discussed many cases, especially those in which the victims
did not file any complaint. He
motivated the girl students and
asked them to stand up and
raise their voice if they faced any
kind of harassment because
they were the ones who could
stop it. On the occasion Poonam
Singh, a karate champion of the
Indian team, was also present.
She taught some basic selfdefence exercises to the students
which could prove helpful to
them if perchance they faced
any
emergency.
The
Chairperson, Prof Iffat Zareen
of the Womens Grievance Cell,
said that the response of the students to this initiative of the
1090 Power Line by the state
government was overwhelming.
The students were very much
interested in getting connected
to this Power Line in order to
save anyone in trouble and
around 100 of them from the
Integral University got themselves registered for becoming
Power Angels. Nadeem Akhtar,
Director, Planning and
Research, also laid emphasis on
the importance of 1090 Power
Line. He stated that the workshop was very effective for the
female employees and girl students of IU.
Meanwhile a competitive
examination and preparation
committee (CPEC) of
Computer Science and IT
Department of Integral
University
organised
XQUIZITE - 2015 to give students an avenue to assess their
potential for various competitive
examinations.

virus evolution
PNS n NEW DELHI

he Government on Thursday
trashed the alarmist report
by the Cambridge-based
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) that the
recent swine flu virus in India has
acquired mutations that makes
it more dangerous than
previously circulating strains of
H1N1 influenza.
Pune-based National
Institute of Virology (NIV), a
research institute under the
Union Health Ministry, said
there was no evidence to suggest
that the swine flu virus in India
may have mutated.
The denial came in response
to the study by the MIT conducted by a team of Indian-ori-

gin scientists which said swine flu

virus has acquired mutations that
make it more dangerous than
previously circulating strains of
H1N1 influenza.
According to the latest figures from the Health Ministry, 50
more deaths took the swine flu
toll close to the 1,600-mark
while nearly 28,000 people have
been infected.
However, scientists at the
NIV in Pune refuted the claims
saying the genetic analysis of the
H1N1 isolates from the present
2015 outbreak do not show any
such mutations as mentioned in
the MIT publication.
The observation in the MIT
report was based on gene
sequence analysed for the H1N1
virus taken from a database and
not from actual virus isolates
from the current 2015 outbreak,
they said.
A recent paper in the Cell
Host Microbes 2015 has speculated possible enhanced viru-

lence of the 2015 H1N1 strains

circulating in India. This observation is based on HA gene
sequence analysed for the H1N1
virus A/India/6427/2014 taken
from a database and not from
actual virus isolates from the current 2015 outbreak, the scientists
elaborated.
The genetic analysis of the
HA gene of the H1N1 isolates
from the present 2015 outbreak
do not show any such mutations
as mentioned in the publication,
they said in an official statement.
Moreover, the strain mentioned in the report of 2014 has
no relevance to the current outbreak of 2015. Recently, NIV has
analysed six full genomes, which
also suggests absence of such
mutations, said NIV scientists.
The MIT researchers in the
study claimed that the recent
Indian strains carry new mutations in the hemagglutinin protein that are known to make the
virus more virulent.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

onsuming almonds is the

best way to boost your
immunity in the current weather conditions when the infections are easily transmitted and
the menace of swine flu still
continues.
Speaking about this at a
health dialogue, the fitness
expert, Sachin Sahni, told those
present there about the multiple benefits of almonds if consumed on a regular basis. Sahni
said that almonds were not
only beneficial for health but
improved ones immunity too.
They had a satiety value and
hence a handful of these nuts
left you feeling full and dissuaded you from consuming
unhealthy junk food, he said
and added that they helped you
in maintaining weight and staying fit. Almonds were also an
excellent source of vitamin E,

fibre and energy-packed protein. The nutritionist, Surbhi

Jain, while talking about the
multiple benefits of consuming
almonds daily said that they
could help you lead a healthy
and fit life. The expert debunked
the myths about the consumption of almonds and shed light
on their anti-oxidant properties
(being rich in vitamin E), their
role in managing weight, diabetes and maintaining a healthy
heart as demonstrated by international research.
Dr Surbhi Jain said we
encourage regular consumption of a handful of almonds
throughout the year to our
clients, to snack on them when
they feel hungry between meals
or to start their mornings with
them. Just 30 grams of these
nuts contain 6.3 grams of protein and 3.75 grams of fibre all
this in 170 calories. She said that
if one had a healthy lifestyle and

stayed fit one could not only

fight infectious diseases easily
but could also keep cold, flu and
other such ailments at bay as the
body had a better chance to
fight them off.
A recent study published in
the European Journal of Clinical
Nutrition found that participants who consumed 43 grams
of dry, roasted and lightly-salted almonds every day experienced reduced hunger and
improved dietary vitamin E
and monounsaturated (good)
fat intake without increasing
their body weight.
Sahni added that our bodies worked round the clock to
build muscles and recover. Its
important to ensure that we eat
food which provides energy.
Hence, it is important to opt for
something with essential nutrients such as vitamin E and
riboflavin and fillings such as
almonds.

Sonia hits the streets for Manmohan Mufti Govt keeping an

From Page 1
and explain the facts and the circumstances of the case, the court itself will
review its decision and drop the proceedings against Singh.
Terming the CBI courts summons as
outrageous, Gandhi collected top ranks
of the party at his headquarters at Akbar
Road and nearly 100 party cadre marched
up to Singhs residence, which is nearly half
a kilometer away from the party office.
Several of Singhs Cabinet colleagues P
Chidambaram, Anand Sharma, Ambika
Soni and Veerappa Moily were also present. This is one of those rare occasion

when the top Congress ranks and Sonia

Gandhi have taken to streets.
Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur
received the leaders at his residence.
Singh he said he was more than pleased
and grateful. The Congress party, Soniaji
and all members of the working committee and senior leaders have come to my residence, expressed solidarity with me and
that we will fight this case to the best of
our ability, said Singh.
I was outraged at the news that summons had been served to Manmohan
Singh. The former PM is known not only
in our country but throughout the world

as being a person of integrity and probity.

We are here to offer our unstinted support,
our solidarity. The Congress party is fully
behind him. We shall fight this legally and
with all our means at our command. We
are sure, we are convinced that he will be
vindicated, Sonia Gandhi said.
Taking a dig at the Congress, Union
Minister Prakash Javadekar said, Congress
should have shown this solidarity a decade
ago while alleging that Congress did not
follow the auction route in the allocation
of coal blocks as recommended by Singh
because the party had to extend favours to
some companies.

Smriti, Najma out of Shahs new-look...

eye on Alam: Rajnath

PNS n NEW DELHI

he Government on Thursday
informed both the Houses of
Parliament that the Jammu &
Kashmir Government has said
that it is keeping a watch on separatist leader Masarat Alam and
action will be taken against him
if anything adverse comes to its
notice.
Giving a suo moto statement
in the Lok Sabha and Rajya
Sabha, Home Minister Rajnath
Singh also said the Centre has
advised the State Government to
pursue all the 27 criminal cases
against Alam vigorously and
challenge the orders granting
him bail.
The Home Ministers
detailed statement after receiving
all the facts from the State
Government came after
Parliament on Monday raised a
din over Alams release. Terming
it as a matter concerning national security, the Opposition had
charged the BJP with practicing
politics of opportunism to share
power in Jammu & Kashmir by
forging an alliance with the
PDP.
In this backdrop, Singh said
he had given a statement on
Monday and was giving more
details to Parliament now after

receiving the factual position

from the State Government.
The State Government has
informed that a proper system
is in place to have an effective
surveillance of Alams activities,
he said. As and when anything
adverse surfaces, appropriate
action as envisaged by law will
be taken, he added.
The State Government was
advised to maintain law and
order to keep the peace in areas
likely to be visited by Alam and
other separatist elements and a
close surveillance must be
ensured on such activities of
Alam, his associates and followers, which are detrimental to the
public order or the unity and
integrity of the country in general and the State of Jammu &
Kashmir in particular, the
Minister said. As regards
sequence of events leading to
Alams release, Singh said the
State Government said there
were no fresh grounds for his
detention as verified by the
District Magistrate Jammu.
The grounds, based on
which earlier detention orders
were quashed by the High Court
and this detention order contained the same old grounds of
detention, he said quoting the
State Governments report.

From Page 1
and former CMs of BJP
are on the panel as Permanent
Invitees, while 40 others are
Special Invitees. The reconstituted National Executive is
expected to meet in the first
week of April in Bengaluru
with Prime Minister Modi in
attendance.
Shah has retained all top
leaders including Narendra
Modi, AB Vajpayee, LK
Advani, MM Joshi and senior
Ministers Rajnath Singh,
Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley
and Venkaiah Naidu as
Members.
Among those dropped
from the panel include former
Defence Minister Jaswant
Singhs son Manvendra Singh
from Rajasthan. Party MP
Dushyant Singh, son of
Rajasthan Chief Minister
Vasundhara Raje, is in the
panel
Former Amritsar, MP and
cricketor Navjot Singh Sidhu,
who vacated his Amritsar seat
for Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley, and Rajasthan

Governor Kalyan Singhs parliamentarian son Rajveer

Singh have entered the panel.
Another former cricket
opener Chetan Chauhan,
Union Minister and popular
film singer Babul Supriyo from
West Bengal and actressturned-MP Kirron Kher have
been retained in the category
of Special Invitees. Film actor
of yesteryears Suresh Oberoi
has also made it to the list of
Special Invitees.
Sultanpur MP Varun
Gandhi, whom Shah dropped
as the national general secretary, has been retained in the
top panel that also includes the
likes of Yogi Adityanath and
Sadhvi Nirajna Jyoti. Varuns
mother and Union Minister
Maneka Gandhi has been
retained in the panel.
Rural
Development
Minister Birender Singh who
had quit the Congress and
joined the BJP before the
Haryana Assembly elections
late last year made it to the list.
All the eight Chief
Ministers of BJP-ruled States

and two Deputy Chief

Ministers, including that of
Jammu & Kashmir where the
party shares power with the
PDP, besides 24 former Chief
Ministers and three former
Deputy Chief Ministers have
been made Permanent Invitees
to the executive.
Among those who are part
of the new national body
include Union Ministers Nitin
Gadkari, Ananth Kumar,
Thawarchand Gehlot, Jagat P
Nadda, Ravi Shankar Prasad,
Kalraj Mishra, Narendra Singh
Tomar, Harsh Vardhan,
Bandaru Dattatreya and
Radha Mohan Singh.
Other prominent leaders
inducted include Vinay
Katiyar, CP Thakur, Jual
Oram, SS Ahluwalia, Vijay K
Malhotra, besides Hukumdev
Narayan Singh, L Ganesan,
Lalji Tandon, O Rajgopal,
Tathagat Roy and Gulab
Chand Katariya
Others included are leaders from Bihar Rameshwar
Chaurasiya, former Delhi
mayor Aarti Mehra former

Union Minister Harmohan

Dhawan from Chandigarh.
Some of the prominent
leaders who have been
dropped by Shah include
Satyanarayan Jatiya, Ramen
Deka, Maya Singh and Ashok
Pradhan.
Some others excluded are
Arun Singh, who is related to
Home Minister Rajnath Singh,
Sidharth Nath Singh, Nalin
Kohli
and
Vinay
Sahasrabuddhe, who are office
bearers, and Shaina NC, a
prominent Mumbai designer.
Rajya Sabha MP and businessman Ajai Sancheti and
Lalita Kumar Manglam, who
has now become Chairperson
of National Commission for
Women, have also been
excluded.
Ministers Mukhtar Abbas
Naqvi, Dharmendra Pradhan,
Rajeev Pratap Rudy, Prakash
Javadekar, (Gen) VK Singh,
Suresh Prabhu, Piyush Goyal,
Pon Radhakrishnan and
Mahesh Sharma and Nirmala
Sitharaman form part of the
new executive.

From Page 1
The sources said the
agency was tracking the
detained officials and the chartered accountant and intercepted a courier company in
Mumbai through which an
entire confidential file relating
to policy on foreign direct
investment/foreign institutional

investor was recovered.

The courier was allegedly
sent by Ashok Kumar Singh to
Gandhi. By accessing in
advance foreign investment
policies under consideration of
the Government, the beneficiary corporate houses got
ample leg room to prepare
themselves for the policies
when they were fully operationalised.

NDAs...

for expanding the penetration of

insurance in the country which
is very low at present. He said
the measure would help go
beyond life insurance to cover
other aspects like health and
crops besides providing more
funds for development of infrastructure.
Seeking to allay apprehensions, Sinha said the premium
will not flow out of the country
but will remain within the
country and the interests of policy holders will be protected by
the IRDA.
Sinha also sought to allay
apprehensions that State-run
LIC would be hurt if foreign
companies come in, saying it
was a very competitive body
and match global players. At the
same time, he said the country
needs not one, but five to 10
LICs. The MoS also agreed to
incorporate suggestions made
by Congress leader Anand

Sharma for infusing capital in

General Insurance Corporation
(GIC) and strengthening it.
Participating in the debate,
Chandan Mitra who headed the
Select Committee for the
Insurance bill -- pitched for raising the FDI cap in the sector to
49 per cent saying that the flow
of foreign funds will benefit the
country which is under-insured
at present.
Foreign funds are required
for expansion of the insurance
sector and increasing penetration in rural areas as there is a
limit on how much government
can and should do in this area.
Indias insurance sector has
grown since FDI was allowed
way back in 1999, Mitra said,
adding that collection of premium amount has touched Rs
3,64,420 crore now as compared
to mere Rs 19,513 crore in
1999.
He further said that FDI is

required as regulator IRDA

says that insurance premium
can increase to 6 per cent from
the existing 3.21 per cent at a
GDP growth rate of 7 per cent.
To enable this expansion, Rs
44,500 crore funds are required.
Raising FDI will bring Rs 21,805
crore funds into the sector.
Without increasing the FDI
cap, these funds will not flow,
Mitra said.
He said the LIC chief had
favoured the proposal and had
informed the Select Committee
that it had to remodel its policies to be competitive in the
market after the entry of FDI
and it is doing well.
Stating that the higher FDI
will expand penetration, Mitra
said, There is genuine problem
of penetration in rural areas.
Insurance companies do not
have branch offices in large
parts of the country. Even LIC
has not been able to cover the

whole country despite infrastructure.

He also gave statistics that
countries like the US, the UK,
Japan, Australia have allowed
100 per cent and that of
Indonesia (80 per cent),
Malaysia (51 per cent) and
China (50 per cent). The bill
also provides for opening of reinsurance sector, Mitra said
pointing India is un-insured
country and that health insurance is a serious problem and all
these are likely to be addressed.
Mitra was also interrupted
by Left and SP members who
said that LIC employees have
been striking and the Congress
member Renuka Chowdhary
alleged that Mitra has perhaps
broken the precedent by speaking on a subject of which he was
the Chairman.
Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) said
he would not wish to obstruct
the bill but wants to warn the

government that the move will

lead to entry of bankrupt foreign companies who will do
nothing in the sector.
Expressing doubts on
inflow of foreign investment in
the sector, Sharad Yadav said,
When FDI cap was 26 per cent,
nobody came. Do you think
they will come at 49 per cent.
They are traders. They know
how to do business.
Strongly opposing the bill,
Derek O Brien said, They
believe FDI is magical herbs to
cure all ills in India. He mentioned that private companies charge high premium
and there are high risk associated with putting funds in
ULIP (Unit Linked Insurance
Plan). Referring to 100 per
cent FDI allowed in the US as
mentioned by Mitra, Derek
said only 13 states in the US
have adopted while 37 have
never allowed.

From Page 1
Bill after the Government
agreed to the Oppositions
demand for referring the Coal
and Mines Bill and the Mines
and Minerals Bill to the Select
Committee.
Trinamool Congress and
Left parties strongly opposed
the measure. While Trinamool,
DMK as also SP, BSP and JD(U)
staged a walkout, Left members
moved amendments which
were negated. The Bill was
introduced after Deputy
Chairman PJ Kurien ruled that
the new legislation, as passed by
the Lok Sabha, could be taken
up as it was a unique and
unprecedented situation.
Moving the Bill for consideration and passage, Minister of
State for Finance Jayant Sinha
said the measure was necessary

CBI blows...

the world praises the development of Mauritius, the "credit

comes to our (India's) account".
"The people who came
here as indentured labourers,
today they have taken the place
to new heights through their
labour and suffering, but the
credit comes to our account,
when people ask about the
development in Mauritius, as
all were from India," Modi
said to loud clapping.
Referring to climate
change, Modi said small
islands were worried about
climate change, of being
drowned in rising oceans in
the years to come. He said
island countries like Mauritius
can give a message to the
world on climate change.
In the evening, he attended the National Day celebrations. He also met opposition
leader Paul Berenger. IANS

Free screening,
awareness
camp on World
Kidney Day
Lucknow (PNS): On the
occasion of World Kidney Day,
the department of Nephrology
at Dr RML Institute of Medical
Sciences organised a free
screening and awareness camp
on Thursday. The camp was
inaugurated by RMLIMS director Dr Nuzhat.
She emphasised the importance of healthy habits and adequate water intake to ensure
kidney health.
Medical superintendent Dr
Subrat Chandra spoke about
the importance of screening in
kidney diseases. Head of the
department Dr Shivendra
Singh and Dr Abhilash discussed eight golden rules to
ensure kidney health.
As many as 533 people
were screened and made aware
about kidney ailments.
A lecture-cum-interactive
session of Lord Hameed was
also held at the Institute.
Emphasis was laid on the need
for quality in practice, courage
to face the truth and non-discrimination on grounds of
caste, creed and faith.
Speaking on kidney care,
Dr Vinod Jain from King
Georges Medical University
said: It may sound basic but
starting a day with a glass of
clean water and ensuring adequate intake of water on a daily
basis helps a lot.
He said that an average
adult body required 500 ml
water for metabolism and equal
quantity for insensible water
loss from the body. He advised
people against for self-medication, as non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs were
known to cause kidney damage
and disease if taken regularly.
Medicines do not pose significant danger if your kidneys are
healthy and if you take medicines in emergency cases. But
if you are dealing with chronic pain such as arthritis or back
pain, work with your doctor to
find a way to control your pain
without putting your kidneys at
risk. Another aspect is smoking which slows the flow of
blood to kidneys, he added.

CM wants
Centre...
From Page 1
cane dues. He also lambasted the principal Opposition
party, the Bahujan Samaj Party,
for ditching the people by misusing public fund on parks and
statues. The BSP Government
constructed parks of stones
but we developed parks full of
greener y. The previous
Government gave 2,500 hectare
land as land parcel to private
developer for construction of
60-kilometre-long Yamuna
Expressway but we refused
that sop to private companies
while constructing LucknowAgra Expressway. We are building the same road with our own
funds. This project will be
over by 2016 as we have given
just 22 months time to the
engineers to complete the project, he said.
Yadav also spoke about
Samajwadi Pension Scheme.
He said it would benefit over 45
lakh poor families while in the
BSP regime only 25 lakh families got the benefit that too for
18 months. Yadav had tabled
the Budget for the next fiscal on
February 24 and his reply
ended the debate on the general Budget. Now the department-wise budgetary grants
would be approved. The appropriation and related bills are
expected to be adopted on
March 27, the day when the
Budget session ends.

nation 07

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

DIMAPURLYNCHINGCASE

Lookout notice
out against 12
key suspects
ANUP SHARMA n DIMAPUR/
GUWAHATI

he Nagaland police have

issued lookout notice
T
against 12 key suspects of the
mob that broke into the
Dimapur Central Jail on
March 5 and lynched a rape
accused even as the police
claimed that some of the key
leaders of the mob had already
gone underground.
The police on Wednesday
night released the photographs
of 12 suspects for their direct
involvement in the mob that
took law and order in its hands
and killed the rape accused, who
hailed from Assams Karimganj
district. The police further said
that the photographs of the suspect were based on concrete and
credible evidence which is in
possession of Dimapur police.
More such photographs
would be released in the days to
come on the basis of available
evidences against each person,
said Dimapur Superintendent of
Police L Lotha.
We have requested the
identified leaders, whose photographs have been released, to
come and present themselves
before their respective police
stations. We are also requesting
the parents, wards and the
civic bodies of each locality to
produce these individuals in
the respective police stations,
he said while warning that the
police would detain them as

We have requested the

identified leaders, whose
photographs have been
released, to come and
present themselves before
their respective police
stations. We are also
requesting the parents,
wards and the civic bodies
of each locality to produce
these individuals in the
respective police stations
per the law, if they do not act
upon accordingly.
Nagaland CM TR Zeliang
met Union Home Minister
Rajnath Singh on Wednesday in
the union capital and apprised
him of the situation in Nagaland.
Zeliang also informed the Home
Minister about the steps taken
by the State so far to ensure
peace in the town.
It may be mentioned here
that the Nagaland Government
had suspended three top officials-the DC, the SP and the Jail
Superintendent over the lynching incident and instituted a
judicial probe over the incident.
The Nagaland Government,
who had already instituted a SIT
to probe the incident and 48
people have so far been arrested by the State police for their
involvement in the crime.
Meanwhile, the Nagaland
Government has refuted the
reports that the State in its
report submitted to the MHA
stated that there was no rape.

After Kejri poach,

hardboiled Garg gets
threat from AAP fan
STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

day after former Aam

Aadmi Party MLA Rajesh
Garg released an audio of
Arvind Kejriwal allegedly horsetrading, Garg released another
recording where he is being
threatened by an unknown person for nipping this issue in the
bud and not speaking about it.
Garg said that he would be filing a complaint for the same but
hasnt done so far.
Garg claimed to have
received a threat call on
Thursday by someone who said
he was an AAP well-wisher.
According to the former MLA,
the threat was to hush things up
after he accused the Delhi Chief
Minister of trying to poach six
Congress MLAs to form
Government last year before the
Assembly was dissolved.
Garg said the caller told
him not to take the matter forward. Let it stay like this. I am
an Aam Aadmi Party fan. You
are clever enough, which is why
I am saying. I will do nothing.
Only time will tell what will
happen. Dont take the matter
ahead. You also have my number displayed, the unknown
caller purportedly said in the
recording made public by Garg.

The call I received was

from an international number.
I have recorded the conversation
and sent a copy of the recording to the police, said Garg.
The former Rohini MLA,
who shares an uneasy relationship with the party leadership, had recorded a conversation between him and Kejriwal
in which the Delhi Chief
Minister is purportedly heard
asking Garg to break six
Congress MLAs and form
another party, which could
support the AAP.
Lashing out at Garg, the
party had said the recording
was passed on by a disgruntled
element that was denied a
party ticket. However, after
Garg said that he was being
threatened, party leaders
added, We dont have anything
to hide. We were in talks with
the Congress MLAs and we
even spoke to the BJP.
Moreover, we had written to
the Lieutenant Governor to
give us one month to figure out
a way to form Government.
Why should we threaten anyone when we havent even
done anything wrong?
Nowhere has Kejriwal or anyone else been heard offering
any sort of incentive to leaders.

Opp determined to block FM from presenting Budget

VR JAYARAJ n KOCHI

he Kerala Assembly on
Thursday came under siege
both from inside and outside as
Opposition MLAs spent the
entire day and night inside the
Assembly hall while thousands
of LDF and Yuva Morcha
activists surrounded the
Assembly complex in a determined bid to block Budget-seller and bribery scam accused
Finance Minister KM Mani
from presenting the 2015-16
State Budget on Friday.
Realising that it would be
impossible for Mani to reach
the House from his official residence on Friday morning to
present the Budget, Chief
Minister Oommen Chandy
advised him to spend the night
inside the Assembly complex
itself and he accepted this.
Chandy, other Ministers and all
ruling front MLAs also spent
the night in the Assembly to
defeat Opposition strategies.

KERALA BUDGET
By Thursday evening,
Thiruvananthapuram, the State
capital, wore the look of a preconflict battle zone with over
2,500 police personnel armed
with all kinds of mob-control
paraphernalia, commanded by
six Superintendents, 19 Dy
SPs, 29 Circle Inspectors and
127 Sub-Inspectors and coordinated by City Commissioner
H Venkitesh lined the streets to
deal with the protestors.
As
part
of
the
Administrations efforts to defeat
the protestors, the District
Collector declared Friday as holiday for all educational institutions in 19 wards of the city. He
also ordered immediate closure
of all liquor outlets in the city.
Unprecedented traffic controls
were imposed by Thursday
evening. The police also blocked
all the roads leading to Assembly.
Thousands of activists of
pro-CPI(M) DYFI and Yuva

Morcha began streaming into

the roads near the Assembly
complex by late Thursday afternoon to block Mani from reaching the House on Friday to present the Budget in case his decision was to spend the night at
his official residence, Prasanthi.
The CPI(M)-led Opposition
LDF decided to keep all its 65
MLAs within the Assembly Hall
in a strategy to block Mani from
entering into the Hall on Friday
through any of its five doors. The
situation might warrant the
intervention of the Watch and
Ward staff if there was any
move for forceful blockade and
the outcome would be unpredictable, observers said.
With MLAs of the
Opposition and Ministers and
MLAs of the ruling Congressled UDF spending the night
inside the Assembly complex,
the agitation against Mani got
concentrated in this area mak-

ing the protests by LDF workers and activists of the DYFI

and Yuva Morcha outside the
complex merely symbolic.
The LDF and the BJP had
several weeks ago asked the
Government not to allow Mani
to present the Budget as he had
been charged with selling
Budget proposals in the previous years for money to interested sectors and had been the
accused in the Vigilance case
pertaining to the allegation of
taking Rs 1 crore as bribe from
the States bar owners.
Mani will present the
Budget at 9 am Friday morning.
That is his Constitutional right
and responsibility as Finance
Minister. I am not sure whether
he will read the entire Budget
paper but he will present it, said
Government Chief Whip PC
George, also the vice-chairman of the Kerala congress (M)
of which Mani is the chairman.
At least ten Watch-andWard staff have been deployed

House elects new Speaker

Thiruvananthapuram: The 13th
Kerala Assembly on Thursday
elected N Sakthan of the
Congress as its new
Speaker. Sakthan, MLA
of the Congress-led UDF
from Kattakkada
constituency in
Thiruvananthapuram
district, polled 74 of the N Sakthan
total 140 votes. The
election was necessitated by the
death of Speaker G Karthikeyan on
March 7. There was no drama in
the election as the victory of
Sakthan was certain in the House
where the UDF had 74 MLAs
including one nominated AngloIndian member while the CPI(M)led Opposition LDF had 65 MLAs.
The election process started at
9.30 am and concluded by 11.00

am. Though the LDF has only 65

MLAs, its Speaker candidate Aisha
Potti of the CPI(M) polled 66
votes as former Minister KB
Ganesh Kumar, MLA of the
Kerala Congress (B) which
had on Wednesday
announced its decision to
quit the ruling UDF, voted for
her. It is not yet clear
whether the KC(B), a
founder-member of the UDF, will
join the LDF. After the election, CM
Chandy and Opposition Leader VS
Achuthanandan jointly led Sakthan
to the Speakers podium and chair
following which leaders of different
parties delivered felicitation
speeches. Sakthan, 21st Speaker,
had also served as the Pro-tem
Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the
current Assembly.
PNS

for every Opposition MLA. That

is the scale of anti-democratic
moves the Government is taking

to protect this bribery-accused

Minister, said an LDF MLA
from the Assembly.

