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NEARBY
SC warns Haryana
NEW DELHI
Abhinandan arrives to hero’s welcome
The Supreme Court on Friday
threatened Haryana with
contempt if it goes ahead and
Crowds throng Wagah border post; pilot whisked away by IAF authorities after Pak. hands him over
implements a new law
allowing construction in the
Vikas Vasudeva
Dinakar Peri
Aravali Hills. CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI
DELHI METRO A PAGE 1
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Indian Air Force fighter pilot
Wing Commander Abhinan­
dan Varthaman was freed by
Pakistan on Friday, two days
after his MiG­21 fighter jet
came down in Pakistan­oc­
cupied Kashmir (PoK).
“Wing Commander Abhi­
nandan Varthaman has been
handed over to us as per
standard operating proce­
dure of the IAF. He is now be­
ing taken for a detailed med­
ical checkup,” Air Vice­
Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor, As­
sistant Chief of Air Staff
(ACAS) Operations (Space),
told reporters at Attari in
Amritsar, reading from a pre­
pared text.
IAF happy
He said a medical checkup is
mandated, particularly be­
cause the officer has had to
eject from an aeroplane,
which could have put his en­
DELHI METRO A 4 PAGES tire body under great stress.
Oppn. doubting armed forces, helping Pak.: Modi
In Kanniyakumari, PM says these parties are guided only by ‘Modi hatred’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi
K. Palaniswami in Kanniyakumari on Friday. A. SHAIKMOHIDEEN
*
CM
YK
saturday, march 2, 2019
Back home: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, accompanied by Pakistan’s Foreign
Office Director (India) Fareha Bugti, being released at the Wagah border on Friday. PTI
“IAF is happy to have Abhi­
nandan back,” he added.
Wg. Cdr. Varthaman was
brought from Islamabad to
Wagah by the Pakistani auth­
orities and handed over to
Indian High Commission offi­
cials after completion of the
formalities. From there, he
was taken by road to Amrit­
P. SUDhAKAR
KANNIYAKUMARI
Accusing the Opposition par­
ties of indirectly helping Pa­
kistan and harming India,
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Friday alleged that a
few parties, “guided by Modi
hatred, have started hating
India.”
He also accused these par­
ties, which he did not name,
of suspecting the armed
forces when the entire coun­
try was supporting them.
sar by the IAF and flown to
Delhi in an IAF aircraft.
Since morning, there was
much back and forth on how
and where he would be
handed over. India had sug­
gested that it would send a
plane to pick him from Isla­
mabad. “IAF Embraer jets
were on standby to leave, in
“The world is supporting
India’s fight against terror
but a few parties suspect our
fight against terror. These
are the same people whose
statements are helping Pa­
kistan and harming India,”
Mr. Modi said here, after
launching several highway
and railway projects, includ­
ing the Tejas train, and dedi­
cating other completed
projects.
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10
* in line with international
case Pakistan accepted it,”
one defence official said.
However, Pakistan con­
veyed that since its air space
was closed, it would bring
him to the border point by
road and hand him over to
India there. Accordingly, Wg.
Cdr. Varthaman was brought
in a Pakistani Army convoy
AAP­Cong.
alliance on
the cards?
Sandeep Phukan
Jaideep Deo Bhanj
NEW DELHI
The Congress and the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) could
work out an alliance for
the seven Lok Sabha seats
of Delhi as early as next
week if the central leader­
ship of the former can
“convince” the Delhi unit
of the party.
#398299
DETAILS ON A PAGE 10
while officials from the In­
dian High Commission came
along close by.
Tight security
Amid tight security, scores of
people in a jubilant mood,
waving the national flag,
were seen gathered on the
Indian side of the border at a
distance from the Attari Joint
Check Post to give a hero’s
welcome to the IAF pilot.
In a statement, the Pakis­
tan Foreign Office referred to
Wg. Cdr. Varthaman as an In­
dian Prisoner of War and
said, “While in captivity, he
was treated with dignity and
law.” It said Prime Minister
Imran Khan had announced
his return as a goodwill ges­
ture aimed at “de­escalating”
rising tensions with India.
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10
PARENTS GET STANDING
OVATION A PAGE 11
ABHINANDAN MADE TO RECORD
VIDEO STATEMENT A PAGE 11
JeM chief in Pakistan: Qureshi
Mehmal Sarfraz
Lahore
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister
Shah Mehmood Qureshi has
said Jaish­e­Mohammad
( JeM) chief Masood Azhar is
in Pakistan, and asked India
to give “solid inalienable evi­
dence” for action to be taken
against him.
“According to my infor­
mation, he is very unwell.
He is unwell to the extent
that he cannot leave his
house because he is really
unwell. That’s the informa­
tion I have,” Mr. Qureshi told
CNN in an interview.
https://t.
At OIC meet, India
flays terror funding
Dismantle terrorist camps: Sushma
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
In a major diplomatic move,
India on Friday hit out at Pa­
kistan during a meeting of
Foreign Ministers at the Or­
ganisation of Islamic Coop­
eration (OIC).
In a speech at the inaugu­
ral plenary of the 46th ses­
sion of the OIC Council of
Foreign Ministers, External
Affairs Minister Sushma
Swaraj stressed that the anti­
terror fight was not a clash
among civilisations.
“If we want to save hu­
manity, we must tell the
states who provide shelter
and funding to the terrorists
to dismantle the infrastruc­
ture of the terrorist camps
and stop providing funding
and shelter to the terror or­
ganisations based in their
country,” Ms. Swaraj said,
hinting at Pakistan.
India is not a member of
the OIC, but was invited to
pendent judiciary of Pakis­
Minister.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi
“If they [India] give us evi­
dence which is acceptable to
the courts of Pakistan — after
all, we will have to justify.
They will go to court. If they
Delhi
City Edition
24 pages O ₹ 10.00
Talking tough: Sushma
Swaraj at the meeting in Abu
Dhabi on Friday. PTI *
the Abu Dhabi meeting as
the guest of honour. Reflect­
ing her comments, T.S. Tiru­
murti, Secretary in­charge
of Economic Relations, Mi­
nistry of External Affairs,
said, “It is a historic day,
which opens a new chapter
in the engagement with the
OIC. India has a civilisation­
al and robust relationship
with OIC countries.”
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10
CHINA HOPES PAK. MOVE WILL
EASE TENSIONS A PAGE 11
have solid inalienable evi­
dence, share it with us so
that we can convince the pe­
ople and convince the inde­
tan,” said the Foreign
“We will be open to any
step that leads to de­escala­
tion. If they have good solid
evidence, please sit and talk.
Please initiate a dialogue
and we will show
reasonableness.”
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10
NEW DELHI BRIEFS COLOMBO
ON PULWAMA ATTACK A PAGE 11
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DELHI Timings
Saturday, Mar. 02
RISE 06:46 SET 18:21
RISE 03:59 SET 14:41
Tripura firing: CM
EDUCATIONAL
vows action against
Sunday, Mar. 03
RISE 06:45 SET 18:22
RISE 04:44 SET 15:33
Monday, Mar. 04
RISE 06:44 SET 18:22
RISE 05:26 SET 16:25 erring personnel
8 persons were injured in Jan. 8 incident
Press Trust of India
Agartala
Tripura Chief Minister Bi­
plab Kumar Deb on Friday
informed the Assembly that
action will be taken against
security personnel for firing
on protesters at Madhabbari
in West Tripura district on
January 8 during an anti­citi­
zenship Bill agitation.
Police authorities have al­
so been asked to identify the Tripura Chief Minister
personnel involved in at­ Biplab Kumar Deb.
tacking an ambulance carry­
OBITUARY & ing patients on the same day nel. The role of the SDPO
REMEMBRANCE and legal action would be in­ was not desired and action
itiated against them, Mr. Deb will be taken against him,”
DEATH said. the Chief Minister said.
V.K.SOUNDARARAJAN (70) s/o Late He said an ambulance
V Krishnamachari passed away 1/3/19 Citizenship Bill protest which started with patients
in Chennai. 9841971811, 9840170419
At least eight persons, in­ from Kherengbar Hospital at
cluding members of the Twi­ Khumulwng towards GB
pra Students’ Federation Pant Hospital in Agartala
who were protesting against came under attack by secur­
the Citizenship (Amend­ ity personnel at Dasharam­
ment) Bill, were injured bari, 5 k.m. away from the
when the police opened fire place of protest.
to disperse them during a The personnel involved in
bandh called in all the it could not be specifically
Northeastern States by va­ identified but the battalions
rious students’ bodies. of the police, Tripura State
The Chief Minister visited Rifles and Central Reserve
the area on January 19 and Police Force have been
ordered a magisterial probe known, Mr. Deb said.
into the incident. “We can’t tolerate if pol­
“The Sub­Divisional Pol­ ice personnel engaged for
ice Officer of Jirania had suf­ public safety disrupt peace,”
ficient police and paramili­ he said. The authorities of
tary force at his disposal, but TSR and CRPF have also
the incident could not be been instructed to identify
contained due to lack of those involved in the inci­
coordination between pol­ dent and award suitable
ice and paramilitary person­ punishment to them.