BJP wants Didi to come clean Gujarat has spent `47,000 cr

Sardar Sarovar Dam
on TMCs source of income for
Canal network of more
SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

lose on the heels of CBI

asking to the Trinamool
Congress to explain its income
particularly from sales of paintings and books, the Bengal BJP
has asked Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee to clarify
her stance on whether her
party had amassed disproportionate wealth as was alleged by
the Opposition.
The people wanted to know
about the alleged disproportionate wealth of the Trinamool
Congress, State BJP president
Rahul Sinha has said adding
the known source of income of
Trinamool does not seem to be
proportionate with its expenditure wondering why the
contribution from businessmen were not shown properly
in the accounts of the party.
Now the situation is that
the people have started asking
about the whole mystery and

the Chief Minister being the

head of the Government and
the ruling party has a duty to
explain it all to the people.
On CBI notice to the party
about the sources of its income
Sinha said, The notice is justified because a lot of public
money and the credibility of a
Government are involved.
The CBI has been probing
the multi-crore Saradha and
Rose Valley chit fund cases.
Sinha said it was the duty
of the Chief Minister to come
clean on the issue particularly
because a lot of questions are
being made about the sales of

her paintings to which she

repeatedly claimed was the
main financial source of her
party. The party which claims
to be a paragon of virtue should
explain uneasy questions he
maintained.
Meanwhile the Opposition
Left on Thursday cried out
against the State Governments
alleged political victimisation
of the kin of the Opposition leaders. The immediate context of the
protest was a raid conducted by
the anti-corruption bureau at the
office of Usha Mishra the wife of
Opposition Leader Suryakanto
Mishra who ran an NGO.
Raids were conducted for
the second day on Thursday
and many files were seized,
sources said while the Marxists
said it was an attempt by the
Government to turn the focus
from chit funds and Saradha to
other sides. First let them
prove irregularities then we will
answer a Left leader said.

than 48,000 km is yet

to be constructed,
Chudasama informs
NAYAN DAVE n GANDHINAGAR

ince its foundation stone laying ceremony conducted

Saround
55 years back, the
Gujarat Government has spent
near `47,000 crore for Sardar
Sarovar Dam being constructed
on River Narmada, said Gujarat
Minister Bhupendrasinh
Chudasama in the House during ongoing Budget Session of
the Gujarat Assembly.
Chudasama also admitted
that despite expenditure of
such a mammoth amount, construction of the canal work is
yet to be completed. Canal
network of more than 48,000
km is yet to be constructed, the
Minister added.

He was speaking on behalf

of Chief Minister Anandiben
Patel, who has kept the Narmada
Project department with her.
Giving details about the expenditure incurred by the State
Government, he said that of the
total expenditure, nearly `5,777
crore has been spent on the
Saradar Sarovar Dam, `6,400
crore for Narmada main canal
and `17,000 crore for the branch
canal network.
He further said that canals
of 48,266 km in length are yet to
be constructed, including 214.3
km of branch canals, 1590.7 km
of distributaries, 8656.7 km of

minor canals and 27,804.7 km

of sub-minor canals. Work is
going on for the completion of
the canal network and the current State Government is determined to complete the work as
soon as possible, he said while
replying to the query of
Congress MLA Punja Vansh.
On Gujarats outstanding
amount to be recovered from
neighbouring States, Chudasama
said that nearly `5,425 crore is
yet to be recovered under the
Narmada Projects from beneficiary States including `1,373
crore from Maharashtra, `506
crore from Rajasthan and `3,548
crore from Madhya Pradesh.
The foundation stone of the
dam was laid by the first Prime
Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru on
April 5th 1961. However, in
1964 the dispute for sharing of
Narmada water arose between
Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
and an expert committee was
appointed by the Central
Government.

Draw the line between nationalism & jingoism

HC asks Centre to NO-FLY TO NOW-FLY
remove Greenpeace
* The High Court had on
February 19, reserved its judgeactivists name
ment on Priya Pillais plea
claiming that her right to freefrom no-fly list
dom of speech and expression
STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

he Delhi High Court on

Thursday set aside the look
out circular issued against
Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai,
who was offloaded from a flight
to London two months back,
saying her fundamental right to
travel cannot be curtailed.
Justice Rajiv Shakdher,
while upholding her right to
travel abroad, also said Pillai
has every right to hold a different opinion on development policies and this cannot
be the sole ground to restrict
her movement.
The court set aside the
look out circular (LOC) issued

was being curtailed by an

unlawful
order
of
the executive
* Justifying the Governments
decision, ASG Sanjay Jain had
said that her visit to London
was a serious threat to the
nation and the speech she was
going to make there is against
the nation and had potential
Greenpeace campaigner Priya
for mischief against Indias
Pillai outside the Delhi High
Court on Thursday
PTI economic interests
by Intelligence Bureau (IB)
and asked the Government to
remove her name from the
database containing names of
individuals barred from leaving
the country. It also directed
Bureau of Immigration to

expunge the endorsements

made on the activists passport
while offloading her from a
flight on January 11 while she
was going to London to
make a presentation before
British MPs on alleged human

rights violation at Mahan in

Madhya Pradesh.
The court, however,
declined to order inquiry
against officials involved in
her offloading. The judge,
meanwhile, has not granted any
compensation to Pillai saying
she can ask for the same before
an appropriate bench.
The High Court had on
February 19, reserved its judgement on Pillais plea claiming
that her right to freedom of
speech and expression was
being curtailed by an unlawful
order of the executive.
Justifying the Governments
decision, Additional Solicitor
General (ASG) Sanjay Jain had
said that her visit to London
was a serious threat to the
nation and the speech she was
going to make there is against
the nation and had potential
for mischief against Indias
economic interests.
He had said that the trav-

el tickets financed in her name

were from an organisation,
which is on the watch list of the
Ministry of Home Affairs.
The ASG had claimed that
diplomatic relations were fluctuating and existing
good relations were no guarantee against something undesirable later. The High Court
had earlier expressed concern
over Pillai not being allowed to
visit
London,
saying
Government has to draw a
line between nationalism and
jingoism. The court had said
the Government decision was
not appropriate as there are
many people, who indulged in
various anti-national activities, but were travelling abroad.
Pillai (37), who was
stopped from flying to London
on the basis of the circular had
moved the high court on

January 27. Pillai, in her plea,

had sought permission to travel to London to make a presentation before British MPs on
alleged human rights violation at Mahan, which she
claimed was the reason for her
to be offloaded from the flight
at Delhis IGI Airport.
The activist had also
demanded a compensation of
`1 crore and had contended
that disallowing her from travelling to London was completely unlawful and malafide
and without any authority of
law and that the LOC should
be quashed. Senior advocate
Indira Jaising, appearing for
Pillai, had said that an enquiry
should be ordered into the
illegal, wrongful and malafide
conduct of the officials and
sought that the wrongdoers be
punished, if found guilty.

Jurys still out or case closed on media trials?

Media trials tend to influence judges, says HC; fourth DELHI GANGRAPE DOCUMENTARY
estate has thrown self-imposed code to the winds
JUDGE, JURY & EXECUTIONER
STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

edia trials tend to influence judges by subconsciously creating a pressure, the

Delhi High Court observed on
the airing of the controversial
documentary on December 16
gangrape case.
A bench of justices BD
Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva
said on Thursday, Although it
is prima facie not opposed to
airing of the documentary, it
should be released after the
Supreme Court decides
the appeals of the convicts in
the matter. Media trials do
tend to influence judges.
Subconsciously a pressure is
created and it does have an
effect on the sentencing of the
accused/convict, it said in support of its observation.
The bench was of the view
that the documentary could
interfere with the justice system but refused to pass any
interim order saying it has to be
decided by an appropriate
bench of Chief Justice.
We are prima facie not

opposed to airing of the documentary, but only after the

Supreme Court decides the
appeals. Had it been originally placed before us, we would
have asked you to place material before us on why ban be
lifted. But it has come here
from the roster bench of Chief
Justice, so we will not pass any
interim orders. Let the roster
bench decide it, the court said
and listed the matter for hearing on March 18.
Observing that airing of
the video could make or ruin
the case of one of the rape convicts, Mukesh Singh, it said,
Whether he has shown
remorse or not would be considered at the time of his sentencing. Why not wait till the
Supreme Court decision?
On the contention that
ban on airing of the video till
apex court judgement could
also lead to gag on reporting of
all sub-judice matters, the
bench said, We agree.
It said that earlier media
had a self-imposed code of not
reporting sub-judice matters,

but now media has thrown it

(the code) to the winds.
The Central Government,
represented by advocate
Monika Arora, opposed airing
of the documentary saying it
would give a platform to the
convict to air his views and that
it also contains derogatory
statements against the victim.
She also said that
Information and Broadcasting
Ministry only issued an advisory to cable TV networks to
abide by the magisterial courts
order banning airing of the
documentary.
The petitioners, on the
other hand, claimed that as the
Government failed to control
spread of the documentary via
Internet and since its viewing
by lakhs of people caused no
untoward or law and order situation, there are no grounds for
banning the video.
The petitioners also said
that parts of the convicts interview are already part of the
judgement in the case by the
trial court and high court and
thus are public records. The

1 The bench was of the view that the BBC docu could interfere
with the justice system but refused to pass any interim order
saying it has to be decided by an appropriate bench of Chief Justice
1 The court had earlier refused to give urgent hearing after three
law students Vibhor Anand, Arun Menon and Kritika
Padode in their two separate PILs, said fundamental right of
freedom of speech and expression have been infringed due to
Governments illegal action to ban the broadcast

WHETHER HE
(RAPIST) HAS
SHOWN REMORSE
OR NOT WOULD BE
CONSIDERED AT THE
TIME OF HIS
SENTENCING. WHY
NOT WAIT TILL THE
SUPREME COURT
DECISION?
Delhi High Court

court had earlier refused to give

urgent hearing after three law
students Vibhor Anand,
Arun Menon and Kritika
Padode in their two separate
PILs, said fundamental right
of freedom of speech and
expression have been infringed
due to Governments illegal
action to ban the broadcast.
They had approached the
High Court after a trial court
on March 4 had banned until
further orders the broadcast of

the interview of December 16,

2012 gangrape convict Mukesh
Singh, allegedly conducted in
July 2013 inside Tihar Jail.
Earlier, a trial court had
restrained the media from
broadcasting or publishing the
interview of Mukesh Singh
after Delhi Police moved the
court seeking the restraint.
The Information and
Broadcasting Ministry had also
issued an advisory to all television channels not to broad-

cast it. The pleas had sought

lifting of the ban on the ground
that it is a look at the mindset of one of the convicted
rapists.
One of the pleas had also
sought direction to the Bar
Council of India (BCI) to expedite action against the two
lawyers advocate AP Singh
and ML Sharma who had
allegedly made derogatory antiwomen remarks in the documentary.

(Appx A to GE (MES) Fatehgarh letter

No. 8319/586/E8 dt 09 Mar 2015)

NOTICE INVITING TENDER

1.
Garrison Engineer (MES) Fatehgarh (UP)-209601 on
behalf of President of India invites applications for following works,
estimated cost of which are indicated against each.
Ser Name of work
Estimated cost
No.
(in lacs)
(a) Term Contract for Artificers Work in Old Rs. 15.00
Separated Family Md Accn, Site-II &
Site-III Area, JCOs/OR Md Accn RRC
at Fatehgarh Cantt.
(b) Certain day to day Petty Repairs includ- Rs. 14.95
ing Repair to Roof treatment, sunken
floor treatment, wooden flooring wall
paneling, roof trusses, false ceiling etc.
at RRC Fatehgarh Cantt.
(c) Repair/Maint of Parade Grounds and
Rs. 14.90
roads in Kariappa Sports Complex at
RRC Fatehgarh Cantt.
(d) Day to day Petty Repairs including
Rs. 14.95
rectification of leakage and seepage
in OTM Accn in Fort and Maude Line
area at Fatehgarh Cantt.
Rs. 15.00
(e) Term Contract for Artificers Work in
OTM Accn under AGE B/R-II at
Fatehgarh Cantt.
2.
For details refer to www.mes.gov.in and
www.eprocuremes.gov.in
Garrison Engineer Fatehgarh

opinion 08

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

www.dailypioneer.com

paper with passion

Buck stopped with him

Manmohan Singh has to answer on coal scam
he summons issued by a Special Court to former Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, who has been named as one of the accused in the case
of allotting a coal block to Hindalco, part of the Kumar Mangalam Birla Group,
has stunned everybody. Mr Singh is upset but says he will prove his innocence in a fair trial. The Congress has rallied behind him, legal experts have
upheld the discretion of the judge to summon him, the Bharatiya Janata Party
has remarked that the sins of certain people have returned to hound the former
Prime Minister, and a non-Government organisation that advocate Prashant
Bhushan helms is gleefully pursuing the matter, saying Mr Singh cannot be
absolved of the irregularity. It would be premature to pass a public verdict of
guilty against the former Prime Minister, and the law must take its own course.
Mr Singh will have every opportunity to present his defence, and so it up to him
to clear his name. But certain facts cannot be denied. The first is that Mr Singh
was also the Minister for Coal when the allocation to Hindalco, of the Talabira
II coal block in Odisha, took place in 2005. The second is that the allocation was
done through a discretionary mechanism and not by the auction route which
officials in the Ministry of Coal, including then Coal Secretary PC Parakh and a
screening committee, had recommended. The third fact is that the
Central Bureau of Investigation, which
was inquiring into the case under the
supervision of the Supreme Court,
had, after registering a First
Information Report, filed a closure
report. The fourth point is that the
court had rejected the closure report
and directed the CBI to pursue its
probe. The fifth fact is that a senior
official in the investigating agency had
long back suggested that the former
Prime Minister should be questioned
on the deal. And finally, the Supreme
Court had cancelled almost the entire
allocation of coal blocks done during
Mr Singh's regime, thus making it
clear that serious wrongdoing had
been resorted to, in the process.
The legal debate is whether the former Prime Minister can be tried for criminal culpability under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption
Act, or whether his decision was merely a case of presiding over wrong policy
and its subsequent fatal implementation. Nobody has suggested so far that Mr
Singh had derived pecuniary benefits from the decision. But those rooting for
his prosecution say that his consent for wrongdoing, which resulted in a loss
to the exchequer, amounts to criminal offence per se. The Special Court judge
has, prima facie, found a case of criminal conspiracy. This is from where matters proceed from now on.
Legal issues aside, the former Prime Minister simply cannot escape answering tough and uncomfortable questions. There is enough material to suggest
that he went along the path of giving allotments on a purely ad hoc basis although
he had himself expressed a desire to adopt the transparent auction route. There
is also material to demonstrate that a few of his Ministers had pushed for
and succeeded in having such discretionary allotments. So, the buck stopped
with Mr Singh, whether he admits it today or not.

Many tentacles of terror

Al Qaida documents reveal jihadi network
he second set of Al Qaida documents made public tells us little that we didn't already know or at least suspected. Released earlier this month by US
officials as part of the ongoing trial of terror suspect, the documents do,
however, offer us a more nuanced view of the complex linkages between different jihadi groups and networks, the Pakistani establishment and the Americans.
They also throw some light on how Osama bin Laden ran Al Qaeda while being
on the run in his final years and to what extent the West's counter-terror policies affected the group. The biggest revelation from the current cache of documents is that certain sections within the Pakistani state were willing to negotiate a peace deal with Al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban. Seemingly, there were
different sets of negotiations happening, at different stages, possibly involving
separate players. For example, one of the letters refer to one Shuja Shah, described
as an intelligence leader, reaching out to the Al Qaeda through intermediaries.
The reference could be to Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, who was then the head
of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency and is believed to have been in the know,
but it's difficult to verify. The letters
also show that Mr Shahbaz Sharif, the
Chief Minister of Punjab and the brother of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, had
sought to strike a similar deal for his
Province, and that at least the Al
Qaeda (if not, the Pakistani Taliban)
leadership was open to his overtures.
The premise for peace' was simple:
The jihadis stops attacking Pakistani
targets and, in return, the Pakistani
authorities stop chasing them. The
Americans were a problem but the
Pakistanis were trying to get them on
board. These revelations are consistent with what we already known
about Al Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban
and the Pakistani Government. For
example, Chief Minister Sharif has for
long sought to find a common ground
with the Pakistani Taliban. More recently, his brother, the Prime Minister, also
offered to talk peace with the Pakistani Taliban.
However, on the critical question of Pakistan's role in providing safe haven
to Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, there's still only limited material. Yes, there
is a general agreement that some sections of the Pakistani establishment assisted Osama bin Laden even the Pakistanis themselves agree that it was an incompetent administration that allowed the world's most wanted terrorist to supposedly slip through the cracks. The letters now show that, when necessary, the
Pakistani establishment was able to reach out to Osama bin Laden and other
top Al Qaeda leaders through its network of approved jihadi groups. But we
still don't know the full extent and scope of this relationship. For example, what
kind of role did some or all top Pakistani leaders, military and civilian, play? Did
those leaders who wanted a peace deal with Al Qaeda also help settle Osama
bin Laden in Pakistan and protect him or were these two separate groups?

Sorry, Hillary, but your

excuses dont add up

JANET DALEY

The former Secretary of State says that she sent official emails from her private server because it was a matter
of convenience. This is ludicrous, especially coming from someone who is possibly going to run for President

m not easily startled by

much of anything in
American political life
these days. But I have to
say that I watched Ms
Hillary Clintons Press conference this week with stunned
amazement. Even by the usual
standards of Washington, DC,
theatricals, this was gobsmacking in its sheer temerity.
The Saga of Hillarys Emails,
in which official State
Department business turned out
to have gone through the
Clintons own private email server, is not going to go away. There
is far too much sense of dj vu
for that. Even the weeks silence
followed by an unapologetic
attempt to brazen it out is reminiscent of all those unhappy
Clinton adventures of the past.
Finally, on Tuesday, we got
the brief Press conference. This
took the form of a scripted statement with a few questions to follow in which the main points of
the statement were reiterated
verbatim. However odd or irregular the practice may now appear,
it was not, Ms Clinton repeatedly insisted, disallowed under the
rules of her office. But she recognised that her decision seemed
peculiar in retrospect and so the
obvious question had to be
addressed: Why on earth did she
do it? Why would someone holding a great office, presiding over
the most sensitive areas of
Government policy involving
matters of high diplomacy and
national security, decide to conduct all her communications on
the same email address with
which (she pointed out poignantly) she dealt with the plans for her
daughters wedding and her
mothers funeral?
Well, that was just a matter of
convenience. She did not want to
have to carry two devices
around, one with her private
email and the other with a State
Department one. And thats it,
apparently: The only attempt at
an explanation that the country
is going to get. It seems that no
one in her professional entourage
advised her that a single mobile
phone is capable of dealing with
more than one email address, or
that she might want to purchase
a larger handbag.
This is so preposterous that
it would be likely to increase speculation even without Ms Clintons
new decision to hand over only
the 50,000 printed emails which
she claims constitute all the official State Department business.
(For some reason she has

destroyed the other, more personal communications.) In addition, she refuses to hand over the
server itself, which could still
retain records of those deleted
personal emails, for inspection.
This insistence on selecting the
material that will be divulged and
a blanket refusal to countenance
any independent investigation is
vintage Clinton.
At the very least, it is a risky
display of arrogant defiance when
you are (in every sense short of
official announcement) running
for the presidency. At worst, it is
a reminder of everything the US
electorate has suspected about the
Clintons as a political phenomenon. At one point on Tuesday, Ms
Clinton actually uttered the
emphatic words, I did not in
precisely the tone of voice of her
husbands famous mis-statement,
I did not have sexual relations
with that woman
Mr Bill Clinton used to call
himself the comeback kid in
recognition of his stunning ability to recover from a succession
of scandals (sorry, Right-wing
conspiracies) which would have
destroyed most other politicians.
Emerging from the depths of
Arkansas politics (which has

I was outraged at the

news that summons
had been served to
Manmohan Singh. He
is known as being a
person of integrity
and probity.
Congress president
Sonia Gandhi

NO ONE IN HER
PROFESSIONAL
ENTOURAGE
ADVISED HER THAT
A SINGLE MOBILE
PHONE IS CAPABLE
OF DEALING WITH
MORE THAN ONE
EMAIL ADDRESS, OR
THAT SHE MIGHT
WANT TO
PURCHASE A
LARGER HANDBAG

some pretty impressive depths),

he managed to re-invent himself
and his partys campaigning
machine in a way that has influenced electoral life on both sides
of the Atlantic.
That he survived an impeachment attempt, in which it was
clearly established that he had lied
to Congress and to the American
people, is a testament to his
immense personal magnetism.
People who have met him say that
he is a man of almost superhuman charm: That he remembers
the name of virtually every person to whom he has been introduced. He was certainly, like
Ronald Reagan, a global political
superstar who managed to
remain personally engaging at the
height of his power. Had he been
allowed to run for a third term as
President, he would, again like
Reagan, almost undoubtedly have
been re-elected.
Ms Clinton, on the other
hand, does not have that advantage. The nation may have loved
her husband much of the
time but it distrusted her and
resented her (actually their
joint) assumption that she had
been elected as well as him and
would share the governing of

SOUNDBITE
I'm confident that USIndia relations have
reached a new pinnacle.
I'll work to see that we
reach new heights.

the country.
Americans, for all their talk of
gender equality, prefer their First
Ladies to be discreetly supportive
and to limit their voluntary activities to family or educational
issues. Ms Clintons attempt at copresidency, particularly early on
when she made a failed attempt to
take control of the reform of
American health care, was seen as
unconstitutional and presumptuous. It was one of the earliest initiatives to be thrown overboard by
the Clinton Administration when
it moved from Left-liberal daydream to grown-up Government.
(Unlike Mr Barack Obama, who
has become more intransigent in
the face of a Republican Congress,
Mr Clinton coped with
Washington gridlock by agreeing
to some measures that the
Republicans demanded, such as
federal welfare reform.)
So whatever it was that Ms
Clinton might have been up to at
the State Department, she is not
going to be given the automatic
benefit of the doubt that her husband enjoyed. And that leaves the
Democrats who do not have a
Plan B for the presidential nomination in an awkward spot.
(Courtesy: The Daily Telegraph)

There's nothing
surprising about
those comments.
This is a society
that treats girls
as unwelcome.
Nirbhaya case
documentary maker
Leslee Udwin

US Congressman
Ed Royce

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Wasteful idea
Sir The Union Government
has decided to put one-rupee
notes into circulation again. The
printing of the note was discontinued almost 20 years ago. Why
did the Government take this
decision now?
The one-rupee note has all
but lost its value. Now things are
available in the market only in
multiples of five rupees. The
printing of one-rupee notes will
be expensive. What is the use of
shouldering that expense? It will
be prudent to first end the confusion between one-rupee and
two-rupee coins.
The reasons for re-printing
one-rupee notes could be a shortage of coins and the rising cases
of melting of coins, since it is
more valuable as metal content
than as a means of currency.
J Akshobhya
Mysore

Misleading post
Sir Ms Misa Bharati, the
daughter of fodder-scam convict
and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief
Lalu Prasad, posted on her
Facebook page a photo in which
it was shown that she was

Ghosts of past return to

haunt the former PM
I

t looks like the ghost of the UPA Government's wrongdoings has come
back to haunt Mr Manmohan Singh. It is sad that the former Prime
Minister, who had always managed to keep his reputation for personal probity intact and away from that of the scandal-scarred regime he
presided over, has now been summoned by a CBI court as an accused
person in a coal block allocation case. Mr Singh now becomes only the
second former Prime Minister, after PV Narasimha Rao, to be hauled up
as an accused by a court.
With no quid pro quo or mala fide intent having been uncovered by
the Central Bureau of Investigation against Mr Singh in the case, it is questionable whether a court should seek to prosecute executive decisions.
The irony is that, as Prime Minister, Mr Singh had been accused by rivals
of being indecisive. Now he is being tried for taking decisions which, according to him, were meant to promote industrial activity.
KS Jayatheertha
Bangalore

addressing students of Harvard

University, an Ivy League university of America. The photo was
posted on March 9. Later, when
the matter came to the notice of
the university authorities, they
issued a statement of denial.
Lalu Prasad should have the
elementary knowledge that, attending an Ivy League university event,
even as a member of the audience,
was a big enough accomplishment for Ms Bharati.
But the former Bihar Chief
Minister promptly came to the
rescue of his daughter and suggested that some mischievous
persons had tried to malign her.
How can an unknown person
have access to Ms Bharatis
Facebook page?
NK Das Gupta
Kolkata

Blind opposition
Sir This refers to the report,
LS passes diluted Land Bill
(March 11). The incorporation of
nine crucial changes in the land
acquisition Bill is the best that the
Modi Government could have
done in order to address the
grievances of the farmer community on the issue. Now the Bill
stands best-suited for the interests
of both the Government and the

farming community.
It is hoped that these changes
will help the Government to allay
the fears of the farmers. But the
Centre will have to face the real
test of passing the Bill in the Rajya
Sabha where it does not have the
numerical strength.
Also, in light of the new
changes, the Oppositions demand
to send the Bill to a Select
Committee does not hold water.
It must play a constructive role
in democracy.
Manoj Parashar
Via email

Sound move
Sir Prime Minister Narendra
Modis visit to Sri Lanka is a good
tactical move. The visit will open
new vistas for cooperation
between the two Asian neighbours. Over the last few years, the
Chinese have been making concerted efforts to woo the Sri
Lankans. It is to Indias good fortune that President Mahinda
Rajapaksas shock defeat has
robbed the Chinese of the benefits in the island nation.
A Meghana
Via email
Send your feedback to:
letterstopioneer@gmail.com

3rdeye 09

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

POINTCOUNTERPOINT
Individuals (such as Markandey Katju) with
this kind of mindset get appointed as judges.
It's a weakness of the system.
Union Minister
ARUN JAITLEY

In the hands
of the States
The decentralisation blueprint is ready.
Nuts and bolts must now be put, write
AVANI KAPUR and VIKRAM SRINIVAS
ollowing the recommendations of the 14th
Finance Commission, the NDA Government's first
full Budget has transformed the nature of CenterState fiscal relations. While the total quantum of funds
transferred to States has increased only marginally,
from 49.4 per cent to 50.4 per cent of gross Central
revenues, there has been an increase in the proportion of funds which are untied from 58 to 75 per
cent. This represents an increase in State Budgets
of `1.8 lakh crore, or 15 per cent of estimated State
revenues for 2015-2016.
The bulk of this funding, amounting to `1.34 lakh
crore, has been generated by reducing allocations for
social sector schemes. Previously, schemes used to
be classified into three groups. Now, the first group
remains unchanged. It includes schemes such as the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act, the National Social Assistance
Programme, and the expenditures from the education cess for Mid-Day Meal and Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan. The second group consists of major Centrally
Sponsored Schemes for which States have now been
asked to shoulder a higher share such as the National
Health Mission, the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan and the
budgetary support to Mid-Day Meal and Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan. Schemes in the third group have
been discontinued altogether. These include Planning
Commission assistance, special assistance to various States and districts, the Backward Regions Grant
Fund and the National Scheme for Modernisation of
Police Forces.
These sweeping changes have come as something of a fait accompli for Union Ministries and State
Governments alike. The former can no longer operate as many schemes it used to for there simply is
no money to go around. Even schemes that are
deemed to be of national priority, such as the Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan or the National Health Mission, will
have to be re-designed. While the exact role of line
Ministries and State Governments is yet to be spelt
out, a review of how key social sector schemes worked
in the past shows potential areas for reform for effective implementation.
First, there is usually a significant mismatch
between Budget allocations and the funds that are
actually released or spent. Between 2007 and 2012,
for instance, of the `1.69 lakh crore allocated for the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, only 69 per
cent was spent. Similarly, for the Swachch Bharat
Abhiyan, the Union Government had released only
33 per cent of total budgeted allocations till February
2015. Consequently, revised estimates were 38 per
cent lower than budgeted estimates in 2014-2015.
In a scenario of decreased allocations, this gap will
need to be drastically reduced.
Second, funds are often released by the Centre
towards the end of the financial year, which leads
to difficulty in utilisation. In 2014-2015, only 15 per
cent of allocations for the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan
was released in the first two quarters of the financial year. Similarly, only 29 per cent of allocations
were released for the National Health Mission in the
first quarter of the 2014-2015, down from 46 per
cent in 2013-2014. If these schemes are to be run
effectively, the Centre will need to ensure that implementation hurdles caused due to lack of timely
release of funds are reduced.
Third, most Centrally-sponsored schemes were
tightly controlled by the Centre, which determines priorities within schemes through a mechanism of
approval of plans at a line-item level. Consequently,
there were large gaps between plans proposed by
States and approvals by the Centre. For example, the
Centre approved only 58 per cent of total proposals
by States for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in 2014-2015.
With States bearing a larger share of these schemes,
the Centre will need to be more flexible in order to
meet all priorities.
Fourth, there are areas where the Centre can play
a useful coordinating and facilitating role without
encroaching on the States' ability to run schemes. For
example, no data on enrollment in Government secondary schools, or quality of secondary education
exists, making assessment of the Rashtriya
Madhyamik Siksha Abhijan impossible. A potential start
in this direction is the Centre's stated commitment
to conduct a nationwide School Learning Assessment.
The argument for greater de-centralisation has
always been that States are more aware of their
needs and more likely to implement schemes effectively. However, devolution of finances, while necessary, might not be sufficient to ensure effective
service delivery. To begin with, it is by no means a
given that States will use their new found autonomy to increase expenditure on the social sector.
While States have historically spent about 35 to 39
per cent of their total expenditures on social sector, political priorities for spending the additional
funding might vary across States.
Another open question is whether States have
the institutional capacity to design and implement
effective schemes on their own. The delivery structure for most State services remains top-heavy and
poorly responsive to citizens. In education, for example, many State Governments spend large proportions of their Budget allocations on salaries to teachers, who remain unaccountable for children's learning outcomes. In such a scenario, even increased
social sector expenditure by States might not lead
to better outcomes without an effort to reform the
delivery system. Here, The Centre can play a critical role in building consensus on national priorities,
providing States with technical expertise, and fostering healthy inter-State competition. A good
example is the role played by the Ministry of
Panchayati Raj in its initial years. Rather than act as
a traditional Ministry administering a scheme, it acted
as an advocate for institutional reform which
empowered local Governments.
(The writers are analysts with the
Accountability Initiative at the Centre for
Policy Research)

May I make a humble suggestion to the

House? Just pass a resolution that I will be
arrested and hanged without any trial.
Former Supreme Court judge
MARKANDEY KATJU

Mufti need not thank Pakistan

The Chief Minister of J&K wants us to believe that the Assembly election was relatively peaceful. But his claims have
no empirical basis. Militant attacks during the poll were more frequent and fatal, as compared to the general election

NIKHIL RAYMOND PURI

If militant
violence was
clearly more fatal
during the
Assembly
election, it also
occurred more
frequently and
resulted in more
injuries when we
account for the
fact that the
State election
period was 10
days shorter than
the Lok Sabha
election period

hortly after he was sworn

in as Jammu & Kashmirs
Chief Minister on March
1, Mufti Mohammed
Sayeed thanked Pakistan
for willingly contributing to the
peaceful atmosphere prevalent
during the State Assembly election.
In his humble submission, the
high voter turnout in the election
would not have been possible if
Pakistan and its jihadi proxies had
not permitted it.
The Muftis statement has
three parts. The first suggests
that the recently concluded
Assembly election were largely
violence-free. Based on this
premise, the second part of his
statement assumes that this relative peace allowed the States electorate to vote in high numbers.
The third part of the Muftis statement controversially attributes
the peaceful climate and consequent voter turnout to the restraint
exhibited by Pakistan and its network of United Jihad Councilaffiliated militant proxies.
Opposition to the Muftis
remarks has focussed almost
exclusively on the third part of his
statement, contending that he
grossly misdirected gratitude for
the peaceful nature of the recently concluded Assembly election.
Instead of taking the anti-national initiative to thank Pakistan and
its jihadi proxies, argue his critics,
the Chief Minister should have
acknowledged that the peaceful
election and voter enthusiasm
were ensured by the efforts of people residing on the Indian side of
the Line of Control and international border. Interestingly,
Oppositions attacks have failed to
draw on the most compelling
critique of the Muftis statement:
His central premise, that the
Assembly election were relatively
peaceful, has no empirical basis.
The empirical argument
against the Muftis claim is best
presented by rebutting his daugh-

ter Mehbooba Muftis televised

defence of his statement. Ms
Sayeed tells us that the December
2014 State Assembly election was
not accompanied by violence of
the scale witnessed during the
parliamentary election in AprilMay 2014. Contrary to her belief,
however, the State Assembly election was more violent than the
parliamentary election.
According to this writers tally,
militants active in Jammu &
Kashmir engaged in 22 violent
incidents 15 attacks and seven
encounters during the 36-day
course of the Lok Sabha election
from April 7 through May 12,
killing 14 and injuring 36 people.
In comparison, Kashmir-oriented
militants affiliated with the UJC
supplied 21 violent incidents 18
attacks and three encounters
during the 26-day period of the
Legislative Assembly election from

November 25 through December

20, killing 26 people and injuring
at least 35. If militant violence was
clearly more fatal during the
Assembly election, it also occurred
more frequently and resulted in
more injuries when we account for
the fact that the State election period was 10 days shorter than the
Lok Sabha election period.
This conclusion remains
largely unchanged if we include
militancy occurring in the run-up
to the election. While militants
killed four and injured nine people in 11 violent incidents in the
month preceding the Lok Sabha
election, they similarly killed three
people and injured nine more in
the four-week prelude to the
Assembly election.
Ms Mehbooba Muftis misreading of the militant landscapes
during the two election can possibly be informed by her narrow

Across the choppy

waters of Palk Strait
Narendra Modis trip to Sri Lanka is a potential gamechanger. But
success will also depend on the new Government in Colombo

rime Minister Narendra Modis

visit to Sri Lanka this week has
raised expectations not only in
Colombo but also in Tamil Nadu.
Since the new Government has
taken over in the island nation,
bilateral ties are on the upswing. Sri
Lankan Prime Minister Ranil
Wickramesinghes categorical statement that Sri Lanka will implement
the 13th Amendment within a unitary state and Foreign Minister
Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweeras assertion that Sri Lanka will adopt a new
approach at the UN Human Rights
Council and offer a domestic mechanism for looking into
human rights abuse, have
raised hopes.
Mr Modis visit, the first
in more than two decades,
comes within a month of new
Sri Lankan President
Maithripala Sirisenas India
trip that saw the two countries
sign a civil nuclear pact. A
solution for the decades-old
Tamil issue as well as for the
fishermen issue are expected
soon. India has undertaken
many infrastructure development projects in Sri Lanka,
including the building of
50,000 houses in Jaffna, which
will be handed over to the
beneficiaries
during
Mr Modis visit.
On the table is also the offer of
a credit line to Sri Lanka for more
infrastructure and development projects and expanded support for military training with a view to contain
the growing Chinese influence in the
Indian Ocean Region. The real purpose of the visit lies on the security
side and Mr Modi will talk to the Sri
Lankan Government about Indias
concerns in the region.
New Delhi also has to ensure that
Colombo implements the 13th
Amendment Plus formula which
alone can provide devolution to the
Tamil-majority North and East

Provinces. Hopefully, Mr Modis visit

to Jaffna will provide new impetus for
reconciliation by winning over the
confidence of Tamils on both sides
of the Palk Straits. It will be a boost
for the Tamil community, for TamilSinhala reconciliation and the IndiaSri Lanka relationship.
How Mr Modi and Mr Sirisena
seek to resolve the Tamil issue in
terms of the framework they agree
upon and their plan for the repatriation of Tamil refugees in India
will decide the direction and depth
of bilateral ties ahead. Generally, New
Delhis foreign and security estab-

lishment and Tamil Nadu politicians

determine Indian policy towards
Sri Lanka. But after the 2014 general election, Tamil Nadus influence in
New Delhi has been waning, and Mr
Modi is listening more to South Block
which is advocating a more strategic
and nationalist approach for greater
regional cooperation, connectivity
and economic integration.
Before embarking on the Sri
Lanka trip, Mr Modi didnt have any
direct consultation with either
AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa or her
proxy Chief Minister in Tamil
Nadu, Mr O Panneerselvam
(although back-channel consulta-

preoccupation with her own Lok

Sabha constituency Anantnag.
Indeed, she attributes the low
voter turnout in Anantnag Lok
Sabha constituency in the parliamentary election to the fact that
there was so much violence. In
the more recent Assembly election,
she says, that did not happen.
Again, her claim is unconvincing. While UJC militants killed
10 and injured three people in
Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency
during the parliamentary election,
they killed four and injured 21 people in the same Lok Sabha seats
constituent districts Anantnag,
Kulgam, Shopian, and Pulwama
in the course of the Assembly election. Though the Lok Sabha election admittedly hurt Ms Mehbooba
Muftis constituency more in terms
of militancy-induced deaths, this
comparison also shows that militancy-induced injuries were far

greater during the Legislative

Assembly election.
Moreover, militant attacks in
her constituency were significantly more dramatic during the
State Assembly election. While no
single militant attack in the
Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency resulted in more than five casualties during the parliamentary
election, militants carried out two
relatively high-impact grenade
attacks in the constituencys
Pulwama district during the
Assembly election. On March 3,
2014, they killed one paramilitary
trooper and injured three of his
colleagues, two policemen, and
two civilians in a grenade attack in
the districts Pahoo area. Two
days later, militants hurled a
grenade at a bus stand in Tral,
killing two and injuring at least
nine civilians. That these two
attacks occurred just days before
Pulwama districts electorate was
scheduled to go to the polls might
explain, in part, why three of the
districts Assembly segments
Pulwama, Tral, and Pampore
were amongst a minority of constituencies where voter turnout
dropped relative to the 2008
Assembly election.
This evidence suggests that
the Chief Minister lacks an empirical basis to thank anybody, let
alone Pakistan, for reduced militancy, since no such reduction in
violence occurred during the most
recent election. To the extent that
he is grateful for his electoral victory, his generous words of thanks
are best reserved for Jammu &
Kashmirs electorate, which turned
out to vote in record-breaking
numbers despite the fact that
Pakistan and its proxies sought to
sabotage the Assembly election
through militant attacks that were
more frequent, fatal, and dramatic than those witnessed during the
Lok Sabha election.
(The writer is a Singaporebased independent researcher)

Time to walk the talk

on women's equality
KALYANI SHANKAR

tions may have taken place).

The Sirisena Government has
already shown its keenness to
address the Tamil issue. The
President has already removed the
former Governor of the Northern
Province, who was a military man
as recommended by Northern
Province Chief Minister CV
Wigneswaran. He has also changed
the Chief Secretary of the provincial
Government, against whom Mr
Wigneswaran had complained.
Additionally, Mr Sirisena has pledged
to free hundreds of Tamil detainees
and return much of the Tamil land
seized by the military in the
North and the East. Other
Tamil demands, like withdrawal of the military and
transfer of land and police
powers to the Provincial
administration, are, however, yet to be addressed.
The Tamil conflict is
not the sole issue between
India and Sri Lanka. There
are other irritants, which
Tamil Nadu politicians raise
from time to time such as
the Katchatheevu island.
This issue was settled four
decades ago but the DMK,
the AIADMK and other
Dravidian parties bring it up
when Colombo strictly
enforces its authority over the island
by arresting fishermen from Tamil
Nadu fishermen who poach in their
waters. In fact, tempers rose last week
after
Prime
Minister
Wickramesinghe suggested to a local
news channel that encroaching fishermen will be shot dead.
The other issue is the return of
some 1,00,000 Sri Lankan Tamil
refugees currently living in India.
New Delhi is already talking to
Colombo on this matter. Sri Lanka
watchers believe that the Modi visit
could improve ties but much depends
on the outcome of the ensuing parliamentary election in Sri Lanka.

International Women's Day does a disservice

to women by ignoring the fact that they are
humans first, and not just representatives of
their gender. It is repugnant to every human
being to be reckoned always as a member of
a class and not as an individual person

here was an inspiring

Google Doodle on for
International Womens
Day. There were women in lab
coats, chefs hats, judges wigs,
astronauts suits and an
inclusive touch in hijab,
doing calligraphy. The intention was to make the unenlightened think: Wow,
women can do all these highpowered things. Isnt that just
fabulous? To which my own,
irritable response was yes, of
course, they/we, can; why
state the obvious? Why go on
about it?
Celebrating women in
this that or the other field isnt
a feelgood exercise; its a
reminder of how impossible it
would be to put the boot on
the other foot and celebrate
mens contribution in the same
discipline. This isnt to denigrate women; there are excellent reasons why there are
fewer women artists than men.
If you wilfully excluded
women from the salons where
ideas were exchanged and
artists mingled, and from the
studios and academies, well, of
course you werent going to
get them flourishing in the
same way as men. But my
unease about International
Womens Day is more fundamental than that. Its why, in
fact, Id say Im not a feminist.
Id prefer to define myself as
a human being rather than in
terms of gender.
Dorothy L Sayers, the dis-

tinguished medieval scholar,

put her finger on the problem.
In a talk entitled Are Women
Human? delivered to a
womens society in 1938, she
observed, A woman is just as
much an ordinary human
being as a man, with the same
individual preferences, and
with just as much right to the
tastes and preferences of an
individual. What is repugnant to every human being is
to be reckoned always as a
member of a class and not as
an individual person.
A certain amount of classification is, of course, necessary for practical purposes;
there is no harm in saying that
women, as a class, have smaller bones than men go more
pertinaciously to church or
have more patience with small
and noisy babies. What is
unreasonable and irritating is
to assume that all ones tastes
and preferences have to be
conditioned by the class to
which one belongs. That has
been the very common error
into which men have frequently fallen about
womenand into which feminist women are a little inclined
to fall about themselves.
She started her lecture by
observing that the time for
feminism had long past.
Which was interesting for a
woman who got her first class
degree at Oxford exactly 100
years ago and had to put up
with patronage from male

MELANIE MCDONAGH

academics of the kind she

describes in her novel Gaudy
Night. It wasnt that she was
self-hating she gave short
shrift to those, including
Dante, who idealised women
but rather, as another academic put it, the liberation of
women was not a cause Sayers
espoused but a way of life she
practised on the premises that
male and female are adjectives
qualifying the noun human
being? Or to put it another
way, humanity trumps gender.
Thats the approach I
think we should all take:
Humans and individuals first,
men or women second. Id say
Im a humanist rather than a
feminist, if the word hadnt
been misappropriated by militant atheists. Most of the
really inspiring women I have
known werent feminists. The
woman to whom I owe most
outside my family was my
director of studies at my
(womens) college, Zara
Steiner, a distinguished historian, but no feminist.
Elizabeth Anscombe
was a familiar figure around
college. A philosopher, she
used to give feminists
apoplexy by arguing against
contraception. Women such
as these, like Sayers, were
individuals, distinguished
scholars with pronounced
personalities, and didnt see
any need to hang their identity on gender solidarity.
(The Daily Telegraph)

nation 10

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

Mufti Govt J&K flag circular to raise BJP's hackles again?

MOHIT KANDHARI n JAMMU

Resolution on Afzal Guru to

test BJP, PDP ties in House

fresh circular issued by

Mufti Mohd Sayeed-led
alliance Government in Jammu
& Kashmir on Thursday directed all the Constitutional
authorities to maintain the
sanctity of the State Flag, at all
costs, as is being done in
respect of the Union Flag.
The circular issued by the
General Administration
Department (GAD) of the State
Government stated, "as per the
Constitution of J&K and the
Delhi Agreement of 1952 and
keeping in view the historical
background, the State Flag has
the same sanctity and position
as the Union Flag has under the
Indian Constitution and other
statutory provisions. Therefore,
the sanctity and position has to
be maintained at all costs".
The said circular may trigger another round of war of
words between the alliance
partners Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) in the State.
Since the BJP has been passionately chanting slogan of 'Ek
Pradhan, Ek Vidhan, Ek Nishan'
(One PM, One Constitution
and One Flag) it may hesitate to
stand shoulder to shoulder with
the PDP over the matter.
Since the State of Jammu &
Kashmir enjoys special status

under the Indian Constitution

it is permitted to fly its own
State flag due to its separate
Constitution.
J&K started drafting its
own Constitution by setting up
the Constituent Assembly on
May 1, 1951. It completed the
exercise and was dissolved on
January 25, 1957.
But the Constitution was
enacted by the Assembly on
November 17, 1956. The State
started celebrating the Republic
Day with the rest of the country only when Bakshi Ghulam
Mohammad started hoisting
the Tricolour on January 26.
At present, the State Flag is
hoisted atop Civil Secretariat
complex in both the capital
cities of Jammu and Srinagar and
is also used on the official cars
of Council of Ministers. There
are some Constitutional author-

ities in the State who do not use

State Flag on their cars neither
hoist it atop their offices. The
State flag is not unfurled along
with the Union Flag on August
15 and January 26.
Interestingly the circular
issued by the GAD maintains,
"It's non-hoisting along with the
Union Flag amounts to insult to
the Flag as per the provisions of
the J&K Prevention of Insult to
State Honours Act 1979".
As per the circular "the
Flag shall always be hosted
jointly on the buildings housing Constitutional Institutions
and shall be used on the official cars of Constitutional
authorities."
"Any deviation in this regard
shall amount to insult to the
Jammu & Kashmir Prevention of
Insult to State Honours Act,
1979," the circular added.

Jammu: After the first round of

face-off over the release of hardline separatist leader Masarat
Alam the alliance partners are
set to face another litmus test
during the Budget Session
beginning from March 18 over
the issue of supporting a private
members resolution on returning mortal remains of Mohd
Afzal Guru to his family.
The new found camaraderie would be tested on the
floor of the House as one of the
Independent legislator from
Langate Assembly segment,
Engineer Abdul Rashid has
moved a private members resolution seeking return of mortal remains of Afzal Guru.
A group of PDP legislators
had earlier issued a statement to
woo Engineer Abdul Rashid to
secure his vote during the MLC
polls on March 2.
The joint statement issued
by the PDP legislators stated,
PDP has always maintained that
late Afzal Gurus hanging was
travesty of justice and constitutional requirements/process was
not followed in hanging him out
of turn. The way he was picked
up from serial no.28 and singled

out has been condemned by

PDP and it stands by the demand
for return of his mortal remains,
and the party promises to follow
vigorously for the return of the
mortal remains.
We believe that the resolution brought by Er. Rashid to
seek clemency for late Afzal
Guru was justified and should
have been adopted by the
House at that time, PDP legislators stated.
On the other hand, PDP's
alliance partner in the State BJP,
already batting on the back foot
Thursday made it clear that
efforts being made by vested
interests to vitiate peace and
tranquility of the State will be
thwarted by the BJP by concerted and strong efforts.
Chief spokesman of the BJP
Sunil Sethi said, an effort to
make hero out of a traitor is an
attempt to give fresh impetus to
dying militancy, which will never
be allowed by BJP. His mortal
remains coming to state will create a new terror centre and rallying point for anti national
forces and will be used by militants and separatists to carry forward their nefarious agenda.

Taking stock: CM holds

first Unified HQ meet
MOHIT KANDHARI n JAMMU

&K Chief Minister Mufti

Mohd Sayeed on Thursday
chaired first meeting of the
Unified Headquarters in Jammu
to take stock of the prevailing
security situation across the
State. During the meeting Mufti
stressed upon the need for
adopting a humane approach
while dealing with law and
order situations and exercising
zero tolerance towards human
rights' violations.
Senior officers of the
Udhampur-based Northern
Command headquarters also
listed urgent demands before
the Chairman of the Unified
Headquarters including notifying firing ranges in the State to
enable them to carry out their
routine training and practice
exercises without compromising
on their strike capabilities.
Indian Army is awaiting
formal nod of the State
Government for past several
months to notify the firing
ranges in both the regions of
the State.

The issue of firing

in border areas
from across the IB
& LoC and
rehabilitation of
border residents in
safer zones also
came up for
thorough
discussion in the
meeting
The issue of firing in border
areas from across the IB & LoC
and rehabilitation of border residents in safer zones also came
up for thorough discussion during the meeting. The Chief
Minister called for enhanced
vigil and asked the administration to provide shelter and all
basic facilities to the people
displaced at the time of firing.
During the maiden meeting, the Chief Minister also
sought cooperation from the
Army, Police and the Civil
Administration in creating a
peaceful environment to enable
the new Government to imple-

ment its agenda of good governance and development brought

in for the people of the State.
"Without peace, the goals
will be difficult to achieve,"
Mufti Sayeed stated while complimenting the security forces
and the civil administration for
their agility and coordination
in bringing in a perceptible
change on the ground and
maintaining peace in the State.
Deputy Chief Minister Dr
Nirmal Singh was also present
in the meeting, which was
attended by the top brass of the
Army, Police and the Civil
Administration.
On an array of issues related to internal security and manning LoC and the International
Border and land-related issues,
the Chief Minister asked the
Chief Secretary to shortly convene a Civil-Military Liaison
(CML) meeting to iron out and
resolve all pending issues.
During the meeting, the
issue of use of modern technology and equipment for
better surveillance was also
discussed.