2 jawans killed, 25 hurt in

road accident in Odisha
Staff Reporter
#398299
BHUBANESWAR
Two jawans of Odisha Spe­
cial Armed Police died and
25 others sustained injuries
when the van they were tra­
velling in collided with a
truck near Belpahar on
NH­49 in Jharsuguda district
early on Friday.
The victims — Prashant
Behera and Shankar Prasad
Pant — were part of the OSAP
party which was on its way
to Banharpalli where Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaik ad­
dressed a public meeting la­
ter in the day.
Seven of the jawans were
shifted to VSS Institute of
Medical Sciences and Re­
search, Burla, after their
condition deteriorated. The
rest of them were being
treated at Brajarajnagar and
Belphar. The police vehicle
carrying 40 trainee jawans of
OSAP’s 2nd Battalion had set
out for Banharpalli around
6.30 a.m.
Mr. Patnaik announced an
ex gratia of ₹5 lakh each and
government jobs to the next
of kin of the deceased ja­
wans. In case of any threa­
tened disability, an ex gratia
of ₹1 lakh has been an­
nounced.

SITUATION VACANT

GENERAL

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IN BRIEF
Convention on cow
conservation in Jaipur
JAIPUR
The Rajasthan government
will organise a State­level
convention on cow
conservation here on
Saturday. Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot will be the
chief guest at the event, an
official statement said. PTI
2 held with morphine
worth ₹3.5 crore in U.P.
LUCKNOW
Two persons were arrested in
Barabanki district on Friday
with morphine worth ₹3.5
crore in the international
market, police said here. The
accused were arrested from
Harak crossing with the
contraband, they said. PTI
Ten injured as two buses
collide near Shimla
SHIMLA
Ten persons sustained injuries
as two buses collided at Kufri
in Himachal Pradesh’s Shimla
district on Friday, police said.
A HRTC bus collided with a
private bus at Kufri
bifurcation around 10 a.m.,
DSP Pramod Shukla said. PTI
Rahul Gandhi to address rally in
Ranchi today; won’t meet Lalu
‘First visit to Jharkhand after 2014 Lok Sabha election’
Press trust of india
Ranchi
Congress president Rahul
Gandhi is scheduled to ad­
dress a rally here on Satur­
day along with leaders of the
Mahagathbandhan (grand
alliance) for the upcoming
Lok Sabha polls..
Mr. Gandhi will speak at
the party’s Parivartan Ulgu­
lan Maha Rally at the Morah­
badi ground with leaders of
the JMM, the JVM and the
RJD, JPCC spokesman Lal
Kishore Nath Shahdeo said
on Friday.
“The JMM working presi­
dent Hemant Soren, The
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha
(Prajatantrik) chief Babulal
Marandi and the RJD’s Jhark­
hand unit president Anna­
purna Devi have been invit­
ed to participate in the
Congress rally tomorrow,”
Rajbhar to meet Shah over sub-quota issue
SBSP chief had threatened to part ways with BJP if it was not implemented
Press trust of india
Ballia (U.P.)
Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj
Party (SBSP) chief Om Pra­
kash Rajbhar, who had
warned of parting ways with
the National Democratic Al­
liance over the sub­quota de­
mand, said on Friday the
matter would be taken up
with BJP president Amit
Shah next week.
Mr. Rajbhar, the Back­
ward Class Minister in the
Bharatiya Janata Party go­
vernment in Uttar Pradesh,
has been vocal about imple­
Rajasthan Governor for
increasing artistes’ pay
‘Request will be sent to the Centre’
Special Correspondent
JAIPUR
Rajasthan Governor Kalyan
Singh has rooted for increas­
ing the remuneration paid
to folk artistes invited to per­
form in the events organised
by the government and priv­
ate bodies. “Artistes come
from the far­off villages and
make great efforts to pre­
serve our art and culture
through their performanc­
es,” Mr. Singh said.
Mr. Singh was a address­
ing a meeting of the govern­
ing body and executive
board of the West Zone Cul­
tural Centre, which he
heads, at Raj Bhawan here.
He said the WZCC would in­
crease the payments made
to artistes from ₹800 to
₹2,000 each and an official
request in this regard would
be sent to the Union Minis­
CM
YK
Not in race for the PM
post, says Gadkari
Backs Narendra Modi to take the country ahead
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
New Delhi
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari
said on Friday that he is not
in the race for the post of
Prime Minister and termed
himself as a “pure RSS” man
for whom the nation is
supreme.
The senior BJP leader said
that his party would get an
absolute majority in the up­
coming general election and
the country would go ahead
on the path of development
under Prime Minister Naren­
dra Modi while “we are
standing behind him”.
Reacting to speculations
that in case of a fractured
mandate, he would be the
BJP’s consensus prime mi­
nisterial candidate, the Mi­
nister said at a conclave or­
ganised by a media group
that it is like “Mungeri Lal Ke
Haseen Sapne”
(daydreaming).
“I have nothing to do with
it. I am not in the race. Modi
ji is the PM and will become
Prime Minister again. I am
Congress president
Rahul Gandhi *
Mr. Shahdeo said.
The JPCC spokesman, ho­
wever, dismissed possibility
of Mr. Gandhi meeting the
RJD president Lalu Prasad
lodged in jail here after con­
viction in cases of the multi­
crore fodder scam.
There is no possibility,
Mr. Shahdeo said when
asked whether the party has
taken permission from the
jail authorities for Mr. Gand­
SBSP chief O.P. Rajbhar.
menting an expert group re­
commendation on subcate­
gorisation of the 27% Other
Backward Class reservation
try of Culture.
The WZCC, headquar­
tered in Udaipur, is engaged
in the promotion of various
art forms of western States
and connecting the people
living in urban, rural and tri­
bal areas with their cultural
roots. It represents four
States ­ Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Maharashtra and Goa.
Shilpgram expansion
The Governor gave instruc­
tions for expansion of
‘Shilpgram’, which has been
established by WZCC as a
craft village in Udaipur for
depicting the architecture,
traditional arts and diversity
and aesthetic sense of the
four States.
Mr. Singh said the annual
‘Shilpgram Utsav’ organised
in Udaipur would also be
popularised.
Union Transport
Minister Nitin Gadkari.
from the RSS. Our mission is
to work for the nation. The
country is progressing in
terms of development and
growth under Modiji’s lea­
dership. I have come as a
supporter in this work and
will do whatever work is as­
signed to me for the country.
Where does the question of
my becoming PM arise?” he
said.
Asserting that “I am not a
calculating politician”, Mr.
Gadkari said he spoke wha­
tever he felt from within.
“Neither do I dream it, nor is
hi to call on Prasad.
The RJD chief has been in
Ranchi’s Birsa Munda jail
since December 2017 after
his conviction in cases of the
over ₹900 crore fodder
scam that broke out in early
1990s in the united Bihar.
Important ally
The RJD has been an impor­
tant ally of the Congress in
Bihar as well in Jharkhand
and Prasad is the national
president of the party.
Though Opposition par­
ties have appeared together
on many occasions as partn­
ers of the Mahagathband­
han, but seat­sharing among
them is still not clinched.
This will be the first visit
by Mr. Gandhi to Jharkhand
after the 2014 Lok Sabha and
Assembly elections, another
Congress leader said.
into three categories to be­
nefit the most­backward
castes.
“A meeting with the BJP
president Amit Shah has
been fixed for March 4 (Mon­
day) during which all issues,
including the implementa­
tion of social justice commit­
tee recommendations will be
taken up,” Mr. Rajbhar told
*
reporters after a programme
at Rasra in Ballia district.
“The matter over contin­
uation in the alliance with
the BJP has not yet been re­
solved,” the SBSP leader
https://t.me/BrightFuture
NORTH 3
any liaisoning or PR,” he
said.
Asked why he is seen as
the Opposition’s favourite
man in the government, Mr.
Gadkari said he is a worka­
holic. “Whoever comes to
me, my thinking remains
positive. I tell my officials,
‘He has come to me… that
means he has some pro­
blem. Keep a positive ap­
proach and solve it. If not
*
possible say why it cannot
be done.’ I do not behave as
per political calculations.
This is my natural behaviour
and that is why opponents
also become friends,” he
said.
‘Not enemies’
The Union Minister played
down talk about the BJP
striving for a “Congress­
mukt Bharat”, saying the
ideologies of both the par­
ties are different and “we are
not enemies of each other”.
“A difference of opinion
can be there... it is our tradi­
tion,” he said.
Clash in U.P.
town over
‘harassment’
Indo-Asian News Service
Lucknow
Six persons have been ar­
rested after two communi­
ties clashed following an
incident of harassment in
Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnore dis­
trict, police said on Friday.
The violence erupted in
Khurram Sarai locality late
on Thursday.
Initial probe revealed
that a youth and his friends
passed lewd comments on
some girls, leading to #398299
young men from the other
community to intervene.
Both sides fought pitched
street battles. Extra police
was deployed and the sit­
uation was brought under
control, police officer Pra­
vin Kumar said. The police
have stepped up vigil.
A similar incident had
led to massive riots in
Shamli and Muzaffarnagar
districts in 2013.
said.
Mr. Rajbhar had earlier
threatened to part ways with
the BJP if recommendations
of the social justice commit­
tee were not implemented
by February 24, but had later
decided to defer a decision
in view of the meeting with
BJP leadership.
Office allotment
Besides the implementation
of the recommendations,
the SBSP chief has also been
demanding an office for his
party in Lucknow.
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EDUCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL

19 YEARS (2000−2018) Solved Papers

of CS Preliminary Exam GS Paper I
@ Rs. 10/− www.PrelimsModelTests.
com

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Fires are a crucial component of some forest systems, says group of scientists
‘Complexities of forest fires need to be
understood and managed better’
Aathira Perinchery
Kochi
Fires are sprouting in forest
tracts, especially across
southern India. As harried
Forest Departments and
Fire Services personnel
douse flames, and photo­
graphs of wildlife and trees
burnt to cinder make the
rounds, a group of scientists
is asking a question that
would seem almost unbe­
lievable under the current
circumstances: are some
forest fires necessarily as
bad as we make them out to
be?
Six scientists who study
fire­prone forest systems
across India have written an
open letter on the impor­
tance of “fighting fire with
IN BRIEF
Leopard on prowl caught
on camera in Telangana
HYDERABAD
The Forest Department on
Thursday captured the first
camera trap images of the
leopard which is giving
sleepless nights to villagers
in Yacharam mandal. It is said
to have killed about 10 to 15
animals.
Man with monkey fever
dies in Karnataka
SHIVAMOGGA
A 68­year­old man,
Parshwanath Jain, from
Kalamanji village in Sagar
taluk who tested positive for
Kyasanur Forest Disease
(KFD), also known as monkey
fever, died at a private
hospital at Manipal in Udupi
district on Friday.
‘Penkoottu’ to take up ‘right
to sit’ campaign in Kerala
Drive by women’s group to be held from March 8 to May 1
Aabha Raveendran
Kozhikode
‘Penkoottu’ is planning a
two­month campaign to en­
sure that the women work­
ers’ right to sit, which they
earned through a relentless
struggle, becomes a reality
in all shops across the State.
The campaign will start
on March 8, International
Women’s Day, and end on
May 1, Labour Day. It may be
noted that the ‘right to sit’
campaign gained strength
during the same period in
2014.
During the two months,
‘Penkoottu’ volunteers will
monitor shops to see if the
‘right to sit’ is being imple­
mented. In case of a pro­
Drought situation ‘grim’ in Karnataka
156 of 176 taluks reeling under severe water crisis due to deficient rainfall
Special Correspondent
BENGALURU
The Karnataka government
has described the drought
situation in the State as
“grim and devastating” as
156 of the 176 taluks are faced
with severe water crisis.
With deficient rainfall during
both kharif and rabi seasons
in 2018­19, the condition of
farmers has deteriorated.
Revenue Minister R.V.
Deshpande, Animal Husban­
dry Minister Venkatarao Na­
dagouda, and Rural Develop­
ment and Panchayat Raj
Minister Krishna Byre Gow­
da on Friday held a review
meeting on the drought sit­
uation along with a nine­
member Central team that
visited 14 districts.
Release of funds sought
Mr. Deshpande told repor­
ters after the meeting that
the government had urged
the Centre to immediately
release funds as stipulated
under the National Disaster
CM
YK
fire.” The letter, signed by
Dr. Abi Tamim Vanak, Dr.
Ankila Hiremath and Dr. Ni­
tin Rai of the Ashoka Trust
for Research in Ecology and
the Environment (ATREE);
Dr. Raman Sukumar of the
Indian Institute of Science
(IISc); Dr. Jayashree Ratnam
of the National Centre for Bi­
ological Sciences’ (NCBS);
and Tarsh Thekaekara of
The Shola Trust, says that
“there is an urgent need for
a more nuanced view of for­
est fires.”
The reasons for this —
based on history, ecology,
science and indigenous
knowledge — are many. Ac­
cording to the scientists, for­
est fires have been occurring
in India from at least 60,000
Give a 2014-like mandate: Modi
Opposition remarks against railway zone anti­people, PM says in Vizag
Sumit Bhattacharjee
VISAKHAPATNAM
A strong government is
needed to protect the inter­
ests of the nation, Prime Na­
rendra Modi has said, and
appealed to the people to ex­
ercise their mandate like
they did in 2014, by voting
for the BJP.
He was addressing a pu­
blic meeting organised by
the BJP at the Railway
Grounds here on Friday
evening. In his opening re­
marks in chaste Telugu, the
PM declared his commit­
ment to the development of
Uttarandhra. He said Visak­
hapatnam was a dream city
for the youth of this region
and the country and its deve­
lopment into a smart city
was the Central govern­
ment’s prime agenda.
blem, the employees will be
sensitised regarding their
rights and the employer will
be warned. In case of oppo­
sition, the organisation
plans to take the issue to
court and present the find­
ings before the authorities.
‘Penkoottu’, an organisa­
tion of women working in
SM Street, the commercial
hub of Kozhikode, has been
in the forefront of the ‘right
to sit’ campaign as it was
found that employees, most­
ly women, in many shops,
especially textile shops,
were not allowed to sit dur­
ing their working hours.
Its relentless struggle re­
sulted in the State govern­
ment enacting an amend­
Assessing loss: The Central team visiting drought­hit areas in
Yadgir district on Wednesday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
*
Response Fund (NDRF) to
the State.
It is estimated that the loss
owing to natural calamities,
including floods/landslips
and drought during both
kharif and rabi seasons is
₹32,335 crore. The Centre so
far has released just ₹949.49
crore as against the NDRF
norm of ₹4,460 crore, the
Minister said.
“We have apprised the
Central team about the non­
release of financial assis­
years ago, ever since mod­
ern humans appeared here.
They added that “forests
that we think are natural
and ‘pristine’ have often
been created by anthropo­
genic burning for thousands
of years.”
Dormant seeds revive
In fact, several native trees
and plants in these land­
scapes have “co­evolved”
with fire: fire helps revive
dormant seeds of many spe­
cies. A study by Dr. Sukumar
and Dr. Nandita Mondal
showed that, in Mudumalai,
even young woody trees sur­
vive ground fires and have
higher growth rates imme­
diately post­fire, until they
reach a certain height.
Another study, published
just a month ago by Dr. Rat­
nam and her co­authors, re­
veals that fires, along with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public meeting in
Visakhapatnam on Friday. C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
*
“The NDA government
has fulfilled the long­pend­
ing demand of the people of
this region by announcing
the formation of a new rail­
way zone with Visakhapat­