Salman was not present on spot or Finding solutions to mess created by DF: Fadnavis
near residence after incident: IO U
TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

Court asks
Bandra police to
produce station
diaries to
examine entries
made in it by IO
on the day of
the incident

deposition
Inmadea significant
before a sessions court
in the ongoing re-trial in the
2002 hit-and-run case, a police
officer who registered an FIR
against Salman Khansaid on
Thursday that the actor was
missing from both the mishap
site and his nearby residence at
Bandra, after the much-discussed incident.
Testifying before the court
of Sessions Judge DW
Deshpande, Rajendra Kadam,
one of the investigating officers
who had registered a case
against the Bollywood actor for
alleged rash and negligent driving, said, When I reached the

Actor Salman Khan at the sessions

court in Mumbai on Thursday
PTI

2002 HIT-AND-RUN CASE RE-TRIAL

spot, I did not find the actor

there. Nor did I find him at his
nearby residence at Galaxy
apartments where I went after
visiting the incident site.
The Prosecutions case has
been that Salman allegedly in
a drunken state had driven
his Toyota Land Cruiser recklessly on September 28,2002,
killing a pavement dweller and
injuring four others, who were
asleep on the same pavement.
The actor himself surrendered
before the police a few hours
after the mishap.
Forty-nine-year-old Salman,
dressed in blue jeans and blue
shirt, was present in the court
room, when Kadam deposed.
The actor, sitting in the front row
along with sister Alvira, was seen
listening quietly to the evidence
being given by the police officer.
At times, the actor was seen
exchanging notes with his lawyer
Shrikant Shivade.
Acting on a request by
defence lawyer Shivade, the
Judge directed the Bandra
police to produce the case
diaries on Friday, for examination of entries made therein
by the investigation officer

concerned, on the first three

days of the incident.
Shivade told the court that
he wanted to examine the
entries in the station diary
before he continued the crossexamination of the police officer concerned on Friday.
Public Prosecutor Pradeep
Gharat said he had no objection whatsoever to produce
the case diaries provided they
were exhibited as evidence in
the court.
Elaborating on his evidence, Kadam informed the
court that he was on night duty
on the day of incident. After he
received a telephone call about
the accident, he rushed to the
site on his motorbike, along
with a police constable.
On reaching there, I found
people had gathered around the
spot. They were pushing
around the actors police bodyguard Ravindra Patil. After we
pulled out Patil from the crowd,
he told us as to what had happened. It was only then we
came to know that the actor
was involved in the incident,
Kadam told the court.
Kadam said that he regis-

tered an FIR against the actor

on the basis of a complaint filed
by constable Ravindra Patil,
who was then Salmans bodyguard. Patil told the police in
his complaint that the actor was
driving the car at the time of
the accident and that he was
under the influence of liquor at
that time.
Kadam's evidence is crucial
given that the court had last
week allowed the Prosecution
to rely upon the actor's bodyguard and eye-witness in the
case Ravindra Patil, who had
died during the original trial.
His statement had been recorded during the original trial.
Kadam further said that the
injured persons were sent to a
nearby hospital where their
statements were recorded. At
the accident spot, I saw a white
coloured car had rammed into
American Express bakery shop
after climbing three steps. The
cars number plate was lying on
the spot, he said.
Kadam recalled that he
saw five persons entangled and
trapped beneath the car when
he reached the spot.
Of the five persons, one of
them was dead, while four
others were injured. Of the
injured, two had sustained
severe injuries. The injured
were taken to Bhabha hospital
where two of the victims who
had sustained minor injuries
were discharged after preliminary treatment, he said.
Kadam said that inspection
of the vehicle showed blood on
the left front tyre of the car.

nder f lak f rom t he

Opp osition for his
Governments failure to fulfil its various poll promises,
Maharashtra Chief Minister
D e vendra Fadnavis on
Thursday sought to turn the
table on the Congress and
NCP, by saying that his
Government was trying to
find solution to numerous
problems created by the two
parties in their 15-year rule of
the State.
A day after senior NCP
leader Chhagan Bhujbal led
an Opposition attack against
the BJP-led saffron alliance
Government for its failure to
fulfil its poll promises and
asked the State Government
to revoke a MoU signed with

Gujarat in 2010 that had

resulted in Maharashtra losing out 135 TMC of surplus
water to the neighbouring
State, the CM said that his
Government was seeking
answers to the numerous
problems that surfaced during t he pre vious DF
Government.
Replying to a debate in
the State Assembly on the

he Ghar Wapsi programme

held at Pollachi, 538 km
west of Chennai last week in
which 65 persons were reconverted to Hinduism is being
more seen as a Tamil comedy
serial by the locals, according to
a senior intelligence officer in the
State. This kind of programme
has been happening in Tamil
Nadu on a regular basis for the
last six or seven years. Some people leave Hinduism and get converted to Christianity or Islam
while others from these religions
reconvert to Hinduism, the official told The Pioneer.
He said the Ghar Wapsi
resembles the Aaya Ram Gaya
Ram politics which was in
vogue in north Indian States in
the 1960s and 1970s. The only
difference in Tamil Nadu is that
the political outfits have been
replaced by religious outfits.
If in North India Ghar
Wapsi generates tension, here

THIS KIND OF PROGRAMME HAS BEEN

HAPPENING IN TAMIL NADU ON A REGULAR
BASIS FOR THE LAST SIX OR SEVEN YEARS.
SOME PEOPLE LEAVE HINDUISM AND GET
CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY OR ISLAM
WHILE OTHERS FROM THESE RELIGIONS
RECONVERT TO HINDUISM
Senior intelligence officer
in Pollachi it create comic
relief. People have started considering religions like political
parties, said MK Anantha
Ganeshan, principal, Sri
Krishna Vidyala, Pollachi.
Palani Goundar Natarajan
(63) and his wife Muthulakshmi
got converted to Christianity in
2011. My wife was diagnosed
with myasthenia gravis. The
priest of the local church told us
to get converted to Christianity
so that my wife would get the
healing touch of Jesus Christ,
said Natarajan. Both were baptised and Natarajan and
Muthulakshmi
became

Nehemia and Lilly Pushpam

respectively.
Initially the priest used to
visit our house once a fortnight
and prayed for us. But he made
us part with one-tenth of my
earnings every month. When I
could not pay that much
because of the medical bills of
my wife, he humiliated us, said
Natarajan, a staunch DMK
activist. When Lilly Pushpam
died last year, Nehemia felt that
his getting converted was of no
use and he decided to switch
back to his original religion.
Prakash (27) a driver, got
converted to Christianity for

who initiated the water conservation work in the State,

he CM said.
We know that we will
never be able to give flow irrigation to 50 per cent farmers
in the State. As a result, we
will have to undertake a programme to ensure moisture
security to farmers, Fadnavis
said.
For this campaign, the
district collector has been
made the nodal authority to
ensure coordination with 14
departments concerned,
Fadnavis said.
Dwelling upon the damage caused to standing crops
by the recent unseasonal
rains, the CM said, India
Meteorological Department
(IMD) has given us alerts.
There is a possibility of hail-

storm on March 13 and 14,

he said. The CM sought to
allay apprehensions expressed
by various political parties,
including the ruling Shiv
Sena, that the Mumbai development plan (DP) would
result in large-scale felling of
trees. The apprehensions
that the city will lose green
spaces are unfounded. The
Government will intervene
when needed, Fadnavis said.
He said the State had set
up a high-level committee to
study the adverse impact of
the proposed Mumbai Metro3 carshe d. The St ate
Government will take all
steps to ensure that no
Marathi manoos is relocated
out
of
Mumb ai
or
Maharashtra due to any project, the CM said.

Goa beaches to Tamil TV channel

be examined
bombed, none hurt
for carrying
Two assailants Motorcycle-borne
capacity
assailants, alleged
MAYABHUSHAN n PANAJI

Kashmiri boatmen row their shikara, small boat during sunset at the Dal Lake in
PTI
Srinagar on Thursday

Its Aaya Ram Gaya Ram, not Ghar Wapsi

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN n
POLLACHI

motion of thanks for the

Governors address to a joint
sitting of members of the
two Houses, Fadnavis said:
You (Congress-NCP) have
created the problems. We are
t r y ing
to
f ind
answers...People also know
that mistakes of 15 years
cant be rectified in three to
four
mont hs.
This
Government will ensure
transformation of the State.
Contesting a statement
by former Deputy CM Ajit
Pawar who had claimed credit to launching Jalyutka
Shivar water conservation
programme under which 14
schemes were integrated by
the previous Government,
Fadnavis said, If at all credit has to be given for this, it
should go to late YB Chavan,

the sake of his fiance. But

when she walked out of the
relation and the church officials
pressuring him for the monthly subscription, Prakash, who
had changed his name to
John Stephen switched back to
Hinduism.
The Sunday congregation
was to educate us about the
necessity to convert the entire
country. The priest pointed out
that India remains a poor country because people worship idols
and animals. He told that
Europe and the USA are rich
because they are blessed by
Jesus Christ, he said.
But Jacob Rajan, the soft
spoken priest of Assembly of
God Church in Pollachi denied
all allegations. We never
encouraged anyone to get converted into Christianity. Those
who got converted did it on
their own. We have prayer
meetings everyday and we dont
charge money, said Rajan.
Mubina, a Muslim girl who
got converted into Hinduism

said that she did it on her own.

My husband is a Hindu and he
married me without taking
any dowry. It is my duty to be
with him , said Mubina whose
new name is Mahalakshmi.
Her mother Mymoona and
siblings had come from
Tirunelveli to bless her,
Mubina, whose new name is
Mahalakshmi said.
The reconversion affair is
simpler than hopping from
one party to another. Every
year we have been organising
Ghar Vapsi programmes like
this for the benefit of those who
want to come back to
Hinduism. There is no pressure
on anybody, said Sivakumar
and Sreenivasan, leaders of
Hindu Munnani which facilitates the home coming.
According to Rajan, more
than thousand people attend the
weekly congregation in his airconditioned church. Those
who claim to have gone back are
not real Christians. They are like
party-hoppers, he said.

he Goa Government will

write to the National National
Institute of Oceanography to
study the carrying capacity of the
State's world famous beaches to
determine the optimum number
of private shacks to manageable
numbers. Speaking to The
Pioneer Goa State Pollution
Control Board chairman Jose
Noronha said that a new mechanism was being evolved to set up
clean, paid public toilets on popular beach stretches.
"There may be too many
shacks on the beaches. The carrying capacity of the beaches itself
should be studied. The Board had
decided to ask NIO to study the
carrying capacity of the beaches
to understand really how many
shacks could be ideally put on a
particular stretch of beach,"
Noronha said.
According to the current
system kitchen waste as well as
sewage is temporarily stored in a
buried plastic tank, which is
then sucked out by the sewage
sucker tanker and taken to a
sewage treatment plant.
However, the Goa State Coastal
Zone Management Authority
has taken objection to the current
system given that buying tanks in
in the sand invariably involves
destruction of sand dunes.
The NIO is a Central
Government agency which functions under the aegis of the
Council of Scienctific and
Industrial Research.
Noronha said that the carrying capacity study would look
at issues related to sewage management and solid waste management in relation to beach
shacks. Several hundred beach
shacks cater to the over three million tourists who arrive in Goa
annually for fun and frolic. The
shacks, which have serve a wide
range of food and alcohol are
licenced every tourist season
and have to be dismantled with
the advent of the monsoons.
Besides the shacks on the beach
there are several shacks on private land.

surrender later

to be members of a
fringe group named
Hindu Sena, hurled
crude
bombs at the
otorcycle-borne assailants,
office of Puthiya
alleged to be members of a
Thalaimurai
fringe group named Hindu Sena,

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN n CHENNAI

hurled crude bombs at the office

of Puthiya Thalaimurai, a Tamil
TV channel in Chennai in the
early hours of Thursday. Though
the bombs, packed in tiffin
boxes, fell inside the compound
of the TV channel and exploded, no causality has been reported.
The attack is believed to be
a fallout between a Hindu outfit and the channel over the telecast of a debate on whether
Hindu women should continue
the practice of wearing
Mangalasutra. The channel
owned by Pachamuthu, who was
an ally of the BJP in the 2014
Assembly election is known for
its pro-LTTE leanings.
Two persons, said to be
office-bearers of the Hindu
Sena, surrendered to the police
later in the day. Media organisations in Chennai and the
remaining parts of Tamil Nadu
staged demonstrations all over
the State to protest against the
attack on freedom of expression.

A group of Hindu
Munnani activists staged a
demonstration in front of the
channel office to protest against
the telecast of the discussion
which they claim is against
Indian culture. There was an
allegation by the channel
employees that a cameraman
working with the channel was
manhandled by the Hindu
Munnani workers though the
organisation denied the charge.
It is a blatant lie. The
channel authorities are trying
to portray us in bad light
which they have been doing
since its launch. Now what they
are doing is to make false allegations against Hindu
Munnani said Ram Gopalan,
the octogenarian convenor of
the organisation.
BJP State chief Tamilisai
Soundararajan came down heavily on the attack on the channel
office. She said neither the BJP
nor related organisations were
involved in the attack.

Sangh outfits draw

ire for attack
Chennai: The attack against Puthiya Thalaimurai, a Tamil TV channel
created a major controversy with various political parties condemning the
Sangh Parivar outfits for trying to violate the freedom of expression while
the Hindu outfits deny any role in the attack. Forty five-year-old Jayam
Pandi, who claims himself to be the president of Hindu Illaignar Sena
(Hindu Youth Army) surrendered before the Judicial Magistrate, Madurai,
in connection with the bomb attack against the Tamil TV Channel in
Chennai on Thursday. Though the attack happened in Chennai around 3
am on Thursday, Pandi surrendered at Madurai within hours of the
attack. Police in Madurai said he has been sent to judicial custody for 15
days. Pandi is an accused in many cases including attempt to murder.
But, Virat Hindu Sangatana, an umbrella organisation incorporating
various Hindu organisations said Jayam Pandi is not connected with any
of the Sangh Parivar outfits. There is no Hindu Illaignar Sena among the
Sangh Parivar organisations. Jayam Pandi is a dubious character who
has been associated with various Tamil chauvinist groups.
PNS

money 11

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

The market should cross 10,000

units in the coming two years
and Triumph expects to be
selling 2,500 units annually in
India in the next two-three year
timeframe
TRIUMPH INDIA MANAGING
DIRECTOR VIMAL SUMBLY

Government is moving ahead"

slowly but steadily with a series
of key policy and fiscal reforms
that "would change" the face of India
in the years to come.

BUZZ
FROM

CORP & GOVT

CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISOR

ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN

India pitches for rating upgrade by Fitch

PNS n NEW DELHI

ndia on Thursday pitched for

a rating upgrade by global
agency Fitch saying that the
country's growth prospects
have improved on account of
recent reform measures as well
as lower oil prices, and its fiscal consolidation programme is
on track.
In their meeting with Fitch
representatives, senior Finance
Ministry officials highlighted
various initiatives announced
in the Budget 2015-16 which
are expected to boost investment and growth.
The officials highlighted
the Government's commitment to stick to targets set for
the fiscal as well as the current
account deficits.
Talking to reporters after
the meeting, a senior Finance
Ministry official said the
Government representatives
also talked about declining
inflation as a big positive for the
economy.
"India is on the path of fiscal consolidation and budget
paved way for increased investment. We have made a case for
ratings upgrade. There is no
reason why rating agencies
should not look at upgrading

Reform on anvil that would change the face of India

India still a recovering economy, not a surging economy
PTI n WASHINGTON

"This budget maintains and accelerates the reform momentum," he said.

"Big bang reforms in robust -what I say frustratingly vibrant democracies such as India -- are the exception, rather than the rule. In countries
like India power is so dispersed,
there's so many veto centres -- the
Centre, the states, different institutions.
"You know, the power to do,
undo, block, is so extensive, that, you
know, it's a bit unreasonable,"
Subramanian said in his address to the
prestigious Peterson Institute for
International Economics.
"India is neither in crisis or was
neither in crisis. I mean, nor is it one
of those places where you can just
pull these levers and expect a big
bang reform. So the argument we
were making is this is just a completely unreasonable standard to
apply to India," Subramanian told

n vibrant democracies like India,

with multiple veto centres, it is
"unreasonable" to expect "big bang
reforms", country's top economist
has said.
In his maiden public appearance
in Washington after being appointed
as India's Chief Economic Advisor last
year, Arvind Subramanian, also told
a top American think-tank this week
that India is "still very much a recovering economy, not a surging economy".
He said though it was unreasonable to expect big bang reforms
announcement in annual budget, the
new "Government is moving ahead"
slowly but steadily with a series of key
policy and fiscal reforms that "would
change" the face of India in the years
to come.
India," the official said.
Global rating agencies
Fitch, S&P and Moody's have

assigned lowest investment

grade rating to India, although
with a stable outlook.

After the presentation of

Budget on February 28, Fitch
had praised the Government's

Industrial production
grows 2.6% in January
PNS n NEW DELHI

ndustrial production grew 2.6 per

cent in January primarily because
of improvement in manufacturing
activity and better offtake of capital
goods.
The growth in factory output, as
measured by the Index of Industrial
Production (IIP), was 1.1 per cent in
January 2014.
For the April-January period of
2014-15, IIP grew 2.5 per cent as
against a meagre rise of 0.1 per cent
in same period of the last fiscal as per
the data released by Central Statistics
Office (CSO) on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the December IIP has
been revised upwards to 3.23 per cent
from the provisional estimates of 1.7
per cent released last month.
As per Government data released
today, manufacturing output, which
constitutes over 75 per cent to the
index, grew by 3.3 per cent in January
compared to a meagre growth of 0.3
per cent in the same month a year ago.
For April-January period, the
sector saw an output growth of 1.7 per
cent, compared to a contraction of 0.3
per cent in the year-ago period.
The production of capital goods,
a barometer of demand, grew by 12.8
per cent in January as against a contraction of 3.9 per cent in same
month of last year.
During the April-January period,
capital goods output grew by 5.7 per
cent as against a dip of 0.8 per cent.
Fourteen out of the 22 industry
groups in the manufacturing sector
have shown positive growth during

Retail inflation edges up to

5.37% on costlier food items
PNS n NEW DELHI

he retail inflation rose to 5.37

per cent in February on highT
er prices of food items, including
vegetables and beverages.
The consumer price based
retail inflation (consumer price
index or CPI) for February is calculated with a new base year of
2012.
For January, the retail inflation
with a new base year has been
revised upwards to 5.19 per cent
from 5.11 per cent estimated earlier. The CPI in February last year
was 7.88 per cent.
Food inflation during the
month under review rose to 6.79
per cent from 6.06 per cent in
January. The rise in inflation in
food items was mainly due to costlier vegetables, pulses and beverages.
The rate of price rise in vegetables went up by 13.01 per cent;
in pulses and products by 10.61
per cent, while the same in the
food & beverages category rates
moved up by 6.76 per cent.
Inflation in fruits was 8.93 per
cent.
the month of January year-on-year.
According to the IIP data, the
power generation grew by2.7 per cent
in January compared to 6.5 per cent

in the same month last year.

During April-January period,
electricity production grew by 9.3 per
cent compared to a growth of 5.7 per
cent in the corresponding period last
fiscal.
However the output in the mining sector contracted by 2.8 per cent
in January, compared to a growth of
2.7 per cent in the same month last
year. During April-January period,
output has grown by 1.3 per cent
compared to a contraction of 1.1 per
cent year-on-year.
The overall consumer goods output has declined by 1.9 per cent in
January compared to a dip of 0.5 per
cent in the same month last year.
During April-January, the output of
these goods contracted by 4.7 per cent
compared to a dip of 2.7 per cent in
the corresponding period last fiscal.
Similarly, consumer durables output also contracted by 5.3 per cent
compared to a decline in production
by 8.3 per cent in the same month last
year. In April-January the output
declined by 14.2 per cent compared
to a dip of 12.5 per cent in the same
period last fiscal.
The consumer non-durable production also contracted by 0.1 per
cent in January compared to a growth
of 4.5 per cent in same month last
year. During April-January the output grew by 1.9 per cent compared to
a growth of 5.7 per cent.
The intermediate goods also
saw decline in production by 0.8 per
cent in January compared to a
growth of 4.3 per cent in same
month last year.

continued focus on implementation of structural

reforms, but had said the medi-

Spectrum auction bids

cross `1 lakh crore mark
NEW DELHI: Government's proceeds from
the spectrum auction on Thursday crossed
`1 lakh crore mark as aggressive bidding
took place across all bands on the eighth day
of the biggest sale of 2G and 3G airwaves.
The amount is expected to rise further
as there is spectrum which is yet to be sold.
The auction will continue tomorrow. So far,
over 86 per cent of the spectrum has been
provisionally allocated to bidders.
Upbeat at the positive outcome of the
bidding for the airwaves, Telecom Minister
Ravi Shankar Prasad told the news agency:
"It is a matter of great assurance for us to
know that the bid amount today crossed `1
lakh crore plus closing at `1,02,000 crore."
The bid amount crossing `1 lakh crore
shows the trust and optimism in the new
government's ability and potential to take
fair decision and the inherent potential
which the telecom segment holds out for
future growth, he added.
Prasad complimented all the participants in the auction.
The telecom auction proceeds crossed
`1 lakh crore mark on a day when the longpending insurance bill was passed in
Parliament, becoming the first major economic reform of the Narendra Modi government. Besides, the proceeds from coal
auction earlier this week crossed `2 lakh
crore mark while exceeding CAG's earlier
loss estimate of `1.86 lakh crore.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) said
at the end of 49 rounds, bids grew to over
`1 lakh crore.
"There is aggressive bidding going on
in all bands i.E. 2100 MHz, 1800 MHz, 900
MHz and 800 MHz bands. At the end of
49th round, over 86 per cent of the spectrum has been provisionally allocated to
bidders at a value of approximately Rs
1,02,000 crore," the DoT said.
The Department added that a majority of service areas are going at a premium
over reserve price and the competitive bidding is expected to continue.

the global financial think-tank,

where he worked before being
appointed as Indias Chief Economic
Advisor.
In his power-point presentation
on the annual Indian budget presented by the Union Finance
Minister, Arun Jaitley, he said it
focusses on key areas including
push for public investment.
"We are pushing growth via
public and private investment. It is
not coming at the cost of fiscal consolidation. It's accompanied by an
improvement in the quality of fiscal
consolidation. So this is a big part
of the budget," he said.
"The impulse to growth has to
come in the short run from public
investment. And that's going to
depend to a great extent upon
implementation capacity in the public sector," he said.

um-term fiscal consolidation

strategy is "less aspiring" than
in the past, which is a negative

from a sovereign rating perspective.

"GDP growth prospects

are expected to improve due to

four factors - declining oil
prices, cumulative effect of
reforms, lower interest rates
and better monsoon forecast.
India's compulsion to reduce
fiscal deficit has somewhat
lessened," the official said.
He stressed that centre and
states are following a credible
fiscal consolidation roadmap
and 3.9 per cent fiscal deficit
target for 2015-16 was feasible.
Also the Current Account
Deficit is expected to remain
within manageable level, he
added.
Rolling out a new fiscal
consolidation roadmap,
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
had said in the Budget that fiscal deficit would be brought
down to 3.9 per cent of GDP in
2015-16, and then further to
3.6 per cent and finally to 3 per
cent by 2016-17 and 2017-18,
respectively.
The Finance Minister had
said the Government would
achieve the 3 per cent fiscal
deficit target by 2017-18 as
against 2016-17 as it intends to
increase public investment to
boost growth.
As regards CAD, Jaitley
said it will be less than 1.3 per
cent of GDP.

Triumph launches two

new bikes, expands portfolio

PNS n NEW DELHI

ritish motorcycle manufacturer on Thursday

launched two new adventure
motorcycles from its line-up
in India. The Tiger XRx and
XCx are extensions of the
Tiger 800 line-up for
Triumph and the motorcycles
both feature the manufacturers signature 800cc threecylinder engine that produces 95PS. Both new motorcycles will be assembled in
India.
Vimal Sumbly, Managing
Director, Triumph India
while speaking to The Pioneer
pointed out that Triumph
had a two-pronged strategy
of both being affordable as

well as being technologically advanced. Both these

motorcycles feature revolutionary ride-by-wire that
allows for a smoother throttle response. In addition, we
also have switchable antilock brakes and traction control as well as four different
throttle mapping modes that
can get t he r ider ver y
involved with the motorcycle.
The market for 500ccplus motorcycles has expanded from around 400 units in
2009-10 to over 8500 in the
first eleven moths of the current 2014-15 fiscal.
According to Sumbly, the
market should cross 10,000
units in the coming two years

and Triumph expects to be

selling 2,500 units annually in
India in the next two-three
year timeframe. In order to
do this, the company is
adding two new dealerships
in the Indian market in
Indore and Jaipur later this
year in addition to the ten
pre-existing dealerships.
Sumbly pointed out that
Triumph is also working with
banks in order to make their
products more affordable to
the general public.
By assembling in India
we can also offer our products to consumers for less, he
added. The upcoming XR
will cost `10.5 lakh, and the
XRx costs `11.6 lakh with the
XCx costing `12.7 lakh.

Cairn tax case: UK asks India to provide stable biz climate

NEW DELHI: Concerned over
the `10,247 crore tax notice
slapped on Cairn Energy by
Indian authorities, UK on
Thursday asked India to provide
"predictable, stable and attractive" business environment and
not only talk about it.
British Foreign Minister
Philip Hammond, who arrived
in India yesterday on a two-day
visit, met Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley earlier in the day
and raised the Cairn tax issue
with him. Jaitley reiterated
Government's assurance that it
will not issue any new notices
for retrospective tax demands,
he told reporters.
The visiting minister also
advocated scrapping of retrospective tax demands to make
India an attractive investment
destination.
Hammond said, however,
Jaitley told him that the tax case

Jaitley may face investor queries in UK on Cairn tax demand

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley is likely to face queries over the
tax department's `10,247 crore
demand notice to UK-based Cairn
Energy, when he meets foreign
investors in London on Thursday.
Jaitley is likely to explain the
Government's stance on the use of retrospective tax law.
Sources in the Finance Ministry
maintained that the demand was
issued as per "an established process

involving Cairn has to be

resolved through the courts as
the process has already started.
"It (Cairn tax case) did
come up during my meeting
with Jaitley... For India to attract
investments, it is not enough to
say we are open to business as

of law" that requires assessments to be

closed within two years of the beginning of the scrutiny.
The case came under scrutiny of
the I-T department in 2013, following
which it served a draft assessment
order on Cairn Energy earlier this
week.
Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta
Das had told the news agency last
week that tax demand in all the cases
where assessment is pending will be

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

has done.
"The country also has to set
out clear signals that the business climate and business environment is predictable, stable
and attractive for international
investments," the British min-

issued as that is the requirement of the

law.
The tax demand relates to an
alleged `24,500 crore worth capital
gains it made in 2006 while transferring all its India assets to a new company, Cairn India, and got it listed on
the stock exchanges.
Jaitley and other leaders have
been saying that the Government
was in favour of non-adversarial taxation regime.

ister said, adding that Jaitley

"explained that this particular
tax demand is being sent out
pursuant to a notice that was
issued by previous government."
Asked if he was satisfied
with the assurance or scrapping
of the tax demand against Cairn

In his Budget speech last month,

Jaitley had said: "I reiterate what I had
said in the last Budget that ordinarily retrospective tax provisions adversely impact the stability and predictability of the taxation regime and
resort to such provisions shall be
avoided".
Jaitley is traveling to London for
the unveiling of a bronze statue of
Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament
Square, London, on March 14.

Energy would be a good deal,

Hammond said, "Ultimately,
scrapping any retrospective tax
legislation would be a good way
to reassure the investors.
"Anything that could be
done to make legislative position more certain, clear and free

of retrospectivity will make

India more attractive investment
destination." But he noted that
Jaitley has made it clear that the
present case has to be resolved
through courts.
Earlier this week, Income
Tax Department slapped a

`10,247 crore ($1.6 billion) tax

demand on Cairn Energy Plc,
for an alleged `24,500 crore
worth capital gains it made in
2006 while transferring all its
India assets to a new company,
Cairn India, and got it listed on
the stock exchanges.
Cairn joins a slew of multinational firms including
Vodafone Group Plc and Royal
Dutch Shell Plc that have been
slapped with retrospective tax
demands by Indian authorities.
Noting that business hates
restrospectivity because that
means business cannot plan,
Hammond said he suggested to
Jaitley that he should make it
"loud and clear" during his UK
visit from tomorrow that the
government will not issue any
fresh notices on retrospective
tax demands.
"It would be a good idea if
he could make that message

loud and clearly in London

tomorrow at investors conference. Because it (tax issues) is on
the mind of investors and there
is a real danger that it will
undermine the message government is seeking to send
out," he said.
Asserting that it was
in the interest of both UK and
India to have a climate that was
conducive for investments in
India by British companies, the
minister it was Government's
duty to represent the interest of
Cairn as a British company.
"They (Cairn) are of course
not happy that the demand has
been issued and fiercely contest
that there is any tax maintaining that they are fully compliant
to their tax obligations and do
not owe this tax and we will
continue to press the
Government on the case,"
Hammond added.

money 12

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

Sensex rebounds 271 pts on

Govt may set up new Ministry Xiaomi to start manufacturing

for pharmaceuticals sector phones in India by the next year: Jain

insurance bill hopes, IMF upgrade

PNS n NEW DELHI

PRIYANKA DUA n NEW DELHI

quities rebounded
from 1-month lows
on Thursday with benchmark Sensex surging 271
points, its first rise in four
sessions, as investors
went on a buying spree in
beaten-down shares
enthused by IMF upping
India growth forecast
and on hopes of insurance bill passage in
Parliament.
Buying was also seen
ahead of macro data
release like IIP for January and retail inflation for February later
today.
The BSE Sensex rallied 271.24 points to end at 28,930.41 and
the NSE Nifty reclaimed its 8700-mark as it gained 76.05 points
to end at 8,776.00.
Fears over an imminent rise in US interest rates had wreaked
havoc in global financial markets recently. Indian benchmark indices
cracked about 2.7 per cent in three days.
Analysts said passage of the insurance bill could raise optimism
that other stalled reforms would also move ahead.
While the government has promulgated an ordinance to hike
FDI in insurance business from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, a bill
in this regard is scheduled to be tabled in Rajya Sabha today. The
bill was passed by the Lok Sabha last week.
After a strong start, key indices maintained its buoyancy
throughout as confident investors lapped up shares in power, realty, consumer durables, FMCG, capital goods and auto. Additionally,
mid-cap and small-cap stocks surged.
"Besides firm Asian markets, sentiments were up-beat with
IMF's latest report raising its forecasts of India's economic growth
to 7.2 per cent in the current fiscal year, compared to 5.6 per cent
predicted earlier," said Jayant Manglik, President-retail distribution, Religare Securities.
The Sensex opened higher at 28,798.61 and traded between
28,971.01 and 28,772.71 before concluding at 28,930.41, showing
a smart rise of 271.24, or 0.95 per cent.
The 50-share broader CNX Nifty also bounced back by 76.05
points, or 0.87 per cent to end at 8,776.00.

NIFTY STOCK WATCH

SCRIP
CAIRN
SSLT
NTPC
HINDALCO
DLF
SUNPHARMA
BHEL
TATAMOTORS
TATASTEEL
ITC
NMDC
ACC
PNB
AMBUJACEM
BANKBARODA
ICICIBANK
INFY
JINDALSTEL
ZEEL
POWERGRID
GAIL
BHARTIARTL
HEROMOTOCO
ONGC
GRASIM
TATAPOWER
RELIANCE
ULTRACEMCO
MARUTI
HDFC
SBIN
CIPLA
TCS
LUPIN
LT
IDFC
WIPRO
AXISBANK
INDUSINDBK
ASIANPAINT
HCLTECH
BPCL
HDFCBANK
KOTAKBANK
HINDUNILVR
COALINDIA
DRREDDY
BAJAJ-AUTO
M&M
TECHM

OPEN HIGH
228.1
235
194.65 202.5
154 164.75
131.75 135.7
146.5 149.95
1,012.65 1,039.80
259.95 264.95
554.9 566.95
327.7 336.4
339.05 348.25
128.5 131.9
1,626.80 1,659.90
164.8 167.1
261 268.7
178.5 181.75
337.55 339.7
2,179.00 2,226.45
192.6 196.4
349.2
354
148.05 152.4
389.2 395.8
389.45 399.9
2,624.80 2,647.40
311 313.95
3,720.00 3,779.00
81.25
82.4
858 867.4
2,998.00 3,029.95
3,667.40 3,719.95
1,332.90 1,343.45
288.15 289.45
719.15
728
2,623.90 2,624.90
1,875.00 1,889.85
1,750.00 1,765.00
169.9 171.55
655.8 656.95
587.5 593.5
893 902.5
814.8
815
2,065.00 2,079.30
752.35 758.55
1,060.10 1,063.90
1,387.00 1,390.65
968 972.8
369.85 372.25
3,470.00 3,505.00
2,105.00 2,113.00
1,260.30 1,261.25
2,938.35 2,940.05

LOW
225
194
153
129.1
145.05
1,010.00
259
554.3
327.45
338.8
128.5
1,621.25
164.55
261
177.7
334.65
2,177.00
192
346.15
148.05
389
387.05
2,616.20
308.9
3,712.65
81.2
855.6
2,994.15
3,662.10
1,316.35
286.1
711
2,590.10
1,860.00
1,740.15
168.4
646.5
582.7
888.8
805.2
2,042.25
747.95
1,051.10
1,354.85
955.6
363
3,415.20
2,067.00
1,233.25
2,852.25

LTP CHANGE
234.45
10.8
201.5
8.8
159
5.25
134.5
4.15
149.15
4.1
1,038.00 28.15
264.7
6.8
564.95 14.05
333.3
8
346.4
8.2
131.9
3.1
1,654.95 34.25
166.45
3.3
265
5.15
180.2
3.3
338.5
5.85
2,215.05 32.85
193.5
2.65
353.5
4.8
149.9
2
394.5
5.25
394.45
4.9
2,643.80
31.1
312.75
3.25
3,737.80
36.8
81.6
0.75
863.5
7.55
3,011.00
23.9
3,685.00 28.55
1,331.40
8.65
286.7
1.55
721
3.3
2,618.20 11.65
1,879.95
7.95
1,743.85
4.15
169
0.25
655.1
0.35
583.6
-0.25
889.4
-0.8
807.65
-1.35
2,055.00
-4.05
749.3
-1.55
1,054.00
-2.45
1,365.15 -10.75
960.8
-8.1
365.55
-3.75
3,429.25 -38.75
2,069.85 -28.45
1,241.00
-19.3
2,860.00 -61.65

JUNIOR NIFTY
SCRIP
OPEN HIGH LOW
LTP CHANGE
RELCAPITAL
450 498.7
450
492 50.15
IDEA
163.5 175.95 162.4 174.55 10.65
SIEMENS
1,401.00 1,489.80 1,392.65 1,474.00 82.15
RELINFRA
462 486.95 461.8 483.25
24
EXIDEIND
187.5 193.55
187 192.55
8.95
RCOM
66.5 70.65 66.05
69.55
3.15
AUROPHARMA 1,115.10 1,160.60 1,111.00 1,154.00 42.35
ABIRLANUVO 1,620.00 1,684.90 1,620.00 1,670.05 55.55
SAIL
67.25 69.25
66.9
68.25
2.2
BOSCHLTD 26,360.0027,394.0026,360.0027,312.10 873.7
SRTRANSFIN 1,171.00 1,217.95 1,168.25 1,204.85 38.25
RPOWER
58.55
60
58.3
60
1.9
INFRATEL
377.25 393.7 377.25
388.8 11.15
CUMMINSIND 884.95
915 884.85
909
25.2
CROMPGREAV
179 180.1 177.3 179.95
4.4
JSWSTEEL
935 964.9
935 952.65
22
BHARATFORG 1,315.00 1,338.00 1,310.00 1,334.00 29.05
APOLLOHOSP 1,350.00 1,377.00 1,324.60 1,377.00
29.9
DIVISLAB
1,778.00 1,805.95 1,770.05 1,805.00
31.5
DABUR
269.45 273.4 268.65
272
4.5
M&MFIN
252.55 256.25 252.4 254.45
3.75
TATAGLOBAL
158.5 161.4 157.85
160.2
2.35
BAJAJFINSV 1,473.00 1,491.75 1,473.00 1,479.00 20.65
TITAN
401.5 406.7 400.25 404.55
4.7
EICHERMOT 16,140.0016,377.3516,060.0016,240.00 186.15
MOTHERSUMI 487.95 495.9 482.05
492
5.05
BANKINDIA
219.7
223 219.05
220.1
2.2
ADANIPORTS 306.55
312
304 310.75
2.95
ADANIENT
654 659.7 649.6 654.65
5.95
FEDERALBNK
138.7 140.6 138.45
139.5
1.05
HINDPETRO
618.95
629
618
623.8
4.55
UPL
424 431.8 420.25
428.2
2.65
GLENMARK
836
850
825
836
4.9
UNIONBANK
171.4 172.45 170.1
170.8
0.9
GODREJCP 1,148.45 1,169.00 1,138.00 1,152.65
5.95
OIL
486.1 490.6 483.2
486.9
2.05
CANBK
410.8 413.75
407
408.7
1.5
BAJAJHLDNG 1,382.00 1,395.00 1,358.05 1,382.45
4.8
PFC
289 291.8 287.3
288.2
0.95
GSKCONS
5,802.00 5,880.05 5,802.00 5,864.90
9.8
TATACHEM
449.95 454.6 447.75
450
0.15
UBL
1,026.80 1,030.80 1,017.15 1,020.00
0.25
COLPAL
2,119.70 2,139.00 2,108.00 2,110.00
-0.5
YESBANK
829 833.5 819.6
822.5
-0.4
RECLTD
351.3
353 347.5 347.75
-0.25
PETRONET
176 178.05
176
177
-0.2
LICHSGFIN
467.5 470.1
460 465.25
-0.65
OFSS
3,281.00 3,350.00 3,267.00 3,267.00 -35.95
CONCOR
1,670.00 1,670.00 1,632.70 1,639.30 -25.45
GLAXO
3,360.00 3,361.95 3,280.05 3,301.50 -57.85

PNS n NEW DELHI

G over nment may

a s eparate
Theest ablish
Ministry for the pharmaceuticals sector, which would
comprise all departments that
deal with issues related to the
industry. "For the benefit of
end user, the customer and
considering the size of industry... There should be a separate Pharma Ministry.
"Therefore, I, along with
Minister of State Hansraj
Ahir, will approach Prime
Minister and request him to
lo ok into t his matter,"
Fertiliser Minister Ananth
Kumar said on Thursday.
At present, Central Drugs
St andard
C ont rol
Organisation (CDSCO) and
Drug Controller General of

Last
Price
8085.95
346.5
479.5
1318.75
3808
235.95
1670.45
1650
950
655.3
310.35
52.75
412.05
262.85
1270
698.15
3278.65
1461
107.55
324.65
8.82
579.8
853
264.05
154.25
54.15
43.35
83.2
439.85
1379
175.5
297.3
153.95
75
809.75
430
146.05
932.85
1248.2
1155.1

PRATEEK CHOPRA n
NEW DELHI

ith an aim to boost partnership with private sector investors, Railway Minister
Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday
said that Indian Railways will
set
up
a
Business
Transformation Council (BTC).

Abs Change
Change
%
185
2.34
14.05
4.23
1.35
0.28
4.75
0.36
-74.55 -1.92
0.4
0.17
58.35
3.62
13.25
0.81
-9.15 -0.95
5.5
0.85
2.75
0.89
1.1
2.13
2.15
0.52
2.35
0.9
14.4
1.15
4.5
0.65
256.7
8.49
-9.5 -0.65
1.6
1.51
-1.2 -0.37
0.03
0.34
3.9
0.68
-0.1 -0.01
4.25
1.64
1.15
0.75
-1 -1.81
0.4
0.93
1.1
1.34
1.4
0.32
34.45
2.56
1.7
0.98
2.75
0.93
5.65
3.81
0.05
0.07
-1 -0.12
5.7
1.34
3.4
2.38
21.95
2.41
-8.25 -0.66
43.4
3.9

CENTURYPLY
CENTURYTEX
CERA
CESC
CHAMBLFERT
CHENNPETRO
CHOLAFIN
CIPLA
CLNINDIA
CMC
COALINDIA
COLPAL
CONCOR
COROMANDEL
CORPBANK
COX&KINGS
CRESSAN
CRISIL
CROMPGREAV
CUB
CUMMINSIND
CYIENT
DABUR
DALMIABHA
DBCORP
DBREALTY
DCBBANK
DCMSHRIRAM
DEEPAKFERT
DELTACORP
DEN
DENABANK
DHANBANK
DHANLEELA
DHFL
DISHMAN
DISHTV
DIVISLAB
DLF
DRREDDY
ECLERX
EDELWEISS

RELCAPITAL

489.95 (10.92)

236.05
590.35
2616.6
598.6
66.1
80.2
588.35
719.85
864.4
1964
364.75
2120.85
1634.85
278
59.05
316.5
10.38
2086.9
179.35
99
910
541.4
271.2
450
374.05
71.65
110.65
123.2
137.5
88.7
117.8
53.85
33.3
93.6
497.4
174.25
84.7
1801.2
148.95
3422
1545.85
69.3

-0.4
17.45
51.25
6
0.2
6.3
13.65
2.05
-10.25
11.8
-4.55
14.55
-28.5
-0.9
-0.4
5.4
0.03
55.4
3.95
2.05
26.3
-3.8
4.7
-1.6
10.2
1.15
2.85
0.1
0.15
-0.45
4.85
0.05
0.05
0.55
0.35
9.5
0.8
33.65
4.45
-48.75
-11.05
2.2

-0.17
3.05
2
1.01
0.3
8.53
2.38
0.29
-1.17
0.6
-1.23
0.69
-1.71
-0.32
-0.67
1.74
0.29
2.73
2.25
2.11
2.98
-0.7
1.76
-0.35
2.8
1.63
2.64
0.08
0.11
-0.5
4.29
0.09
0.15
0.59
0.07
5.77
0.95
1.9
3.08
-1.4
-0.71
3.28

Current (Chng %)

Current (Chng %)
2056.85 (14.78)

It will play a role in raising efficiency and speed in the process

of reaching the projected mark
of Rs 8.5 lakh crore of investment in Railways over a period of five years.
"Railways would be the
harbinger of growth in India
Railways will have to increase
in infrastructure immensely

NSE: GAINERS

BSE: GAINERS
NATCOPHARM

CAIRN

234.45 (4.83)

SSLT

201.50 (4.57)

NTPC

159.00 (3.41)

SINTEX

132.20 (8.58)

HINDALCO

134.50 (3.18)

AJANTPHARM

3278.65 (8.49)

DLF

149.15 (2.83)

NCC

AXISBANK
BAJAJ-AUTO
BAJAJCORP
BAJAJELEC
BAJAJFINSV
BAJAJHIND
BAJAJHLDNG
BAJFINANCE
BALKRISIND
BALLARPUR
BALMLAWRIE
BALRAMCHIN
BANKBARODA
BANKINDIA
BASF
BATAINDIA
BAYERCROP
BBTC
BEL
BEML
BERGEPAINT
BFUTILITIE
BGRENERGY
BHARATFORG
BHARTIARTL
BHEL
BHUSANSTL
BIOCON
BIRLACORPN
BLUEDART
BLUESTARCO
BOMDYEING
BOSCHLTD
BPCL
BRITANNIA
CADILAHC
CAIRN
CANBK
CAPF
CARBORUNIV
CARERATING
CASTROLIND
CCL
CCLINTER
CEATLTD
CENTRALBK

99.10 (8.90)

584.8
2077.85
461.55
213.95
1480.1
17.05
1372.5
4136.45
644.45
14.82
623.25
54.3
180.2
220.25
1170.55
1216
3390
498.85
3378.65
1012.35
213.7
801.7
133.1
1333.65
397.5
263.6
86.4
436
437.3
7427.15
327.9
75.9
27286.45
749.15
2200.35
1571.4
233.8
408.4
411.2
195.2
1548
483.4
178.2
454.7
789
102.95

up a separate body or
depar tment for medical
devices which, if established,
can also be brought under
this Ministry.
The Minister said that the
separate Ministry should
work as both facilitator as
well as regulator for the sector.
"As Pr ime Minister
Narendra Modi created separate Ministry for skill development and Ayush, on the
same lines we will request
him for separate Pharma
Ministry," Kumar added.
According to sources, the
government is contemplating
that besides patents, licensing, pricing and all other
pharma related departments
can be brought under one
roof.

o keep up with the rising

demand, Chinese handset
maker Xiaomi is planning to set
up its manufacturing plant in
India by the next calendar year.
Talking to The Pioneer
Xiaomi India head Manu Jain
pointed out that they are trying
to build Indian company. "We
want to set up our manufacturing plant in India probably in
2016," he added.
The company referred to as
'China's Apple' is also planning
to bring televisions by the end of
this year and plans to launch its
own e-commerce portal.
"We will continue to focus
on digital side, especially on

social media," he said.

The company, which
entered India last year, was in
news after the Indian Air Force
and security solutions provider
F-Secure raised concerns about
data protection of user data.
"We had an infrastructure
team coming in from China and
they are talking to various people here. By June, we should have
a data centre in place here," said
Xiaomi Vice President Hugo
Barra. Though he declined to
comment on the investment
details, the data centre would be
one of the significant investments
the company is making in India.
Following global concerns
about security of user data hosted on servers in China, the

company partnered Amazon

Web Services (AWS) to migrate
data of its international (nonChinese) customers to centres in
the US and Singapore in October
last year.
The Redmi 2 is a successor
to Xiaomi's Redmi 1S launched
last year. Priced at Rs 6,999, the
device will compete with 4G
devices available in the market - Moto E (2nd gen), Lenovo
A6000, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G
(Rs 9,999) and Yu Yureka (Rs
8,999).
Featuring a 4.7-inch display, the dual SIM Redmi 2 has
a 1GB RAM and supports both
TDD and FDD types of 4G services (high speed Internet) on
both SIM slots.

RailMin to set up body to enhance

foreign collaboration

Bse 500

Script
Traded
3MINDIA
AARTIIND
ABAN
ABB
ABBOTINDIA
ABGSHIP
ABIRLANUVO
ACC
ACCELYA
ADANIENT
ADANIPORTS
ADANIPOWER
ADVANTA
AHMEDFORGE
AIAENG
AIL
AJANTPHARM
AKZOINDIA
ALBK
ALLCARGO
ALOKTEXT
ALSTOMT&D
AMARAJABAT
AMBUJACEM
AMTEKAUTO
AMTEKINDIA
ANANTRAJ
ANDHRABANK
APLLTD
APOLLOHOSP
APOLLOTYRE
ARVIND
ASAHIINDIA
ASHOKLEY
ASIANPAINT
ASTRAL
ASTRAMICRO
ASTRAZEN
ATUL
AUROPHARMA

India (DGCI), which deal in

regulatory control over the
import of drugs, approval of
new drugs and clinical trials,
are governed by Health
Ministry.
Where as,
Nat iona l
Pharma Pricing Authority
(NPPA), which sets the price
limit on essential medicines,
comes under Ministry of
Chemicals and Fertilisers.
"There is a view that this
new Pharma Ministry makes
sense if (CDSCO), Drug
Controller General of India
(DGCI) and National Pharma
Pricing Authority (NPPA)
could (be) brought together
under one Ministry," a source
said.
The source added that the
government is also considering to set

0.85
-21.15
2.95
-0.45
25.25
0.15
-11.55
-15.15
21.45
0.3
23.5
-0.45
2.55
2.15
10.45
-5
-22.85
-19.1
23.25
-0.4
3.75
-10.2
0.75
30.3
7.65
5.95
-1
8.15
10.15
57.65
7.45
-0.3
847.1
-1.45
47.85
67.4
10.1
1
0.4
10.8
-10.25
-3.35
3.2
12.1
-14.45
-0.25

0.15
-1.01
0.64
-0.21
1.74
0.89
-0.83
-0.36
3.44
2.07
3.92
-0.82
1.44
0.99
0.9
-0.41
-0.67
-3.69
0.69
-0.04
1.79
-1.26
0.57
2.32
1.96
2.31
-1.14
1.9
2.38
0.78
2.32
-0.39
3.2
-0.19
2.22
4.48
4.51
0.25
0.1
5.86
-0.66
-0.69
1.83
2.73
-1.8
-0.24

EICHERMOT
EIDPARRY
EIHOTEL
ELGIEQUIP
EMAMILTD
ENGINERSIN
ENIL
EROSMEDIA
ESCORTS
ESSAROIL
ESSARPORTS
ESSDEE
EXIDEIND
FAGBEARING
FCEL
FDC
FEDERALBNK
FINANTECH
FINCABLES
FINOLEXIND
FLFL
FORTIS
FRL
FSL
GAIL
GATI
GDL
GEOMETRIC
GESHIP
GICHSGFIN
GILLETTE
GITANJALI
GLAXO
GLENMARK
GMDCLTD
GMRINFRA
GNFC
GODFRYPHLP
GODREJCP
GODREJIND
GODREJPROP
GOLDLINE
GPPL
GRANULES
GRAPHITE
GRASIM

16316.4
184.3
103.85
155
1121.1
210.6
667.85
429.85
138.8
104
126
180.75
192.35
4155
14.03
161.15
139.55
193.75
267.8
276.5
69.25
162.75
101.7
31.55
393.35
232.05
434.95
175.8
348.3
240.8
4297
47.75
3290.1
838
114.15
16.8
76.25
471.5
1161
337.9
269.05
493.2
240.9
841.35
85.05
3740

270.55
7.55
0.15
1.5
43.8
0.35
29.05
-2.5
3.15
0.1
-0.85
-1
8.9
37.75
-0.11
5.35
1.3
-0.7
-1.45
-0.1
-1.1
6.95
0.2
0.45
3.55
1.6
10.45
-2.95
-2.65
0.6
95.1
0.1
-53.9
6.1
-1.5
0.3
0.35
-3.85
16.8
9.3
-1.1
0
8.95
26.95
0.85
40.15

1.69
4.27
0.14
0.98
4.07
0.17
4.55
-0.58
2.32
0.1
-0.67
-0.55
4.85
0.92
-0.78
3.43
0.94
-0.36
-0.54
-0.04
-1.56
4.46
0.2
1.45
0.91
0.69
2.46
-1.65
-0.76
0.25
2.26
0.21
-1.61
0.73
-1.3
1.82
0.46
-0.81
1.47
2.83
-0.41
0
3.86
3.31
1.01
1.09

and to do that we have to think

differently. We need partnership which is our thrust area
which I have mentioned in my
budget speech. Partnership can
help railways grow faster," said
Prabhu at an event organised by
ASSOCHAM, where ambassadors of various nations were
present.