nam as its headquarters,” he
said.
The zone would benefit
the people of this region,
ment to the Kerala shops
and Establishments Act in
July 2018, which made it
mandatory for employers to
provide a chair or stool to
the employees and also limit
their working hours to eight.
BBC recognition
P. Viji, secretary of ‘Penkoot­
tu’, was recognised by the
BBC as one of the 100 wo­
men who created positive
changes in the world for her
role in the campaign.
“We found that despite
the amendment to the Act,
many employees in textile
shops are still not allowed to
sit. They keep a stool to ap­
pease the authorities,” P. Viji
told The Hindu.
tance from the Centre,” Mr.
Deshpande said.
The team, which had inte­
racted with farmers and
farm labourers during its vi­
sit to villages, will submit a
report to the Centre soon,
the Minister said.
The State had suffered
agricultural crop loss on
about 19.46 lakh hectares
while horticulture crops on
23,313.37 hectares too had
dried up during the 2018–19
rabi season. The total esti­
https://t.me/BrightFuture
DELHI THE HINDU
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019
seasonal droughts, which which the Soligas rely upon of large fires later in the sea­
are again painted as proble­ for forest produce. son, he said.
matic, are important drivers But what about large “If an area is continuously
of dry deciduous tracts fires, such as the recent one protected from fire, it could
across Andhra Pradesh­Te­ in Karnataka’s Bandipur Na­ catch fire once in four years
langana, Tamil Nadu and tional Park? or so because of the high ac­
Karnataka. Yet, the concept High­intensity fires would cumulation of grass, wood
of fires being entirely detri­ have negative effects, agree and twigs,” he said. “But fire
mental to these ecosystems, the scientists, but they hap­ [as a tool] has to be used ve­
argue the signatory scien­ pen only because dry bio­ ry intelligently,” Mr. Dharni
tists, has been derived from mass has been allowed to added.
a colonial concept that build up and low­intensity
looked at forests only for controlled burning has been ‘Push for changes’
their timber potential. As a stopped. In their letter, the signatory
result, fire exclusion and scientists request policy
suppression is the norm. Fiery issue: Several native trees and plants have ‘co­evolved’ ‘Important tool’ makers and Forest Depart­
More evidence points to with fire, according to scientists. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *
Fire is indeed an important ments “to push for changes
fires even suppressing inva­ tool in forest management, in legislation that allow for
sive species. Over a decade stopped their traditional use counts, hairy mistletoe — a said A.K. Dharni, Kerala’s more scientific and thought­
of working with the Soliga of small “litter fires” just be­ parasitic shrub that affects Principal Chief Conservator ful management of forests”.
communities at Karnataka’s fore the dry season set in. mature trees — has also of Forests­Forest Manage­ They also suggest that NGOs
Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Dr. Rai’s work, as well as thrived due to fire suppres­ ment. Controlled fires in and activists engage with
Tiger Reserve, Dr. Rai and other studies, link this to the sion. Studies corroborate areas that have huge fuel these complexities and
some of his colleagues at abundance of invasive lanta­ this too: mistletoe­induced loads (dry litter and biomass nuances about forest fires
ATREE find that the exclu­ na that now chokes other tree deaths are high and on the forest floor) around rather than advocating
sion of tribal communities native plants there. have resulted in the decline December can help prevent “blanket ‘stop forest fire’
from the reserve had in turn According to Soligas’ ac­ of wild gooseberry trees, as well as reduce the impact campaigns.”
No question of contesting
Islamic nations
are with India, as BJP candidate: Sumalatha
says Rajnath
‘Reports of saffron party support false’
He said the leader of the Staff Reporter
HYDERABAD MURALIDHARA KHAJANE
State was an expert in taking
BENGALURU
‘U­turns,’ in an oblique refe­ Home Minister Rajnath
Actor Sumalatha, wife of
rence to Chief Minister N. Singh on Friday said that
late M.H. Ambareesh, who
Chandrababu Naidu. Islamic countries were sup­
“Had he fulfilled all his porting India in its fight has resolved to contest the
promises, there would have against terrorism and un­ Lok Sabha election only
been no necessity to pass the derscored that it was from Mandya constituency,
buck to Modi,” he said. wrong to associate terro­ on Friday rubbished specu­
“I have no fear of any file rism with a religion. lation that she would con­
being opened as I carry no He was speaking to offic­ test the polls either as an In­
baggage.” The Opposition ers and the media at the in­ dependent with the support Sumalatha meeting
wanted him out as he was auguration of the National of the BJP or as the saffron Congress workers in Mandya
taking strong decisions in Investigation Agency’s Of­ party’s candidate. district on Friday.
Ms. Sumalatha told The
the interest of the country, fice and residential com­
said Mr. Modi. On the Oppo­ the farmers and the poor. plex here. “I am very hap­ Hindu on Friday that she, Independent and taking the
sitions parties’ adverse com­ While the whole world py to tell you that Islamic too, was surprised after support of the BJP will not
ments on the zone, he said, was demanding an answer countries of the world are hearing such rumours. “So arise under any circum­
“The leadership in the State from Pakistan, some of the supporting us fully. At this far, nobody from the BJP has stances,” she said.
does not want the children Opposition leaders were time, the Organisation of approached me for extend­ Congress leaders had sug­
of A.P. to grow and benefit, making statements that were Islamic Cooperation has ing support of any kind. The gested that she contest from
as they are keen on the deve­ demoralising the armed for the first time invited the reports of the BJP support­ Bengaluru South instead of
lopment of their own chil­ forces and being used by the Minister of External Affairs ing me are false and com­ disturbing coalition dynam­
dren, and that is why they neighbour to make its case in of India as the guest of ho­ pletely fabricated. The ques­ ics in Mandya.