SENSEX

GREAVESCOT
GREENCREST
GRINDWELL
GRUH
GSFC
GSKCONS
GSPL
GUJALKALI
GUJFLUORO
GUJRATGAS
GULFOILLUB
GVKPIL
HATHWAY
HATSUN
HAVELLS
HAWKINCOOK
HCC
HCL-INSYS
HCLTECH
HDFC
HDFCBANK
HDIL
HEIDELBERG
HEROMOTOCO
HEXAWARE
HFCL
HGS
HINDALCO
HINDCOPPER
HINDPETRO
HINDUNILVR
HINDZINC
HITACHIHOM
HMT
HONAUT
HSIL
HTMEDIA
IBREALEST
IBULHSGFIN
ICICIBANK
ICRA
IDBI
IDEA
IDFC
IFCI
IGL
IIFL
IL&FSTRANS
INDHOTEL
INDIACEM
INDIANB
INDOCO
INDUSINDBK
INFRATEL
INFY
INGERRAND
INGVYSYABK
INOXLEISUR
IOB
IOC
IPAPPM
IPCALAB
IRB
ITC
IVRCLINFRA
J&KBANK
JAGRAN
JAICORPLTD
JBCHEPHARM
JETAIRWAYS
JINDALSAW
JINDALSTEL
JISLJALEQS
JKCEMENT
JKLAKSHMI

140.75
61.6
702
245.35
89.4
5858
108
170
769.8
598.05
485
9.35
52.8
314
293.15
3074.2
34.8
60.4
2052.4
1332.95
1052.2
116.15
78.7
2642.65
281.05
15.55
563
134.85
72.55
624
962.35
170.05
1273.15
47.65
8950
441.75
127.2
77.35
562.85
338.1
4000
77.35
174.95
169.45
36.15
434.25
175.05
204.65
105.05
99.4
175
344.35
891.55
389.1
2217.8
1064.85
967
174.9
46.55
345.65
339.85
747.35
245.35
346.25
17.9
107.25
132.2
64.55
192.2
434.65
72.65
194.25
66.4
672.5
378

NTPC NCRHQ celebrated the International Womens Day with lot of enthusiasm . On this occasion Prof. Dr Anupam
Ahuja,Head of Department of Education of Groups with Special Needs, NCERT was the Chief Guest . She spoke on the
topic,"Moving on to Empowering Women: Opening the Golden Cage".In an interactive session with the participants Ahuja
stressed upon the need to change the mindset and cherish womanhood she also shared views on gender sensitization .On this
occasion Reshma Harisinghaney and Prakash Harisinghaney, GM(T&S), NCRHQ and ,PM Mathew, AGM(HR)NCRHQ also
shared their views.

NIFTY

1.3
0.45
9.4
0.35
-0.4
29.35
3
0.3
9.3
-1.55
-0.55
0.14
-1
2.5
9.9
0.55
0.9
1.6
-6.15
10.7
-4
1.1
0.9
25.65
2.15
-0.35
3.25
4.4
-1.15
5.6
-7.1
0.25
9.75
-0.7
2.8
33.65
-4.35
2.8
-5.85
5.25
116.7
1.15
11.25
0.6
0.6
-3.3
1.05
-3.65
0.25
0.8
1.1
-9.35
1.65
11.15
34.2
84.85
-3.1
2.9
0.2
4.95
46.4
0.75
5.45
7.95
0.9
0.45
2.6
1.4
3.35
4.25
1.2
3.75
1.4
-25
-3

0.93
0.74
1.36
0.14
-0.45
0.5
2.86
0.18
1.22
-0.26
-0.11
1.52
-1.86
0.8
3.5
0.02
2.65
2.72
-0.3
0.81
-0.38
0.96
1.16
0.98
0.77
-2.2
0.58
3.37
-1.56
0.91
-0.73
0.15
0.77
-1.45
0.03
8.25
-3.31
3.76
-1.03
1.58
3.01
1.51
6.87
0.36
1.69
-0.75
0.6
-1.75
0.24
0.81
0.63
-2.64
0.19
2.95
1.57
8.66
-0.32
1.69
0.43
1.45
15.81
0.1
2.27
2.35
5.29
0.42
2.01
2.22
1.77
0.99
1.68
1.97
2.15
-3.58
-0.79

JKTYRE
JMFINANCIL
JPASSOCIAT
JPINFRATEC
JPPOWER
JSWENERGY
JSWHL
JSWSTEEL
JUBILANT
JUBLFOOD
JUSTDIAL
JYOTHYLAB
KAILASH
KAJARIACER
KALPATPOWR
KANSAINER
KEC
KESORAMIND
KIRLOSENG
KITEX
KOLTEPATIL
KOTAKBANK
KPIT
KRBL
KSCL
KSK
KTKBANK
L&TFH
LAKSHVILAS
LAXMIMACH
LICHSGFIN
LINDEINDIA
LITL
LT
LUPIN
LYCOS
M&M
M&MFIN
MAGMA
MAHABANK
MAHINDCIE
MAHLIFE
MAHSEAMLES
MANAPPURAM
MARICO
MARKSANS
MARUTI
MAX
MCLEODRUSS
MCX
MHRIL
MINDTREE
MMTC
MOIL
MONSANTO
MOTHERSUMI
MOTILALOFS
MPHASIS
MRF
MRPL
MTNL
MUTHOOTFIN
MYSOREBANK
NATCOPHARM
NATIONALUM
NAUKRI
NAVNETEDUL
NBCC
NBVENTURES
NCC
NESCO
NESTLEIND
NETWORK18
NEYVELILIG
NHPC

BSE: SENSEX
Open

28798.61

High

28971.01

Low

28772.71

Current value

28930.41

Previous close

28659.17

Change (Pts)

271.24

Change (%)

0.95

112
52.15
28.7
19.25
11.74
110.75
1135
952.55
163.9
1620
1186.7
273.55
4.76
771
228
2262
83
139.1
268.95
533.2
231.6
1363.9
215.05
142.55
949.95
72.2
131.8
66.4
96.2
3780
464.9
424.85
5.75
1748
1883.3
36.05
1244.1
254.3
98.15
38.45
204.65
500.6
208.05
34.9
382.9
60.1
3684.85
488.2
251.5
1191.7
265.7
1411.2
54.95
294.85
3223.25
491.65
285.15
392.2
41605.45
67.05
22.35
212.55
510.25
2056.85
47.5
828.55
113.3
1000.65
188
99.1
1695
7305
55.15
75.8
19.9

0.15
1.05
1.45
0.4
0.24
1.7
-2.65
22.25
0
69.8
47.65
-9.65
-0.04
6.55
0.85
14.4
1.4
7
-1.55
9.75
5.65
-13.15
-1.35
-0.65
4.05
0.4
0.9
0.55
1.3
62.45
-2
-1.8
-0.05
7.7
11.1
0
-13.35
3.35
-1.3
0.3
17.6
4.65
-1.05
0
5.65
0.5
29.45
25.4
10.55
6.1
5.4
11.05
0.45
16.35
44.7
4.55
-2.7
-3.8
149.5
-1.05
1.3
-0.9
-3.5
264.8
-0.3
-22.1
-0.55
8.7
0.95
8.1
24.35
0.2
4.25
0.55
0.2

0.13
2.05
5.32
2.12
2.09
1.56
-0.23
2.39
0
4.5
4.18
-3.41
-0.83
0.86
0.37
0.64
1.72
5.3
-0.57
1.86
2.5
-0.95
-0.62
-0.45
0.43
0.56
0.69
0.84
1.37
1.68
-0.43
-0.42
-0.86
0.44
0.59
0
-1.06
1.33
-1.31
0.79
9.41
0.94
-0.5
0
1.5
0.84
0.81
5.49
4.38
0.51
2.07
0.79
0.83
5.87
1.41
0.93
-0.94
-0.96
0.36
-1.54
6.18
-0.42
-0.68
14.78
-0.63
-2.6
-0.48
0.88
0.51
8.9
1.46
0
8.35
0.73
1.02

VITAL STATS
Delhi
Mumbai
Kolkata

GOLD
26120
25985
26090

SILVER
35000
35000
35000

62.57

66.41

93.86

0.52

NIITTECH
NITINFIRE
NMDC
NOVARTIND
NTPC
OBEROIRLTY
OFSS
OIL
OMAXE
ONGC
OPTOCIRCUI
ORCHIDCHEM
ORIENTBANK
ORIENTCEM
PAGEIND
PCJEWELLER
PEL
PERSISTENT
PETRONET
PFC
PFIZER
PFS
PGHH
PHOENIXLTD
PIDILITIND
PIIND
PINEANIM
PIPAVAVDOC
PMCFIN
PNB
POLARIS
POWERGRID
PRAJIND
PRESTIGE
PRISMCEM
PSB
PSITINFRA
PTC
PUNJLLOYD
PURVA
PVR
RADICO

423.55
40.2
131.65
601.85
159.5
294
3275
487.55
132.8
312.1
22.35
62.8
239.25
175.55
13284.75
312.4
849.15
822
176.6
289.15
2157.45
58.7
7262.4
369.9
578.95
656.9
34.5
61.6
44.1
166.2
158.65
149.55
65.45
259.7
115.65
52.65
85.25
82.75
34.95
70.7
697.95
94.15

-1.85
-0.15
2.9
-8.1
5.45
0.55
-25.35
1.55
3.85
1.75
0.4
1.05
5.3
-0.35
449.65
7.4
8.75
-19.1
0
1.7
15.9
-0.25
-9.8
1.5
0.9
10.55
-4.35
0.5
-4.9
2.9
4.85
1.65
1.55
-5.4
2.2
0.5
-1.05
1.05
0.4
0.65
-2.85
1.9

-0.43
-0.37
2.25
-1.33
3.54
0.19
-0.77
0.32
2.99
0.56
1.82
1.7
2.27
-0.2
3.5
2.43
1.04
-2.27
0
0.59
0.74
-0.42
-0.13
0.41
0.16
1.63
-11.2
0.82
-10
1.78
3.15
1.12
2.43
-2.04
1.94
0.96
-1.22
1.29
1.16
0.93
-0.41
2.06

SONATSOFTW
SOUTHBANK
SPARC
SREINFRA
SRF
SRTRANSFIN
SSLT
STAN
STAR
STCINDIA
STRTECH
SUNASIAN
SUNDRMFAST
SUNPHARMA
SUNTECK
SUNTV
SUPREMEIND
SUVEN
SUZLON
SWANENERGY
SYMPHONY
SYNDIBANK
TATACHEM
TATACOFFEE
TATACOMM
TATAELXSI
TATAGLOBAL
TATAINVEST
TATAMOTORS
TATAPOWER
TATASPONGE
TATASTEEL
TBZ
TCS
TECHM
TEXRAIL
THEBYKE
THERMAX
THOMASCOOK
TILAKFIN
TIMKEN
TITAN

168.35
25.9
518.85
46.9
919.7
1205.55
200
91.2
1059.45
170.7
63.9
556.75
187.35
1035.6
277.65
417
703.3
261.05
27.05
61.5
2192.75
113.4
448.9
97.8
430.1
1289.8
160.05
602.7
564.05
81.5
850.4
333.4
163.2
2619
2857.1
143.85
158.05
1268
215.25
60.7
564.05
404

9.85
-0.25
16.3
-0.15
-2.8
36.85
7
-1.75
-5
2.1
1.35
4.25
1.7
24.9
0.05
10.85
-3.5
17.45
1.6
2.8
67.85
1.05
-1.15
1.8
1.8
34.3
2.4
-4.55
12.95
0.6
6.55
7.55
2.9
9.65
-62.1
1.35
2.35
-7.55
3.35
1.45
-1.05
4.25

6.21
-0.96
3.24
-0.32
-0.3
3.15
3.63
-1.88
-0.47
1.25
2.16
0.77
0.92
2.46
0.02
2.67
-0.5
7.16
6.29
4.77
3.19
0.93
-0.26
1.88
0.42
2.73
1.52
-0.75
2.35
0.74
0.78
2.32
1.81
0.37
-2.13
0.95
1.51
-0.59
1.58
2.45
-0.19
1.06

NSE: LOSERS

BSE: LOSERS

Current (Chng %)

Current (Chng %)

PMCFIN

44.10 (10.00)

TECHM

2,860.00 (2.11)

NAUKRI

828.55 (2.60)

M&M

1,241.00 (1.53)

822.00 (2.27)

BAJAJ-AUTO

2,069.85 (1.36)

DRREDDY

3,429.25 (1.12)

PERSISTENT
TECHM

2857.10 (2.13)

PRESTIGE
RAIN
RAJESHEXPO
RALLIS
RAMCOCEM
RANBAXY
RASOYPR
RAYMOND
RCF
RCOM
RECLTD
REDINGTON
RELCAPITAL
RELIANCE
RELIGARE
RELINFRA
RENUKA
REPCOHOME
RIIL
RISAINTL
ROLTA
RPOWER
RTNPOWER
RUCHISOYA
SADBHAV
SAIL
SANOFI
SBBJ
SBIN
SBT
SCHNEIDER
SCI
SEINV
SELAN
SHARDACROP
SHASUNPHAR
SHOPERSTOP
SHREECEM
SHRIRAMCIT
SIEMENS
SINTEX
SITICABLE
SJVN
SKFINDIA
SKSMICRO
SOBHA
SOLARINDS

259.70 (2.04)
33.1
188.45
243.2
321.2
813.35
0.59
518.45
61.95
69.9
348.8
123.85
489.95
863.75
372
484.55
15.55
665.9
447.9
165
163.65
59.8
10.03
45.35
365.65
68.6
3379.2
608.55
287.2
477.65
197.55
51.45
274.15
265.75
319.25
335.95
439.65
10700
1937
1471.15
132.2
37.15
25.85
1437
446.4
441.8
3380

-0.2
8.75
1.35
-6.3
18.35
0.02
1.35
0.2
3.45
0.75
4.1
48.25
7.9
0.05
25.65
0.2
0.2
12.7
7.1
-3.2
1.7
-0.1
1.2
19.05
2.5
63.05
10.45
2.05
1.7
15
0.55
-0.65
0.6
2.95
3.55
0.5
54
29.3
79.05
10.45
-0.25
0.05
1.15
4.35
1.45
50.85

-0.6
4.87
0.56
-1.92
2.31
3.51
0.26
0.32
5.19
0.22
3.42
10.92
0.92
0.01
5.59
1.3
0.03
2.92
4.5
-1.92
2.93
-0.99
2.72
5.5
3.78
1.9
1.75
0.72
0.36
8.22
1.08
-0.24
0.23
0.93
1.07
0.11
0.51
1.54
5.68
8.58
-0.67
0.19
0.08
0.98
0.33
1.53

COALINDIA
TNPL
TORNTPHARM
TORNTPOWER
TREEHOUSE
TRENT
TRITRADE
TRITURBINE
TTKPRESTIG
TTML
TUBEINVEST
TV18BRDCST
TVSMOTOR
TVTODAY
UBL
UCOBANK
UFLEX
ULTRACEMCO
UNICHEMLAB
UNIONBANK
UNITDSPR
UNITECH
UNITEDBNK
UPL
USHAMART
VAIBHAVGBL
VAKRANGEE
VGUARD
VIDEOIND
VIJAYABANK
VIPIND
VOLTAS
VSTIND
VTL
WABAG
WABCOINDIA
WELCORP
WELSPUNIND
WESTLIFE
WHIRLPOOL
WIPRO
WOCKPHARMA
WONDERLA
YESBANK
ZEEL
ZENSARTECH
ZYDUSWELL

365.55 (1.02)
132.65
1094.15
162.5
426.15
1470.4
37.7
130
3650
9.05
385.85
33.2
289.75
231.65
1020.95
69.2
128.8
3000.8
218.9
171.05
3538.1
20.85
33.75
428.8
26.7
800
121.05
936.2
154.8
46.7
99.3
287.45
1640
554
1658.85
5560
64.2
335.7
290
708.3
654.8
1808.8
282.85
822.9
352.75
657.3
975.75

2.15
13.35
-0.95
24.4
4.3
-0.3
1.95
10.7
0.2
2.15
1.6
4.35
2.75
-0.2
0.6
0.1
12.4
1.6
1.3
-87.85
1
-0.05
3.4
1.2
10.95
3.15
-0.05
0.85
0.1
-0.75
18.45
-4.35
26.8
25.2
184.15
0.45
0.7
5
4.95
0.55
4.55
9.35
-0.15
4.8
7.8
19.85

1.65
1.24
-0.58
6.07
0.29
-0.79
1.52
0.29
2.26
0.56
5.06
1.52
1.2
-0.02
0.87
0.08
0.41
0.74
0.77
-2.42
5.04
-0.15
0.8
4.71
1.39
2.67
-0.01
0.55
0.21
-0.75
6.86
-0.26
5.08
1.54
3.43
0.71
0.21
1.75
0.7
0.08
0.25
3.42
-0.02
1.38
1.2
2.08

world 13

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

Modi commissions India-built

Mauritian naval patrol ship
PTI PORT LOUIS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves after Commissioning of Offshore Patrol Vessel Barracuda in Port Louis, Mauritius on
PTI
Thursday

PM hails Mauritius for

enriching Hindi literature
PTI PORT LOUIS

rime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hailed

Mauritius for enriching Hindi literature through its conP
tribution and said the language has occupied a special place
in the world. On the second leg of his three-nation visit here,
Modi wished the people of Mauritius on behalf of nearly 125
crore Indians on the occasion of the countrys National Day.
Modi laid the foundation stone of construction of World
Hindi Secretariat building here where he spoke highly about
the uniqueness of the Hindi language. The national day of
Mauritius is celebrated every year on March 12. This day was
selected as a tribute to Gandhiji as he had launched the famous
Dandi March. Hindi language is a medium to express emotions. When someone speaks in native language it comes out
of his heart. Our ancestors had brought Hindi to Mauritius.
The love an acceptance that the Hindi language has received
in Mauritius is an example in itself. Mauritius is a country which
has its own Hindi literature. It has contributed immensely to
the language, Modi said. The Prime Minister, whose government has been pitching for use of Hindi in official works
in India, said the language has made a special place for itself
in the world of languages. In lighter note, Modi referred to his
Mauritian counterpart Anerood Jugnauths surname saying
English word juggernaut may have roots in it.
Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd
(GRSE). The vessel has been
built at an estimeted cost of
USD 60 million. It is the first

New swine flu strain

in India may carry
dangerous mutations
PTI WASHINGTON

PTI MELBOURNE

defence export order for a warship built in India, which is

optimistic about a follow up
order. Modi had said last night

that he and Jugnauth considered security cooperation

between their countries to be a
cornerstone of their strategic
partnership. He had also said
that India was honoured to be
preferred partner for Mauritius
in developing its security capabilities. Modi had also assured
his Mauritian counterpart of
timely support in all areas,
including delivery of other
ships and equipment that
Mauritius has ordered from
India. The commissioning of
Barracuda comes at a time
when India is looking at supporting the maritime infrastructure of friendly foreign
countries.
Observing that the Indian
Ocean is critical to the future of
the world, Modi said India will
be more dependent than before
on the ocean and the surrounding regions. We must
also assume our responsibility
to shape its (Indian Ocean)
future. So, Indian Ocean is at
the top of our policy priorities,
he said, adding, Our vision for
Indian Ocean Region is rooted
in advancing cooperation in our
region, and to use our capabilities for the benefit of all in our
common maritime homes.

n Australian teenage
jihadist has died in an
Islamic State suicide attack in
Iraq overnight, media reports
claimed on Thursday.
The 18-year-old youth,
named Jake Bilardi, had previously made preparations to
launch a string of attacks across
Melbourne, including at shopping centres, cafes and foreign
consulates, according to a blog
he is believed to have written.
The blog, titled 'From
Melbourne to Ramadi: My
Journey', appears to have been
authored by Bilardi who was
studying in Melbourne's north
school. "The blog, discovered
after his apparent death, lays out
how he became disillusioned
with western society and fascinated by Islam," according to
Sydney Morning Herald.
Reports said that Bilardi
travelled to Iraq and Syria last
year to fight with ISIS and that
sources linked to ISIS claimed
Bilardi was killed in Iraq.
"A Twitter account associated with ISIS has tweeted a
photograph of Bilardi with the
caption: "For today's Martyrs","
the Herald said in its report.
According to Fairfax
media, his blog was seen by the
publication but has now been
deleted. Department of foreign affairs, however could not
confirm reports and said it
was very difficult to ascertain
reports of deaths in Syria and
Iraq due to the conflict in
those countries. It said
Australians, who joined the
conflict put their lives in mortal danger, and should leave the
fighting and the conflict zone
immediately. Australian Prime
Minister Tony Abbott said the
reports were another shocking
example of the brutality of IS.
"There are unconfirmed
reports to this effect. This is a
horrific situation, an absolutely horrific situation," he said.
"It shows the lure of this
death cult to impressionable
youngsters. "It's very, very
important that we do everything we can to try to safeguard
our young people against the
lure of this shocking alien and
extreme ideology," he said.

between 2009 and 2012. One

of the new mutations is in an
amino acid position called
D225, which has been linked
with increased disease severity, researchers said. Another
mutation, in the T200A position allows hemagglutinin to
bind more strongly to glycan
receptors, making the virus
more infectious, the study
found. Sasisekharan said that
more surveillance is needed to
determine whether these
mutations are present in the
strain that is causing the current outbreak, which is most
prevalent in the Indian states
of Gujarat and Rajasthan and
has infected more than 20,000
people so far. Meanwhile, in
New Delhi Health Ministry
officials said they will take up
the issue with the Indian
Council of Medical Research
(ICMR) since the latter has
been saying till now that there
have not been any mutations.
So far the ICMR has been
saying that there is no mutation. But since the study has
come up, we will take it up
with ICMR for a final view,
Additional secretary Health
Arun Panda said. According to
the latest figures from the
Union Health Ministry data,
as of March 10, as many as
1,537 people have perished
due to swine flu while the
number of infected people in
the country is 27,234.

Police mobilize in the parking lot of the Ferguson Police Station after two police officers were shot while standing guard in
AP
front of the Ferguson Police Station on Thursday
AGENCIES FERGUSON

wo police officers were

shot during a protest outT
side Ferguson, Missouri police
headquarters early on
Thursday, police said, just
hours after the city's police
chief quit following a damning
US Justice Department report
into his force.
St Louis County police
chief Jon Belmar told reporters
a 41-year-old officer from his
department was struck in the
shoulder and a 32-year-old
officer from the nearby
Webster Groves Police
Department was hit in the face
around midnight as the crowd
was starting to break up.
He said he did not know
the conditions of the officers,
whom he did not identify, but
said they were both conscious
and being treated at a local hospital. These police officers
were standing there and they
were shot, just because they
were police officers, Belmar
said.
Several dozen protesters
had gathered in front of the

Ferguson police department

on Wednesday night, just hours
after the city's police chief,
Thomas Jackson, announced
his resignation. The demonstration started peacefully, but
about two dozen officers clad
in riot gear later faced off with
the protesters. At least two
people were taken into custody.
Around midnight, gunshots rang out, turning a scene
of relative quiet into pandemonium. Many of the remaining few dozen demonstrators
fled, some screaming, "They hit
a cop," a Reuters photographer said.
The line of police scrambled, with many taking defensive positions drawing their
weapons and some huddling
behind riot shields, according
to a video published online.
Belmar said the shooter was
"embedded" among the
demonstrators standing across
from the officers.
"I don't know who did the
shooting to be honest with you
right now, but somehow they
were embedded in that group
of folks," he said.

Protesters at the scene

however said on social media
that the shots did not come
from where they were standing.
"The shooter was not with the
protesters. The shooter was
atop the hill," activist DeRay
McKesson said on Twitter. "I
was here. I saw the officer fall.
The shot came from at least 500
feet away from the officers," he
added.
Protesters had called for
Jackson's removal since the
fatal shooting of unarmed black
18-year-old Michael Brown by
white Ferguson police officer
Darren Wilson in August. The
killing triggered protests
around the country and drew
scrutiny to police use of deadly force, especially against black
men.
Neither a grand jury nor
the federal probe led to charges
against Wilson. Jackson was the
latest in a string of Ferguson
officials to resign in the week
since a scathing Justice
Department report found
widespread racially biased
abuses in the city's policing and
municipal court.

Prabhas body handed over to

family, police yet to find killer

Iraqi troops clash with

IS group in Tikrit

PTI MELBOURNE

he body of an Indian IT
professional, who was
T
stabbed to death in Sydney, has

he swine flu virus in India

which has killed more
than 1,500 people in the last
three months may have
acquired mutations that make
it more severe and infectious
than previously circulating
H1N1 strains, a new MIT
study has warned.
The study by Indian-origin scientists at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT)
contradicts previous reports
from Indian health officials
that the strain has not changed
from the version of H1N1 that
emerged in 2009. The
researchers found that the
recent Indian strains carry
new mutations in the hemagglutinin protein that are
known to make the virus more
virulent. Hemagglutinin binds
to glycan receptors found on
the surface of respiratory cells
and the strength of that binding determines how effectively the virus can infect those
cells. In the past two years,
genetic sequence information
of the flu-virus protein hemagglutinin from only two
influenza strains from India
has been deposited into publicly available influenza databases which makes it difficult
to determine exactly which
strain is causing the new outbreak and how it differs from
previous strains.
However, those two
strains yielded enough information to warrant concern,
said Ram Sasisekharan, the
Alfred H Caspary Professor of
Biological Engineering at MIT
and the senior author of the
paper in the journal Cell Host
& Microbe. Sasisekharan and
Kannan Tharakaraman, a
research scientist in MITs
Department of Biological
Engineering, compared the
genetic sequences of those
two strains (of 2014) to the
strain of H1N1 that emerged
in 2009 and killed more than
18,000 people worldwide

2 officers shot outside Ferguson

police HQ after chief quits

n India-built naval patrol

vessel for Mauritius that
will help in better policing its vast exclusive economic
zone was commissioned on
Thursday by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi who said it will
make the Indian Ocean more
safer and secure.
The induction of the 1,300tonne vessel Barracuda for
the Mauritian National Coast
Guard amid attempts by China
to establish its presence in the
Indian Ocean Region marks the
first of such sales to this strategic island nation which include
fast attack craft under construction in Indian shipyards.
Barracuda is a beautiful ship.
She is also very capable and
built to specifications of
Mauritius...She will protect your
islands and your waters, Modi
said after commissioning the
ship at Quay A of Port Louis
harbour in the presence of his
Mauritian counterpart Aneerod
Jugnauth.
She will be there to help in
times of disasters and emergencies. But she will do more
than that. She will also help
make our Indian Ocean safer
and more secure, he said.
Mauritius has a vast 2.3
million sq km of Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ).
Jugnauth, while observing that
Mauritius by virtue of its strategic location is recognised as a
hub of maritime activities in
Indian Ocean, said the induction of coastal patrol vessel was
yet another step for better control of its large assets besides
helping in policing transnational crimes like piracy and
bridging the communication
gaps among its various islands.
He said Mauritius requires
armaments like Fast Attack
Aircraft and light armoured
personnel carriers and was
hopeful India would extend
support in this regard.
Barracuda which has automatic 30 mm Rapid Fire Gun
and 12.7 mm Heavy Machine
Guns as part of its ammunition
was handed over to Mauritius
in December 2014 by Kolkatabased
Garden
Reach

Oz teen jihadist
dead in ISIS
suicide attack
in Iraq: Report

been handed over to her family even as Australian police on

Thursday said they were yet to
find a motive for the senseless
attack.
41-year-old Prabha Arun
Kumars body was released to
her family yesterday and
would be taken to her hometown in Mangalore for last
rites, Prabhas housemate said.
He (her husband) was still in
shock, he just said if he could
get her stuff. He mentioned
she always wanted to be buried
where she was born in
Mangalore, The Daily
Telegraph quoted her saying.
Police said they were still
searching for the killer and trying to establish a motive
behind the attack. I can say at
this point in time, we are no
closer to identifying a motive
for this senseless attack,
Homicide Squad Commander

Detective Superintendent
Michael Willing said. Police
said that it does not appear that
Prabha was sexually assaulted
or robbed or racially attacked.
They have interviewed several people since the attack on
Saturday. Willing said from
CCTV footage police had
reviewed, they dont think they
can identify anyone who was
following Prabha. Police have

also released the CCT V

footage of Prabha walking
from the Parramatta train station just before she was fatally stabbed and appealed to
people for information to crack
the baffling case.
Meanwhile, Prabhas husband Arun Kumar and her
brother Shankar Shetty today
sought justice for her. Kumar,
who had flown in from India

following the brutal murder,

said I know that we cant
bring her back but I want,
whoever killed my wife, to be
brought to justice. Shetty
made a personal appeal to his
sisters killer to surrender. In
Melbourne today, members
of Indian community organised a memorial service at the
Federation Square to pay their
respect to Prabha.
Intaj Khan, a councillor
from Whyndam who attended the service, said the incident reflected that people
needed to be more alert and
cautious about their safety
while walking across a dark
areas and parklands. In
Adelaide, a service has been
scheduled for on Friday to pay
homage to her. Condemning
the attack, Chair of
Confederation of Indian
Australian Associations
(CIAA) Vassan Srinivasan said
Indian community mourns
the loss of Prabha, especially
for husband and their
daughter.

AP TIKRIT (IRAQ)

ockets and mortars echoed

across Saddam Husseins
hometown of Tikrit today as
Iraqi security forces clashed
with Islamic State militants a
day after sweeping into the
Sunni city north of Baghdad.
Recapturing Tikrit is seen
as a key step toward rolling
back the extremist group,
which seized much of northern and western Iraq last summer and controls about a third
of Iraq and Syria. Iraqi troops
and allied Shiite militiamen
entered Tikrit for the first
time yesterday from the north
and south. The head of the
military operation told The
Associated Press on Thursday
that troops would launch
phase two of the offensive
later in the day as they try to
reach the city centre. The militants were trying to repel
security forces with snipers,
suicide car bombs, heavy
machine guns and mortars, he
said, speaking anonymously as
he was not authorised to brief
the media.

Tikrit, the capital of

Saladin province, sits on the
Tigris River about 130 kilometres north of Baghdad.
Several of Saddams palaces
remain there, and supporters
of the deceased dictator are
believed to have played a key
role in the Islamic State groups
seizure of the city last year. In
an inter view with The
Associated Press on the front
line, Iraqi Defence Minister
Khaled al-Obeidi said he
expected security forces to
reach the centre of Tikrit within three to four days. The
operation to retake Tikrit is
essential to opening a corridor for security forces to move
from the south to Mosul, he
said, referring to Iraqs secondlargest city and the militants
biggest stronghold.
He described the operation as 100% Iraqi, from the
air and ground. Military officials told the AP they are
advancing with caution in an
effort to limit damage to the
citys infrastructure, so that
residents can return quickly
once Tikrit is retaken.

International community failing Syria: Rights groups

AP BEIRUT

ore than 20 human rights

groups issued a joint plea
M
on Thursday for the international community to take
responsibility for suffering
civilians as Syrias war
approaches its fifth year.
In a report entitled Failing
Syria, the organisations criticised world powers for not
implementing a series of UN
Security Council resolutions on
the conflict. Three resolutions
adopted in 2014 urged armed
actors in Syria to protect noncombatants and aimed to
secure greater access to humanitarian aid for millions of
Syrians. However, the resolutions, and the hope they provided, have rung hollow for
Syrian civilians. They have
been ignored or undermined

by the parties to the conflict,

other UN member states and
even by members of the
(Security Council) itself, the
report said.
Without action by individual governments, the
demands within these resolutions remain little more than
words on a page. Last year was
the deadliest yet in the conflict,
with at least 76,000 people
killed out of a total of more
than 210,000 since it began on
March 15, 2011 with peaceful
pro-democracy demonstrations. Since then, 11.4 million
Syrians have fled their homes
and nearly four million have
left the country in what the UN
has called the worst refugee crisis in 20 years.
According to the report,
Syrias humanitarian crisis is
worsening at an alarming rate.

Nearly 10 million people inside

the country do not have
enough to eat, and more than
11 million are in urgent need
of clean water. This is a betray-

al of our ideals, because were

not supposed to be watching
people suffer and die in 2015,
said Jan Egeland, secretary
general of the Norwegian

Refugee Council, which contributed to the report.

The 21 rights groups
accused government forces of
systematically using rape and

sexual harassment as methods

of war, and rebel groups of kidnapping women and children
for use in prisoner exchanges.
Both regime and opposition
forces indiscriminately target
civilian infrastructure, including schools and health facilities,
they said.
I was in class when my
school was hit. We ran out of
the school right away, said
Basma, an eight-year-old
Syrian girl quoted in the report.
I have never seen my
school or my friends again. I
miss them a lot. The report,
whose signatories included
Oxfam, International Rescue
Committee, and Save the
Children, criticised warring
parties in Syria for blocking
access for humanitarian organisations to some of the most
devastated areas.

vivacity 14

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | MARCH 13, 2015

I learnt comedy
from Paresh
JOHN ABRAHAM may have played
comedy roles in many films earlier
but he says Paresh Rawal has
helped him immensely in excelling
at comic timing in the
forthcoming film
Welcome Back. He
can't thank him enough.
I would like to thank
Paresh Rawal
because he is one of
the reasons why I
have improved my
comic timing, said
John. If you see,
most of my comedy
films be it
Garam Masala,
Desi Boyz or
Housefull 2
these have been
with co-stars
but Welcome
Back, in a
strange way has me
alone. I have been let out into the
wild alone, he added. Welcome
Back, being directed by Anees
Bazmee, is a sequel to the 2007 hit
comedy Welcome that featured
Akshay Kumar and Anil Kapoor.

f you are an adventure junkie, get

ready for bungee jumping into an
active volcano and snorkelling with
the sharks. In case you actually end up
doing it, you will add something called
as thrillification to your merit list.
Thrillification is travel with a dose of
extreme adventure. It is one of the travel trends to look forward to this year, as
indicated by the latest survey by
Hotels.com.
According to the survey, Indian
travel is evolving and 2015 will witness
a whole new set of trends that will define
travel. The appreciating value of the rupee
and competitive airfares will offer a
boost to international travel this year
making it even more appealing.
Here are some of the trends that will
help you become a smarter and trendier traveller this year:

EMERGENCE OF POSHTELS

These are a hybrid of the hostel and

the hotel, especially for the young and
single travellers who watch the pennies
but still demand a stylised, glamorous

T
I truly believe
that men
have as
important a
role to play in
this quest for
a world
without gender violence
and discrimination as
women do. It is our
problem, too, not
because we have
mothers, sisters, wives
and daughters. It is our
problem because it is a
human rights issue and
we are all human beings
FARHAN AKHTAR
AMITABH
BACHCHAN will
attend an event in
London, where a
statue of Mahatma
Gandhi will be
unveiled at
Parliament Square. We are
delighted that @SrBachchan will
read at the unveiling of the
#GandhiStatue on Saturday (sic),
DCMS-British Department for
Culture, Media and Sport, tweeted.
Amitabh retweeted the message.
The bronze statue of Gandhi will be
unveiled as the focal point for the
commemoration this summer of
the 100th anniversary of Gandhi's
return to India from South Africa,
to start the struggle for self-rule.

Tony to sing at
Gaga's wedding
Singer Tony Bennett says he will
sing at the wedding of his friend
LADY GAGA and Chicago Fire
actor Taylor Kinney later
this year. They invited
me to do it and, of
course, I will,
pagesix.com
quoted Bennett
as saying.
The 88year-old,
who
collaborated with
Gaga on the album
Cheek to Cheek
last year, further
praised the
couple who
have dated each
other for more
than three years
and their
blossoming
relationship.
Asked what he
thought of the
wedding, he
said: I love it.
She's marrying
a wonderful
man, talented
and very
handsome. I think he's going be
highly successful in films.

accounting for the surge of value-chic

brands.

Holidays that offer

extreme adventure
activities like
snorkelling with
sharks and
foodcations are
gaining popularity
among travellers,
reveals a survey

ADRENALINE RUSH

Thrillication is travel with a dose of

extreme adventure for the adrenaline
junkie. This includes adventure sports
with a twist that are sure to leave you
with goosebumps. Activities like
snorkelling with the sharks, kayaking
with the whales or bungee jumping into
an active volcano are some of the
sports that make the cut.

CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY

Lets brag
about it

hotel experience. Many hostels are

upgrading their facilities and adapting
modern and luxurious design with hightech facilities like offering restaurants,
twin en-suite rooms, free wi-fi and
breakfast. These are accommodations
competing with the boutique hotel.

MAKE WAY FOR BRAGGIES

hey began with Depeche Modes 1984 hit

Master and Servant and moved on to Joy
Divisions 1979 chartbuster Love Will Tear Us
Apart. Although the songs were old, French band
Nouvelle Vague added a new wave spin to it and
turned them into peppy, sensuous fast tracks and
mesmerised the audience at the new Le Meridien
Hotel which recently opened in Gurgaon. Since
its inception in 2004, the band has created a niche
for itself as one of the greatest cover bands of the
world. Their forte lies in selecting songs from
the new wave genre from Brazil, London and
France.
The band started off as a project between
French musicians Marc Collins and Olivier
Libaux when they started to learn and understand the genre. What interested us was the fact
that new wave has no specific style. Many call
it post punk because it is very less aggressive in
tone, said Collins. The music of the band is a
combination of the swooping elegance of Bossa
Nova (musical movement of Brazil in late 80s),
the melancholic melodies of new wave and the
distanced approach of the films of the Nouvelle
Vague. Nouvelle Vague was a revolution in
French cinema in the 60s when film-makers
stepped out of the studio to shoot in real settings.
That in a way is the base of the band to play
something real. Our modus operandi is to help
people rediscover obscure new wave tracks with
a fresh take, decidedly modern, he added.
As musicians and producers they recorded
their strange versions of popular songs like XTCs
Making Plans for Nigel and Windows by the Radio
in 2004. People started loving the different sound
and the word of mouth spread and within a few
months artistes like Ian McCulloch and Martin
Gore started appreciating the project and the
band was born. In fact, McCulloch was very
happy with our version of The Killing Moon, so
we started to know that the original people were
happy with our version of their songs, said
Collins.
The band draws inspiration from many
musical groups, individual artistes and musicians.
Indie band Phoenix and English musician
Jarvis Cocker are two of their favourites. Collins
added, Once we played at a fest in Newcastle
and we watched a live performance of The
Maccabees, an English band of a few 17-year-

Selfies were the biggest trend of 2014

and emerging out of that is the braggie.

A braggie is a picture taken and uploaded
on social media by the traveller in an
attempt to brag about his exotic surroundings.
Typical braggies include a view from
the hotel window, the rooms bed and the
surrounding landscape. Hotels are tapping into this trend by offering customers
free perks and rewards if they post their

photos on the hotels Facebook or

Instagram accounts.

MILLENNIALS

Hotels are adapting to the 24x7 networking generation known as millennials. Thanks to this, more affordable
hotels are getting style upgrades.
Millennials crave stylish settings but often
lack the deep pockets of baby boomers,

French band Nouvelle Vague has been recreating old and popular songs of
the new wave genre by rearranging music. Its founder member
MARC COLLIN tells SHRABASTI MALLIK how the band started as a project and
gained much adoration through the years

old boys and we loved them. They reminded us

of The Undertones back in the day. Although
they make their own kind of music, they are
occasionally influenced by blues, French music,
reggae and the Bossa Nova, which is a lyrical
fusion of samba and jazz.
Being a cover band one might expect them
to face issues like copyright and infringement
of creative matter but when
Nouvelle Vague started its

journey they had the privilege to get the support

of the original artistes. They decided not to ask
for permission because the process took ages. So
they recorded the label without permission,
released it and left 100 per cent of the rights to
the original artistes.
We were not intending to get any money
from this avenue. And it worked very well
because musicians were helpful with Nouvelle
Vague because it was interesting for everybody.
According to the French law, you can record a
cover without asking for permission as long as
you are respectful of the original song. That
helped a lot, he explained. The unique factor of
the band, however,is that it has no fixed vocalists. The band boasts of former members like
Phoebe Killdeer, Mlanie Pain, Marina Cleste,
Nadeah Miranda, Gerald Toto and Mareva
Galanter. We believe in giving opportunity to
young artistes and Liset Alea, Zula and Clara
Luciani are with us right now. The vocalists keep
changing from time to time, Collins
rounded up.

Chef NEERAJ CHAUDHRYs Buddhist

menu is designed to detoxify the body with
everything that is either steamed or boiled
and has plenty of veggies. By DIVYA KAUSHIK

TRY FOODCATION

Food has always been an Indian

favourite. Foodcation is a trend where
travellers travel to experience the local
food culture and delicacies of the place.
It could be anything from the deep fried
crickets in Bangkok or having the
authentic Italian pizza at the place of its
origin.

The cover act

At peace with food

s I stir the chunks of veggies

floating on the light broth that
is mildly warm, the first thing that
comes to mind is that it should be
called a detoxifying menu. The
title would suit the dishes better
than the peace menu. But chef
Neeraj Chaudhry insists this be
called the peace menu as the idea
is to introduce the patrons to the
simplistic way of living as per the
Buddhist philosophy. The executive chef of Vivanta by Taj,
Gurgaon has come up with a
special menu, Buddhist peace
menu, to offer the guests a unique
experience. Not just that, this
concept also keeps in mind the

The requirements of the traveller

have changed from a good hotel room
with comfortable beds to a fully technologically equipped hotel room.
Travellers are looking out for hotels that
offer free mobile check-ins, wi-fi, a good
television, automated lights et al to maximise the experience of staying at the
hotel. Hotels have gone a step further
to work on this front and some are even
providing Google Glasses to their inhouse guests.

stressful times that we are living

in today. This food has a soothing
effect on our senses and it detoxifies our system. It is a vegetarian
menu that boasts of dishes that are
either boiled or steamed and
come with minimum spices, says
the chef, who has travelled to
some Buddhist monasteries in
India and was surprised to see the
kind of food the monks eat and
how it suits their lifestyle.
Everything is water-based so
that the food is filling but not
heavy. Even the broths are not
cooked till they are thick in consistency, their consistency is just
like water. Lots of vegetables are

added to it to provide the body

essential proteins and vitamins.
The monks usually have a bao,
which is like a steamed bread, with
the broth, which is similar to clear
soup, adds the chef.
The table is already laid with
the Buddhist specialities. There is
steamed spring roll to begin with.
It is a shredded mix of vegetables
rolled in a paper thin layer of flour
and steamed. As the chef says,
there are hardly any spices added
to it but it is fresh vegetables that
lend a flavour and crunch to the
rolls. Extremely light, they are just
the right appetisers one would
expect in such a menu. The next

is the broth with the

goodness of broccoli,
mushrooms, carrots
added in good measure. A full bowl of
it with the bao,
cooked like a vegetable dumpling,
is adequately filling. I do not know
how many monks
eat noodles as part
of their meal but I
can see a bowl full of
stir-fried noodles on
our table. They are served
as an accompaniment with
a curry prepared with tofu,
bok choy and spinach. There is
also steamed rice as part of the
main course. In this kind of the
menu it is very difficult to come
up with a huge variety. So we have
limited dishes in the menu but
each is prepared in an authentic
style and is perfect for someone
who believes in distressing with
food. It is said that food is all
about indulgence but it is really
not the case here. You get a
chance to cleanse your system
through these dishes, says the
chef.
Rice dumplings in sweetened
jasmine consomm are served as
a dessert. This is the lightest
dessert that one can have. Steamed
rice dumplings dipped in consomm, that appears like a chocolate
syrup resting on the dumplings,
are just about sweet, as if to
deceive the palate with something that is not salty.
The best part about this menu
is that it is perfect for those who
want to gorge without caring
about calories.

INDULGE IN STAYCATION

Youre in need of a vacation but are

pressed on time? Then this trend is the
one for you. Staycation is an emerging
trend. This is for travel enthusiasts who
due to the barrier of space or time
decide to stay at a hotel in the city or
close to the city they live in order to get
a break from the hectic daily life. This
is for the traveller who basks in the
amenities the hotel has to offer.

A mix in the
brass bowl
The newly-opened Tamra at Shangri-La
brings the best of the world at one place
and is a seafood lovers delight

live teppanyaki counter

with cold cuts, ready-toA
eat dimsums neatly placed in
cane baskets, a man efficiently tossing mutton in the pan
and a sushi platter ShangriLas newly-opened restaurant
Tamra looks like a sophisticated street food market. But fortunately it is much more than
that. With five live counters
and an exotic collection of
wines and champagne, this
multi-cuisine restaurant is a
delight for foodies especially
those who thrive on seafood.
The restaurant works on a
world on a platter concept.
Situated on the first floor looking over a lush-green landscape of the hotel garden
and the busy roads,
Tamra derives its
name from the
copper vessels
used for making food in
early ages
when the evolution of the
culinary art had
just begun. The
restaurant also
replaces the earlier 19
Oriental Avenue and is the first
in the lot of restaurants to be
rebranded at the hotel.
From a lowly lit and fine
dining dinner spot, the restaurant has resurrected with a new
identity and a new look. As the
colours of the walls give a cooling effect to the place, the
quirky elements of rolling pins
strapped onto leather ropes
near the European counter, a
canopy of rustic timber overhead the Indian and Japanese
sections and colourful tiles
paired with bulkhead ceilings
at the Indian and Pan Asian
corner offer an ambience
which is one of its kind.
The food nonetheless fits
the ambience perfectly. When
one sees such a varied buffet in
front of them, they may get
confused as to what to have but

we managed to get the right

things at the right time thanks
to their uncluttered menu.
They had precise dishes under
each cuisine and each more
delectable than the other.
Being ardent lovers of
seafood, we started with sushi
and cold cuts. While the
California rolls were better
than expected, leaving its tangy
aftertaste, the salmon nigri
was just the perfect thing to
have on a sushi platter. The
crab meat in the sushi was also
well cooked. From crabs and
prawns to lobsters shrimps and
clams, all were presented on
the teppanyaki counter with
their outer shells on it. The skin
prevented the meat inside
from losing its
flavour. In other
cuisines, dimsums were delicate
and
flavoursome,
but nothing
exceptional
and
their
Indian tikkas
were conventional and well-cooked.
In the main course,
the restaurant offers a range of
steaks and grills along with a
series of European delicacies.
The Pan Asian section has
plenty of options. Their Thai
chicken croquetta is the best.
Least said, nothing beats
the dessert at most places. At
Tamra, its not just good, its
sinful. One needs patience to
enjoy one of the best things on
their dessert menu Tamra
chocolate. It is a chocolate ball
with mousse inside, seated on
a bed of brownie and hard
chocolate. The chef poured hot
chocolate mixed with caramel
on the ball and it melted right
along its circumference into
the plate producing a delightful pudding. Irrespective of
what you eat, step out of your
buffet and order this dish, it is
worth each penny you spend.

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY
MARCH 13, 2015

15

SA thrash UAE by 146 runs Bangladesh example

inspires Afghanistan

PTI WELLINGTON

AB de Villiers led
from the front with an allSkipper
round show to help South

AFP SYDNEY

Africa thrash minnows UAE by

146 runs and put the team's
cricket World Cup campaign
back on track in its final pool
B ODI encounter, here on
Thursday.
De Villiers struck a blazing
99 and then picked up 2 wickets with his medium pace to
steer Proteas, who were coming off a shock loss to Pakistan
in their previous match. The
South Africans are now second
in the pool led by India, who
still have a match to play
against Zimbabwe.
However, the final standings will only be known after
the Pakistan-Ireland and West
Indies-UAE clashes on Sunday.
Striking his second fifty of
the tournament, de Villiers
jumped to the second spot in
the run-scorers list, behind
Kumar Sangakkara, as South
Africa amassed 341 for six in
their stipulated 50 overs after
being put into bat first.
Coming in at number
seven, batsman Farhaan
Behardien (64 not out) also
played a crucial knock and
stitched up an unbeaten 49-run
seventh-wicket partnership
with Vernon Philander (10 not
out) to give Proteas the necessary fillip in the end overs.
The South African bowlers
were also clinical in their showing as Morne Morkel, Vernon
Philander and de Villiers
shared two wickets apiece to
bundle out UAE for 195 in 47.3
overs. UAE's No.11 Fahad
Alhashmi was unable to come
out on the field due to injury.
UAE were never in the
chase as they lost wickets at
regular intervals with wicketkeeper-batsman Swapnil Patil
(57 not out) and Shaiman
Anwar (39) providing the only
bit of resistance in an otherwise
lackluster showing.
South Africa batsmen, on
the other hand, were a complete contrast with a concerted effort from the top, middle
and the lower-order.
Quinton de Kock (26) and

fghanistan will look to follow the lead of Bangladesh

when they face England in
their World Cup finale in
Sydney on Friday.
Bangladesh's 15-run win
over England in Adelaide on
Monday saw them go through
to the quarter-finals and knock
out Eoin Morgan's men.
England, reeling from the
fall-out of a World Cup where
they, like tournament debutants
Afghanistan, have so far only
beaten Scotland, will be desperate to avoid fresh embarrassment at the Sydney Cricket
Ground in their final Pool A
match.
However, Afghanistan are
equally keen to finish with a
flourish and coach Andy Moles
said Bangladesh had shown
them the way.
"It looked to me a classic
match where the occasion got
to England," said Moles of a
match where skipper Morgan
was out for his fifth duck in 11
one-day international innings.
"They could play that game
10 times and poor Eoin would
not get out in that position.
"It was a good plan to set
him up but any other day it
goes for six. When things don't
go your way it seems to be a
perfect storm," the 54-year-old
Englishman added.
"It all came together on the
day and unfortunately it was a
bitter result for England."
Moles, a former opener
with county side Warwickshire,
said Afghanistan had studied
Monday's match in detail.
"We've got the tapes. We
know the areas. The
Bangladeshis did what we've
tried to do which is bowl in
channels and build up pressure,
field well and take your half
chances.
"With the bat, you need
someone to bat through. It's
not a state secret."
Afghanistan were well
beaten by co-hosts Australia
and New Zealand -- but then
again, so were England.