are spreading lies.” its Parliament, he alleged. nour,” Mr. Singh said. tion of contesting as an
#398299
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Green comeback 3 States vow
to curb red
sanders racket
Special Correspondent
TIRUPATI
Officials of the police and
forest departments of And­
hra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
and Karnataka have com­
mitted themselves to pro­
tecting the red sanders tree
wealth and curtail their illi­
cit felling and smuggling
from Seshachalam forest.
At an inter­State meeting
here on Friday, the officials
came out with a blue print
for curbing the internation­
al racket by roping in agen­
cies such as Customs and
Revenue Intelligence.
Principal Chief Conser­
vator of Forest (A.P.) Mo­
hammed Ilyas Rizvi offered
to enhance manpower
strength, arms and ammu­
Vegetable farming is back in full swing in Vellayani near Thiruvananthapuram. Following the unprecedented floods in August nition and protective gear
last year, these fields had remained submerged for months, causing losses to farmers. S. GOPAKUMAR *
to the guards.
Mukti, an alliance to combat bonded labour
Several people rescued from bonded labour yet to get government facilities
Special Correspondent pending before the KSHRC.
mated loss during rabi was Bengaluru “When I inquired what the
about ₹22,384.47 crore, the Although labourers rescued problem was, I learnt that
Minister said. from bonded labour have bonded labour cases are not
been issued release certifi­ reported. All officials tend to
Relief funds cates by their jurisdictional be in denial mode,” he said.
He said the deputy commis­ tahsildars, they continue to Asserting that the com­
sioners had over ₹647 crore live in poverty as they are mission is ready to take up
at their disposal to take up unable to to receive govern­ cases, he said, “We are ready
drought relief works in their ment benefits without an to take up suo motu cases
respective districts. Over 370 Aadhaar card, BPL ration even if it is reported in the
villages were being provided card, and voter identity media.”
drinking water through 706 cards. Pointing out that it is a
tankers and 401 villages This was the common Shaking off shackles: Justice D.H. Waghela launching the “shame” that bonded labour
through hired private bore­ grouse of most rescued la­ Mukti alliance in Bengaluru on Friday V. SREENIVASA MURTHY *
exists even in suburban
wells. In urban areas, 181 bourers, who participated in areas, Mr. Atheeq said, “This
wards were being provided the launch of Mukti, an al­ owner was sentenced to 10 ven following the rescue,” he is a crime we need to tackle,
drinking water through liance to end bonded labour years in prison. Four years said. address and prevent. Several
tankers. and human trafficking that have gone by, and we do not Mukti was launched by government agencies con­
About 10.68 lakh works was held at the Vikasa Soud­ have Aadhaar card, ration D.H. Waghela, chairperson cerned with the issue must
had been provided and more ha on Friday. Over 60 non­ card, or any other govern­ of the Karnataka State Hu­ come together with civil so­
than nine crore man­days governmental organisations ment identity card.” man Rights Commission ciety and NGOs to address
have been generated till date (NGOs) from across Karnata­ Urging the government to (KSHRC), and L.K .Atheeq, this crime.”
under the Mahatma Gandhi ka came together to form provide facilities to them, M. Principal Secretary, Rural Cynthia Stephen, director
National Rural Employment Mukti, Raju, who was rescued from Development and Panchayat and founding member of
Guarantee Act. Narrating her ordeal a stone quarry in Kolar three Raj (RDPR), the nodal de­ Mukti, said the alliance is an
A total of 19.58 lakh hou­ when she was under the years ago, said he and his fa­ partment for rehabilitation excellent example of how va­
seholds had been provided clutches of a brick kiln own­ mily members were yet to of rescued bonded rious institutions of govern­
employment while 1.37 lakh er in Harohalli of Kanakapu­ get the release certificates. labourers. ment, civil society, and con­
households had completed ra taluk, Papamma, who was “Without the certificates, we Speaking at the launch, cerned citizens have come
100 days of employment, Mr. rescued four years ago, said, won’t even get the initial Mr. Waghela said there are together to collaborate and
Deshpande said. “After we were rescued, the amount of ₹20,000 that is gi­ no bonded labour cases address the issue.
A ND-NDE
Join https://t.me/EducationZones
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THE HINDU
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019
DELHI
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IN BRIEF
Remove links to video
on Ramdev, HC tells FB
NEW DELHI
The Delhi High Court has
asked Facebook Inc. to
ensure that the links to a
video which allegedly had
defamatory content against
Ramdev and Patanjali
Ayurved Limited were no
longer made available on its
platform. Justice Prathiba M.
Singh said that her Bench had
viewed the video which
showed “a protagonist
casting aspersions and
levelling threats against”
Ramdev and Patanjali.
ATF price hiked, still
costs less than petrol
NEW DELHI
Jet fuel price was hiked on
Friday by a steep 8.1% to its
costliest level this year as
international oil prices rose,
State­owned oil firms said.
The price of Aviation Turbine
Fuel (ATF) was hiked by
₹4,734.15 per kilolitre to
₹62,795.12 per kl in the
national capital, according to
price notification issued by
State­owned oil firms. Prices
were unchanged since the
last revision on February 1. PTI
40 objects removed
from man’s abdomen
CHENNAI
Keys, coins, metallic objects,
and a piece of magnet were
removed from the stomach of
a 52­year­old man at the Rajiv
Gandhi Government General
Hospital in Chennai. The
patient picked up the habit of
swallowing objects while
being treated at a mental
health facility, doctors said.
Former CM slammed
for vile remark
GUWAHATI
Former Nagaland Chief
Minister T.R. Zeliang has
attracted criticism for
allegedly making a sexist
remark against women while
speaking on the contentious
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill
in the Assembly on February
25. He later retracted his
statement.
Navy withdraws from
mine rescue operation
GUWAHATI
The Navy on Friday withdrew
from the operation to retrieve
bodies of miners trapped in a
Meghalaya coalmine since
December 13 last year. An
Army contingent to provide
logistic support to the Navy
would also be leaving the
operation. The NDRF would
continue the operation,
officials said.
Assam to be oil exporting Ayushman Bharat cover
hub for Southeast Asia for Uber cab drivers
‘Many projects are nearing completion’
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
GUWAHATI
Assam is slated to soon be­
come one of India’s major
oil exporting hubs catering
to the eastern neighbours of
the country and Southeast
Asia, Petroleum Minister
Dharmendra Pradhan said
on Friday.
The Minister based his
prediction on a slew of pro­
jects for augmenting oil ex­
ploration, refining and tran­
sportation capacity in
various stages of comple­
tion in the region.
Eight of these projects
under Hydrocarbon Vision
Palghar records magnitude 4.3 quake
Scientists divided
on causes of the
phenomenon
Priyanka Pulla
BENGALURU
Palghar district in Maha­
rashtra, which has seen
thousands of small earth­
quakes since November
2018, experienced a quake
measuring 4.3 on the mo­
ment magnitude (Mw) scale
on Friday forenoon. This is
the first time the magnitude
has crossed 4 here, with tre­
mors felt even in Mumbai.
Scientists, however, are
divided on the primary
cause of this phenomenon.
CM
YK
Order on surveillance meant to Associated Journals to
protect privacy, govt. tells SC approach Supreme Court
‘December 20 notice was to ensure that only authorised agencies accessed data’
Krishnadas Rajagopal
NEW DELHI
The Centre told the Supreme
Court on Friday that its De­
cember 20, 2018 notification
allowing 10 central agencies
to snoop on people is in fact
a measure to protect citi­
zens’ privacy.
The government was res­
ponding to a PIL filed by ad­
vocate M.L. Sharma, chal­
lenging the December 20
notification as a violation of
the fundamental right to
privacy.
The order allows central
agencies, from the Intelli­
gence Bureau to the Central
Board of Direct Taxes to the
Cabinet Secretariat (RAW) to
the Commissioner of Delhi
Police, to intercept, monitor
and de­crypt “any informa­
tion” generated, transmit­
ted, received or stored in
“any computer resource”.
The order is based on Sec­
tion 69 (1) of the Information
Technology Act of 2000 and
Rule 4 of the Information
Technology 2009 Rules (Pro­
cedure and Safeguards for
Interception, Monitoring
and Decryption of Informa­
tion) Rules, 2009.
Turning the argument on
its head, the Centre said the
order, in fact, limits the pow­
er of surveillance to these 10
central agencies and none
other.
“What has been done un­
der the December 20 order
More LHB coaches to be made this year
Rail Coach Factory is aiming at manufacturing 1,422 of them in 2018­19
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Railway Minister Piyush
Goyal on Friday said the Rail
Coach Factory is targeting to
manufacture 1,422 Linke
Hofmann Busch (LHB)
coaches in 2018­19.
Speaking at the release of
a booklet on the five­year
achievements of the Rail­
ways, Mr. Goyal said 1,290
such coaches have already
been manufactured and the
target will be reached by
March 31. He highlighted
that the capacity of Rail
Coach Factory is to make
1,000 coaches.
The Minister said that
2018­19 has been the safest
Assam has four refineries.
2030, worth more than
₹1,500 crore, were inaugu­
rated in Guwahati.
“Assam will soon send pe­
trol and diesel to Bangla­
desh, Bhutan, Myanmar,
and Southeast Asian coun­
tries,” Mr. Pradhan said.
Some believe it is related to
groundwater levels, and
others attribute it to tecton­
ic activity. If high groundwa­
ter is the cause, the quakes
may remain small. This phe­
nomenon, called hydro­
seismicity, is common
across the Deccan plateau.
Stress theory
However, another hypothe­
sis is that intra­plate tecton­
ic forces could be generating
stresses along faults in
Palghar. Such a mechanism
is believed to be behind the
1993 Latur earthquake. If in­
tra­plate activity is the
cause, Palghar could see
larger, more destructive
quakes.
is in fact restricting the exer­
cise of powers, removing a
possible vagueness and
specifying the agencies/or­
ganisations who only would
have the powers to utilise
the powers of section 69 of
the Act,” the Centre said.
‘Restricted powers’
It said the very purpose of
the December 20 order is to
ensure that surveillance is
done as per due process of
law; that any interception,
monitoring, decryption of
computer resource is done
only by authorised agencies
and with approval of compe­
tent authority; to prevent
unauthorised use of these
powers by any agency, indi­
vidual or intermediary so
On a roll: LHB coaches of a train at the Visakhapatnam railway station.
year in the history of Rail­
ways. There has been 81%
drop in number of deaths
from 152 in 2013­14 to 29 up
to Jan. 31, 2019, he said. Ad­
ditionally, there has been a
No facility in States out of AB­PMJAY
Bindu Shajan Perappadan
NEW DELHI
The Ayushman Bharat­
Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya
Yojana (AB­PMJAY) has
joined hands with Uber to
extend health cover to their
driver and delivery partn­
ers.
The facility will not be
available in Delhi, Odisha
and Telangana — States that
have not joined AB­PMJAY.
“About 30­40% of the driver
partners would be eligible
for healthcare services un­
der the health insurance
scheme,” a PMJAY spokes­
person said.
Till a while ago, seismolo­
gists believed the driver be­
hind the Palghar activity
was hydroseismicity. In this
phenomenon, rainwater en­
ters the existing faults in the
earth’s crust. This increases
pressure, which is released
through small earthquakes.
In 2017, after heavy rains,
such a phenomenon oc­
curred in Hyderabad’s Bora­
banda suburb. “It continued
for a month and a half and
stopped,” said D. Srinagesh,
chief scientist at the Nation­
al Geophysical Research In­
stitute in Hyderabad. Such
earthquakes typically mea­
sure less than 4 Mw and sub­
side by December. They are
also very shallow, typically
https://t.me/BrightFuture
NATION 7
Ministry officials not allowed to repossess Herald House
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
The Associated Journals Li­
mited (AJL) has decided to
approach the Supreme
Court against the Centre’s
decision to terminate the
lease for Herald House on
the Bahadur Shah Zafar
Marg in the national capital.
The Land and Develop­
ment Office of the Ministry
of Urban Affairs had sent a
notice to AJL on Thursday Aborted bid: Urban Affairs Ministry Officials at the Herald