Rilee Roussow (43) stitched a

68-run second wicket partnership though the innings
wobbled after the wicketkeeper-batsman's departure in the
19th over.
De Villiers, whose 82-ball
stay was laced with 6 fours and
4 sixes, then managed a 108run fourth wicket stand with
David Miller (49) to give the
inexperienced UAE bowlers a
hard time. De Villiers though
was unlucky to miss out on his
second ton of the tournament
after being scalped by new-ball
bowler Kamran Shazad.
Then Behardien smacked
his way to his third ODI fifty- a 31-ball cameo laced with 5
fours and 3 sixes.
UAE pace spearhead
Mohammad Naveed bagged 3
wickets while Shazad, Amjad
Javed and skipper Mohammad
Tauqir also chipped in with a
wicket each.
Earlier, De Villiers once

AB enters WC top-10 scorers' list

WELLINGTON: South African cricket captain AB de Villiers
continued to script statistical history at the ongoing World Cup
as he today entered the top-10 of all-time scorers' list besides
breaking the tournament record for most sixes by a player.
With his 99-run knock against the UAE in a pool B match,
de Villiers took his total score at the World Cups to 1,142, which
placed him seventh on the overall list topped by retired Indian
icon Sachin Tendulkar (2,278 runs).
During the course of his 82-ball knock today, de Villiers
hit four sixes, which took his overall World Cup count to 20,
breaking the record of 18 set by former Australian opener
Matthew Hayden in 2007. The dashing right-hander, however, also became only the third batsman in World Cup history
to be dismissed on 99 -- the other two being Australia's Adam
Gilchrist (2003) and another South African JP Duminy (2011).
The prolific 31-year-old currently sits at the top ICC ODI rankings for batsmen and holds the record for the fastest 50, 100
and 150 in one-dayers.
again proved to be the crucial
cog for the Proteas, who have
endured an unexpectedly wobbly campaign so far.
However, the prolific righthander missed out on a hun-

Bangla bank on spin to unsettle Kiwis

dred by a solitary run even

though he walked back with a
smile on his face after being
caught by Javed at third man.
Later, Behardien played
out a sensational knock to

propel the South Africans to a

mammoth total.
The South Africans were
off to an edgy start with Amla
and de Kock failing to provide
a solid platform for the middle
order. But Rossouw (43 off 49
balls, 4x8) lent some stability
before de Villiers took it upon
himself to rescue the side yet
again.
The dashing batsman combined with Miller to help South
Africa recover from a rather
precarious 96/3.
The duo took the team
total past 200 before Miller was
castled by Naveed after a 48ball stay, during which he
struck two fours.
De Villiers made his way
back after taking the side past
250. The South Africans capitalised on the momentum provided by de Villiers through
Behardien, who finally came
good after an indifferent campaign so far.

AFP ADELAIDE

aving sealed a quarterfinal

spot for the first time, the
H
Bangladesh cricket team will be

akistan and Ireland will relive nightmarish memories of the World

P
Cup's most tragic moment eight years

banking on spin to create

another upset in the ICC World
Cup when it faces Group A
leader New Zealand here on
Friday.
Co-hosts New Zealand
have looked in ominous form
so far in the tournament while
the confidence of Tigers from
Bangladesh must be sky high
post their famous win at
Adelaide where they knocked
England out of the tournament.
New Zealand, with five
wins in as many games, have
already won the group and face
the fourth-placed team from
the other group in the quarters.
Bangladesh are most likely to
run into Pool B toppers India.
Heading into the inconsequential
game,
both
Bangladesh and New Zealand
have made their intentions
clear -- they want to end the
group stage on a high.
Bangladesh assistant coach
Ruwan Kalpage feels his team
will carry the momentum of
the last game at a 'spin friendly' Seddon Park.
"We want to go into the
quarter-finals unbeaten from
the last match and our players
look forward to that on Friday,"
said Kalpage, a former Sri
Lankan spinner.
Kalpage further said they
have a plan for New Zealand
captain and opener Brendon
McCullum, who has hit three

ago when they clash at the Adelaide

Oval on Sunday.
It was on March 17, 2007 -- St
Patrick's Day -- that the unheralded
Irish team stunned Pakistan in a group
match at Sabina Park, Jamaica.
The loss knocked Pakistan out of
the tournament but a bigger shock
awaited them a day later when their
coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in
the bathroom of his hotel room in
Kingston. Woolmer, 58, who was on
medication for diabetes, was lying
naked on his back, and there was
blood in his mouth and he appeared to
have vomited on the walls.
When his death was made public,
it was assumed to be a heart attack but
there were also suggestions he had committed suicide.
After lengthy investigations that
even included the possibility of murder,
Jamaican police on June 12 announced
that Woolmer had died of natural
causes. The inquest proved inconclusive,
but the mystery lingers on and the pain
that the cricket community endured
during those horrific days dampened
the mood for the rest of the World Cup
which Australia went on to win.
Cricket-related deaths are uncommon, but the passing away of a team
coach at the sport's showpiece event
after a defeat is a tragedy that took a
long time to come to terms with.
Senior batsman Younis Khan, the
only member of that 2007 Pakistan
squad still involved with the ongoing
World Cup, admitted he still missed
Woolmer, their coach for three years
from 2004.

Cup (so) it is not a matter of

thinking about tomorrow. It is
a matter of making sure we
don't drop the ball and keep
putting in good performances,"
said Hesson. The home team
will be hoping their key players -- veteran spinner Daniel
Vettori, batsman Kane
Williamson and all-rounder
Grand Elliott -- recover from a
stomach bug they caught after
the game against Afghanistan
in Napier on Sunday.
While New Zealand need
to watch out for Bangladesh
spinners, the Tigers will have to
bat well to sur vive the
onslaught of in-form pacers
Tim Southee and Trent Boult,
who have taken 13 wickets
apiece.

learn against that type of bowling, and batting, when they get
the chance to come across it,"
added Moles, who suggested
teams touring the UAE to play
Pakistan, which also acts as a
base for Afghanistan, could fit
in warm-up matches against
his side.
Meanwhile Afghanistan
fast bowler Hamid Hassan
insisted his country's first ODI
against England, held no fears
for the team.
"Scared? Afghan never
scared, never scared," said
Hassan. "No fears, no nothing."
"There is no scared. But we
haven't played many games.
That is why there is a little bit
of, I say, like inexperience.
"So in the future, hopefully we'll get some matches
against bigger sides and we'll
continue our performance," he
added.

Woolmer evoked as Pakistan face Ireland

PTI HAMILTON

fifties so far in his usual belligerent manner.

"He (McCullum) has not
had to start against spinners. It
will be tough for us but we have
plans for him. I am pretty sure
it (the pitch) will help the
spinners."
Bangladesh spinners can
always prove to be more than
a handful but their pacers too
have delivered in the competition. Medium pacer Rubel
Hossain's four-wicket haul set
up a thrilling win against
England.
For the form they have
shown, New Zealand coach
said they won't relax against
Bangladesh.
"They are a decent side. We
are in the middle of a World

"They've thoroughly
enjoyed it. They've learnt a lot,"
Moles said of his players who
saw Australia rack up a tournament record of 417-6 against
them at the WACA last week.
"If I was honest our experience in Perth was the most
revealing -- Mitchell Starc
bowling at over 150km/h and
the other boys on a quick
Perth wicket, where the English
and the Indians have failed.
"Our boys have not played
that type of deliveries before
and one or two of them admitted they were scared. They'd
never faced it.
"We prepared them the
best we could but you can only
learn to chop coal when you go
to the coalface.
"We need to play more
cricket. I understand how difficult it is for the Test-playing
nations but players can only

Flower warns
Pakistan to shape
up...or ship out

"This is surely a very emotional

game for me and all of us," Khan said
of Sunday's match which takes place
almost to the day of the tragic events
eight years ago.
"I remember Bob a lot, he contributed so much to Pakistan cricket.
Hope we can win this game and some
more in the World Cup. There would
be nothing better to dedicate to Bob's
memory."
Three current Irish players, skipper
William Porterfield and the O'Brien
brothers, Niall and Kevin, were also part
of that match, as was Eoin Morgan, now
England's one-day captain.
The India-born Woolmer played 19
Tests for England between 1975 and
1981 as a top-oder batsman, scoring
1,059 runs at an average of 33.09 with
three centuries.
But later he became a respected
coach who had a stint with South Africa
before moving to Pakistan.

Allegations of match-fixing had

been swirling around cricket at the turn
of the century, with investigations by the
Qayyum commission in Pakistan and
the Central Bureau of Investigation in
India naming several players.
Unsurprisingly, Woolmer's death
began to be linked with foulplay by the
illegal betting mafia -- fuelled by the fact
that all 10 Pakistani wickets against
Ireland fell to catches.
Pakistan were bowled out for 132,
a target Ireland surpassed after losing
seven wickets in a rain-interrupted
game.
Woolmer, asked by reporters after
the stunning loss whether he would
resign, said he wanted to 'sleep on my
future as coach'. The mystery deepened
when Mark Shields, the deputy police
commissioner of Jamaica, announced
the coach had been murdered as the
cause of death was "asphyxia as a result
of manual strangulation".

ADELAIDE: Pakistan's batting coach

Grant Flower hoped the underachieving middle-order will come
good in Sunday's must-win World
Cup clash against Ireland in Adelaide,
saying another failure could prove disastrous.
With both teams on three wins
from five matches, the winner will
advance to the quarter-finals, while
the loser's fate will likely be decided
by run-rates against the West Indies.
Pakistan's batsmen have crossed
250 just once in the tournament
when they hammered 339 for six
against the amateurs from the United
Arab Emirates at Napier.
Misbah-ul Haq's team were
bowled out for 224 by India, 160 by
the West Indies and 222 by South
Africa, and were even restricted to 235
for seven by Zimbabwe. Flower, the
former Zimbabwean batsman who
joined the Pakistan team management
a year ago, said another meagre total
could mean the end of the campaign.
"I would like to believe our best
is yet to come," he said. "If we don't,
I don't think we will go much further
in the tournament.
"I do expect the batsmen to deliver. That is what they are there for.
They can bat a lot better than they
have." Pakistan revived their faltering
campaign with a stunning 29-run win
over South Africa in a rain-effected
match in Auckland after the bowlers
dismissed the Proteas for 202.

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY
MARCH 13, 2015

16

Very hard to fill in Dhoni's boots once he retires: Smith

AUCKLAND: Former New
Zealand wicketkeeper Ian
Smith feels it will be extremely difficult to fill up the void
created in Indian cricket once
Mahendra Singh Dhoni bids
adieu to the game in near
future.
"It will be very hard to fill
up Dhoni's shoes. In case of MS
(Dhoni), he has really been
unchallenged in this Indian
team as a wicketkeeper and
batsman. To add to it, there was
this extra burden of captaining
a team like India, where there
is enormous pressure to perform every day, where he is

expected to take all correct

decisions. The captaincy bit
adds to his quality. I would like
to stress that the burden that
Dhoni takes could have taken
a very big toll on any man with
lesser capabilities," Smith told
PTI during an interview.
While Dhoni's successor in
the Test team Wriddhiman
Saha has proved his mettle as
a solid wicketkeeper, but Smith
feels India's next glovesman
will have to be more than a
capable batsman.
"Let's assume that the best
wicketkeeper in India scores at
an average of mid-20's and

when a pure wicketkeeper with

little bit of batting skills was
considered to be okay".
"With due respect, Ian
Healy, Bob Taylors have had
fantastic careers behind the
stumps and a very effective
career with the bat. But sadly,
that's no longer enough to
play international cricket. If you
want to become an international wicketkeeper, you can't bat
lower than No 7. You are
expected to play an attacking
role.
"Even Healy, Bob Taylor
had wonderful careers with
gloves and effective careers

there is the next best who can

score at 40 plus in international cricket, that particular guy w
ould be chosen. That's the
kind of bar that Dhoni has set
for keepers in India after Adam
Gilchrist changed the perception of wicketkeeper-batsman
to batsman-wicketkeeper. A
batsman-keeper is expected to
keep atleast 90 per cent of accuracy in catching and stumping,"
explained Smith.
The 58-year-old Smith,
who played 63 Tests and 98
ODIs for New Zealand between
1980 and 1992, also strongly
feels that "gone are those days

India not to change the

winning combination
Media barred
from Indian
team's hotel

PTI AUCKLAND

captain Mahendra
Singh Dhoni believes in givIndia
ing his cricketers long rope and
even after sealing a quarterfinal berth is averse to changes
in playing XI for their next
Cricket World Cup match
against Zimbabwe on Saturday
unless there is some serious
injury to any player.
If one goes by Dhoni's philosophy on chopping and
changing, it seems that Ambati
Rayudu, Axar Patel, Stuart
Binny and Bhuvneshwar
Kumar will find it difficult to
break into the winning team.
Bhuvneshwar, though
played a match in Mohammed
Shami's absence but he certainly is a notch below the trio of
Umesh Yadav, Shami and
Mohit Sharma.
Even Dhoni made it clear
that he is not in a mood to rest
one of the regulars and try out
one from the bench.
"Bench strength will warm
the bench," he had put it bluntly after their match against
West Indies in Perth.
In Hamilton, after the
Ireland game, the Indian skipper explained in detail as to
why he is not a big advocate of
experimenting with playing XI
even in an inconsequential
game.
Asked, if there's a temptation to rest players, Dhoni
said: "We need the physio's
input in this matter. If the
physio feels any player is in
danger of breaking down, we
will rest him in that situation.
Otherwise, if everyone is fit and
available for selection, we'll
field the best XI. Because there
are already long breaks
between matches -- that much
rest should be adequate. If
there is no risk of injury, we will
then continue to field our best
eleven."
While the pitch at Seddon
Park in Hamilton was a flat
deck, Dhoni expects the Eden
Park wicket to have good

bounce and carry.

"You have to adapt on
every wicket. Because how
quickly you adapt to conditions
is also a factor in success. But
I don't think we'll get a similar
wicket in any of our upcoming
matches. We've played here
previously and noticed that
the wicket in Hamilton is different from those in other
venues.
"Other venues in New
Zealand are similar to
Australian pitches. They almost
have the same pace and
bounce. The outfields are a little smaller here. Other than
that there is no great difference.
So in the upcoming matches,
we'll get similar conditions.
You can say this was a one-off
match."
While most of Dhoni's
recent interaction with the
media has been about the sea
change in the approach and
performance of the bowlers,
Dhoni in a lighter vein revealed
the secret of their success.
"Probably they got tired of
getting hit," he smiled.

On a serious note though,

Dhoni said, "Probaly it's a mixture of everything. May be it is
about getting hit every day,
implementing advices better,
new bowling coach, a combination of a lot of things," he
added.
Dhoni said that whenever
a team tries out new strategies,
its longevity depends on success.
"When you do something
new, it's important that the
result goes in your favour.
Then you become more
inclined to follow (that new
method). Many times, we see
batsmen make changes to their
batting in the nets and they are
comfortable. But once they are
playing a match, if they miss a
ball and the pressure increases and they go back to their
own basics. Because when you
are in pressure situations, you
need to do that. That transformation needs time," the skipper said.
"When bowlers honestly
tried something and said 'Let's
do it' and it worked in their

AUCKLAND: The justelected office bearers of the

BCCI might have shown
some interest in improving
its relationship with the
media, but the Indian cricket team management continued to keep its distance from
the touring national media
contingent with members of
the fourth estate being
banned from entering the
hotel premises, here on
Thursday. While in places
like Adelaide, Melbourne,
Perth and Hamilton, media
people did have access to the
hotel lobby, the authorities of
the 'Heritage Hotel' here are
very strict about even letting
media people be within 100
metres of the premises.
It is not known whether
the authorities are issuing a
diktat by the Indian team
management, which is
known to keep the media at
arm's length, but there was
an altercation between
reporters of some electronic
channels today when they
were filming the proceedings
of movements in the hotel
from across the road.
It was learnt that some of
the security staff of the hotel
came and told them to move
from the area even though
the public road or footpath is
not under their jurisdiction.
Even as some of the
media people wanted to have
refreshments at the hotel's
coffee shop, they were told
that if they are not staying in
the hotel in no uncertain
terms they won't be allowed
inside.
favour, that's something that
triggered a spark. Hopefully
this learning will remain in
their mind always," he said.

with bat, it's sadly not enough

anymore. Not much room is
left for wicketkeepers batting
lower than No 8," he said.
Asked about the one wicketkeeper-batsman who has
caught his attention in the
World Cup, Smith replied, "In
terms of pure wicketkeeping, I
think I would rate Quinton de
Kock as the best in the tournament so far. Having said that
MS Dhoni and Luke Ronchi are
also doing well."
For Smith the team that
will win the World Cup will
have to be the "best bowling
unit" in the tournament.

"I believe that the team that

wins World Cup may not be
the best batting side but certainly the best bowling side.
The simple reason being batting conditions are so good and
I don't see any difference in
India and New Zealand's batting qualities. Both India and
New Zealand look like going
through the pool stage unbeaten. It's good to win all pool
matches but it's not good
enough to win the World Cup.
I hope that for both India and
New Zealand, winning all
matches don't turn out to be a
bad omen," Smith signed off.

Karnataka clinch eighth Ranji title

PTI MUMBAI

efending champions
Karnataka clinched their
eighth Ranji Trophy title today
as they thrashed their southern
opponents Tamil Nadu by an
innings and 217 runs on the
last day of the Ranji Trophy
cricket tournament final at the
Wankhede stadium here on
Thursday.
The R Vinay Kumar-led
side always had the upper
hand in the five-day encounter
after bundling out Tamil Nadu
for 134 in the first innings and
then amassing 762 runs courtesy a triple century by middleorder batsman Karun Nair
(338).
Chasing an imposing 628,
Tamil Nadu were shot out for
411 in 107.5 overs in the final
session of the fifth day's play.
Starting the day on 113 for
three, Tamil Nadu saw resilient
centuries from Vijay Shankar
(103) and Dinesh Karthik (120)
but the writing was on the wall
after their departure.
Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal
(4-126) wrecked the Tamil
Nadu batting order with his
four scalps. Skipper R Vinay
Kumar, who became the joint
leading wicket taker this season, ended with two wickets,
along with Sreenath Aravind.
But the real hero for
Karnataka was the 23-yearold Nair, who deservedly got
the man-of the-match award
for his maiden triple ton in
first-class cricket.
The innings also saw centuries from Lokesh Rahul (188)
and R Vinay Kumar (105 not
out) as Karnataka did enough
to bat just once. For Tamil
Nadu, wicketkeeper-batsman
Karthik notched up his 23rd
first class century and his 112ball knock laced with 21 fours
and a six, while Shankar made
a fluent 103 (164b, 18x4).
Earlier, overnight batsman
Baba Aparajith (68) and Vijay
Shankar looked poised for a big
score, as they batted sensibly.
Tamil Nadu however lost
Aparajith in the 21st over of the
day thanks to a brilliant catch
from wicketkeeper Robin
Uthappa behind the stumps to
get rid off him.
The 20-year old added 32
runs to his overnight score of

36 and his 227 minutes at the

crease produced 11 fours. He
forged a 112-run stand with
Vijay Shankar for the fourth
wicket. His departure brought
Karthik to the crease, who set
an aggressive tone to the Tamil
Nadu innings only witness a
sorry end to a brave campaign. Karthik, who hadn't
scored a single run in the first
20 balls he faced, unleashed a
flurry of boundaries.
The 29-year old had just
three singles to his credit when
he notched up his half-century. His run-a-ball 53 comprised 11 fours and a six.
The seasoned cricketer,
who missed out in the first
innings due to a poor umpiring decision, struck three
boundaries in the 68th over off
Sharath. Shankar, despite playing the second fiddle, struck a
few shots of his own to usher
his century.
The 24-year old who had
shared a century stand with
Aparajith for the fourth wicket, combined with Karthik to
add 115 runs for the fifth
wicket.
With Tamil Nadu proceeding, well, Karnataka skipper R
Vinay Kumar took the new ball
in the 81st over which provided the much-needed breakthrough for the holders.
Shankar miscued a pull
shot and Vinay Kumar
pouched the ball off his own

TIWARY TO LEAD
REST OF INDIA
MUMBAI: Batsman Manoj
Tiwary was on Thursday
made captain of the Rest Of
India XI which will clash
with Ranji Trophy champions Karnataka for the Irani
Cup, beginning March 17 in
Bengaluru. The 15-member
ROI XI squad includes young
batsmen Unmukt Chand,
Aparajith Baba and Jiwanjot
Singh. According to a BCCI
release, the team was selected by the All India Senior
Selection Committee, which
met in Mumbai.
Squad: Manoj Tiwary, CAB
(Captain), Unmukt Chand
(DDCA), Jiwanjot Singh
(Punjab CA), Paras Dogra
(HPCA), Kedar Jadhav
(Maharashtra CA), Naman
Ojha (MPCA), Rishi Dhawan
(HPCA), Jayant Yadav
(Haryana CA), Pragyan Ojha
(Hyderabad CA), Shardul
Thakur (Mumbai CA), Varun
Aaron (Jharkhand SCA),
Rush Kalaria (Gujarat CA),
Aparajith Baba (TNCA), Jalaj
Saxena (MPCA) and Vijay
Shankar (TNCA).
bowling. R Prasanna (8) too
didn't last much as he was
caught at second slip off H S
Sharath in the 88th over.
Tamil Nadu were 378/6 at

tea, trailing behind Karnataka's

first innings lead of 628 by 250
runs. They lost Karthik in the
first ball off the second over
after the tea, diminishing the
hopes of avoiding an innings
defeat.
Karthik, who had escaped
a caught behind due to a noball from Sreenath Aravind in
the 91st over, played an insideout shot and was caught at deep
cover by Aravind off Gopal.
Aswin Crist was stumped
off Gopal two overs later, with
Tamil Nadu reeling at 379/8.
Malolan Rangarajan hung
around sometime playing a
couple of strokes to delay the
inevitable but was caught at
slips off Aravind. His 77-ball 33
yielded six fours.
Prasanth Parameswaran,
who was injured on the third
day while fielding, did not
come into bat.
Karnataka got a cash prize
of Rs 2 crore while the runnersup Tamil Nadu received a cash
prize of Rs 1 crore.
BRIEF SCORES:
Tamil Nadu 134 and 411/9
(Dinesh Karthik 120, Vijay
Shankar 103, Aparajith 68;
Shreyas Gopal 4-126, Vinay
Kumar 2-43, Sreentah Aravind
2-52) Karnataka (1st innings)
762 all out (Karun Nair 328,
Lokesh Rahul 188, Vinay
Kumar 105 not out;
Laxmipathy Balaji 3-120,
Malolan Rangarajan 3-183).

Field restrictions curtailing role of spinners: Raman Virat has progressed well but still lot to achieve: Whatmore
MUMBAI: Not too impressed with the
field restriction rules being used in the
ODIs right now, former India opener WV
Raman has said the current format hardly leaves any scope for the spinners to create impact.
"The field restrictions, four in the
perimeter (outside the 30-yard circle) is not
good enough. On one side we talk about
trying to preserve Test cricket and on the
other hand if you are going to have only
four in perimeter, how are you going to
apply the spinners in the one-dayers?"
asked Raman.
"If they don't (play) spinners in the
one-day side, how do you expect them to
be picked up in the Test format of the
game. You need to give a chance to the
spinners because you need the spinners to
be playing a major part in cricket," the 49year-old said.
The former left-handed batsman

spoke about the four decades of World Cup

in his keynote address at the Legends Club
here last evening at a function to celebrate
Vijay Hazare's birth centenary.
The Tamil Nadu coach said standardised pitches were the reason why teams are
able to score 300 plus totals consistently
now.
"Standardisation of pitches by the
ICC happened sometime ago. They wanted pitches to be standardised. They felt that
if they come to the sub-continent wickets,
the matches will swing like a yo-yo. So they
felt they should at least have certain consistency about it.
"Even if you look at the 2003 World
Cup in South Africa, people expected the
tracks to be bouncier but they were flat
except for the one game which featured
India and England. If you were to have the
pitches retaining their basic characteristics,
I am sure the score won't be so consistent,"

he said. Raman rated the Clive Lloyd-led

West Indies as the best team, saying it
dominated like no other.
"I would say Lloyd's team was the best
team. If you look at the way they played,
Australia won thrice (in a row) that is fine,
but if you look at the way they played all
those years, they dominated in all formats
of the game.
"The only difference between the
Australian team that dominated and
Lloyd's team was that they were never beaten.
They (Australia) tripped against New
Zealand (in 99 World Cup). The Aussies
always lost a Test even if they went on to
win the series. That never happened with
West Indies, as far as I can remember," he
said. The former Tamil Nadu player
picked co-hosts New Zealand to finish as
the runners-up during the ongoing World
Cup.

AUCKLAND: Zimbabwe coach Dav

Whatmore says Virat Kohli is one of the
few players who have realised their potential after showing initial promise but the
young India Test captain still has a long
way to go.
Whatmore was the coach of the India
Under-19 team when Kohli and Ravindra
Jadeja were emerging as the next batch of
India prospect.
Come Saturday, Whatmore will be trying to stop Kohli from demolishing his
inexperienced bowling attack but that did
not stop the former World Cup winning
coach of Sri lanka from being liberal in his
praise for the two players.
"Like with any young player, when you
are involved with their (Kohli, Jadeja)
development, it's always nice to see their
progress. To be honest, I was only with
them for a short period of time and the
time I spent there was totally enjoyable,"

Whatmore told media on the sidelines of

Zimbabwe team's practice session at the
Eden Park on Thursday.
"It wasn't difficult to see that they had
the potential to go on and it's very pleasing to see that they have realized that
potential but you know, there's still more
to do."
Whatmore did not give too much
importance to Kohli's volatile temperament which has been much discussed of
late. For Whatmore that's an extension of
his confidence as he can match his aggression with performance.
"Well, he's (Kohli) confident lad and
he was confident also as an U-19 captain.
There are plenty of examples of confident
young players, who don't follow up and follow through but he (Kohli) certainly has,"
said Whatmore, who was the chief coach
of the Kohli-led India colts side that won
the junior World Cup in 2008 in Kuala

Lumpur.
Whatmore has an enviable record
against India as an opposition coach in
World Cups over the years.
Whatmore was the coach when Sri
Lanka hammered India twice during
1996 edition while he was in-charge of
Bangladesh in 2007 when Rahul Dravid's
team had shock first-round exit. But the
Australian did not give much importance
to that statistical information as Zimbabwe
has failed to qualify for the second round.
"Maybe that's a statement of fact but
that's about it, you know. Everything is different now. This is also a fact that this will
be the first World Cup, where I am not into
the second round so that doesn't automatically follow it," he said as disappointment
was writ large on Whatmore's face.
Whatmore is very impressed with the
current Indian team which he feels is better than some of the earlier teams.