stating that the possession of House in New Delhi on Friday. R.V. MOORTHY *
the premises be handed ov­
er to its officers at 11 a.m. on they had received the notice on Thursday upheld the de­
March 1, failing which pro­ and had already responded cision of a single judge
ceedings under PPE Act to it by email and speed bench that had in December
would be initiated against post. The L&DO had been last year, dismissed AJL’s pe­
AJL without any further not­ told that AJL would be ap­ tition against the centre’s de­
that the right to privacy of ci­ to the country from terro­ ice. Officers of the L&DO ar­ pealing the decision in the cision. The L&DO had, in Oc­
tizen is not violated. rism, radicalisation, cross rived at the premises on Fri­ Supreme Court in a week. tober 2018, terminated the
The government said sur­ border terrorism, cyber day to execute the order. He added that the officers lease for the property given
veillance is necessary “in the crime, drug cartels”, and who had arrived at the pre­ to the AJL.
modern world where mod­ these cannot be ignored or Set to appeal mises were not aware of the AJL is owned by Young In­
ern tools of information under­stated. There is a However, advocate for AJL, reply, and left after they dia (YI), of which Rahul
communication, including need for “speedy collection Nikhila Bhalla who was pre­ were informed of the same. Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi
encryption, is used”. Sur­ of actionable intelligence” to sent at the spot, said that The Delhi High Court had are majority shareholders.
veillance is done only in the counter threat to national
defence of India, to maintain interests.
public order, etc.
“There is no blanket per­
“It is therefore imperative
that requests for lawful inter­ Swine flu cases on When are you
mission to any agency,” the ception or monitoring must
coming back,
government explained. Per­
mission for surveillance
be dealt with by the execu­
tive authority to maintain the rise in Gujarat HC asks Mallya
needs to be got from the Un­ speed in taking decisions. A
ion Home Secretary. Be­ well laid down procedure for Special Correspondent maximum, 32 cases, coming
sides, the law mandates the oversight by a panel headed AHMEDABAD from Ahmedabad. In fact, Sonam Saigal
Centre and States to consti­ by the Cabinet secretary With more than 3000 cases 178 people have been diag­ Mumbai
tute a review committee doubtlessly ensures that pro­ and 99 deaths in two nosed with Swine Flu in the The Bombay High Court on
with the Cabinet Secretary. visions of law, rules and SOP months, Swine Flu in Guja­ city in this week alone. Friday asked the advocate
The affidavit explained are adhered to,” the Centre rat has become an epidemic “Since January 1st, 2164 appearing for liquor baron
how there are “grave threats said in its counter­affidavit. as almost 100 new cases are people have fully recovered Vijay Mallya, “The tag of
reported from across the and have been discharged ‘fugitive’ will go away once
state per day. from hospitals while 853 pe­ you come back. So when is
As on Friday, as many as
853 people are under treat­
ment for H1N1 influenza,
ople are under treatment,” a
statement issued by the
health department said.
that happening?”
A Division Bench of Jus­
tices I. Mahanty and S.V.
which has already claimed “On average, we are get­ Kotwal was hearing an ap­
99 lives in this year since Ja­ ting 80­100 cases and 2­3 peal filed by Mr. Mallya
nuary 1st. On Friday, 95 cas­ deaths per day for last two challenging being declared
es were reported by the state weeks,” a health department a fugitive economic offen­
health department with official said. der (FEO).
On January 5, a special
court declared him a FEO
#398299
All quiet, but security beefed under the new law. On
June 22, 2018, the Enforce­
ment Directorate (ED) had
up along the eastern front filed an application at the
PMLA court to declare Mr.
the India­Bangladesh bor­ Mallya a FEO and sought
Indo-Asian News Service
Agartala/Aizawl der. However, in view of the orders to confiscate all his
Security has been stepped development in the western properties estimated to be
up along the country’s bor­ frontiers, BSF battalions around ₹12,500 crore.
ders with Bangladesh in Tri­ have been asked to remain On June 30, 2018 the
* C.V.SUBRAHMANYAM
pura and Myanmar in Mizo­ alert,” a Border Security PMLA court took cogni­
ram, although there were no Force official said in Agartala sance of the ED’s applica­
59% increase in the average 2014­18. Making a mention of immediate reports of any on the condition of tion. On March 13, 2019,
pace of commissioning new the bullet train as well as the disturbances, a paramilitary anonymity. the special court will hear
line/doubling/third and Vande Bharat Express, the official said on Friday. “Our senior officials and the second part of ED’s ap­
fourth line projects from 4.1 Minister said these achieve­ “There is no input or re­ battalion commandants are plication on confiscation of
km during 2009­14 per day ments were unheard of in ports of any possible distur­ closely monitoring the situa­ properties and the interve­
to 6.53 km per day during the Railways. bances and negativity along tion,” he said. nors will also be heard.
Under the agreement,
Uber, under its Uber CARE
initiative, will help set up
common service centres
(CSCs) at Partners Seva Ken­
dras. “This is a pilot study,”
the PMJAY spokesperson
said. The CSC’s entrepre­
neurs will verify eligibility
and issue e­cards to drivers
with benefits worth ₹5 lakh
to each family per year.
National Health Agency
CEO Indu Bhushan said:
“Through this partnership
with Uber, we hope to reach
out to lakhs of people and
their families in the driver
and delivery community.”
emerging from within 4­5
km underground.
In contrast, the Palghar
quakes have continued into
February, indicating that
tectonic activity is at play,
says Dr. Srinagesh. Also, a
few of the temblors originat­
ed from 15 km under­
ground, deeper than most
hydroseismic quakes. With
magnitude crossing 4 Mw
this month for the first time,
“all we can say is that disas­
ter mitigation procedures
should be set into motion,”
he said.
Previously, scientists had
estimated that Palghar
could see a “maximum cred­
ible earthquake” (MCE)
measuring Mw 6.5.
A ND-NDE
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8 EDITORIAL DELHI

SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019

THE HINDU
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Ensure a minimum income for all

A basic income scheme will deliver benefits to the poor only if it comes on top of public services
some groups: landless labourers, their business and employment in less, manual scavengers, tribal
agricultural workers and marginal the process. groups, and former bonded la­

The Akali factor farmers who suffer from multi­di­

mensional poverty. These groups
Moreover, such a scheme will
have three immediate benefits.
bourers are automatically includ­
ed. The dataset includes more
With its alliance in Punjab, the BJP admits have not benefited from economic One, it will help bring a large num­ than six crore landless labourers.
growth. They were and still are the ber of households out of the po­ It also includes many small farm­
the need to take a back seat in some States Ram Singh poorest Indians. Various welfare verty trap or prevent them from ers who face deprivation criteria

GETTY IMAGES
schemes have also failed to bring falling into it in the event of exi­ such as families without any

T
he Shiromani Akali Dal has been among the most
steadfast allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the them out of penury. gencies such as illness. Two, it will bread­earning adult member, and

T
he idea of a universal basic A case in point is the access to reduce income inequalities. those without a pucca house.
two parties having been in coalition since 1998. It
income (UBI) is gaining institutional credit issued by banks Three, since the poor spend most The other needy group, small
comes as no surprise that they have aligned again in a ground globally. It has sup­ and cooperative societies. Accord­ sides, it can go a long way in help­ of their income, a boost in their in­ farmers, missing from the SECC
seat­sharing arrangement in Punjab for the Lok Sabha porters among the political left ing to National Sample Survey Of­ ing the poor to make ends meet. come will increase demand and can be identified using the dataset
election, with the Akalis as the dominant partner to and right, and among proponents fice (NSSO) data from the 70th Several studies have shown that at promote economic activities in ru­ from the Agriculture Census of
contest 10 seats in the State and the BJP contesting the as well as opponents of the free­ round, institutional credits ac­ high levels of impoverishment, ral areas. Nonetheless, an income 2015­16. Together, these two data­
other three. In 2014, the alliance won 35% of the vote to market economy. A UBI requires count for less than 15% of the total even a small income supplement transfer scheme cannot be a sub­ sets can help identify the poorest
secure six of the 13 constituencies in a tripartite contest. the government to pay every citi­ borrowing by landless agricultural can improve nutrient intake, and stitute for universal basic services. Indians, especially in rural India.
zen a fixed amount of money on a workers; the figure for marginal increase enrolment and school at­ The direct income support to the However, many households such
The Congress, which won three seats, will seek to build
regular basis and without any con­ and small farmers is only 30%. tendance for students coming poor will deliver the benefits men­ as marginal farmers belong to
on its victory in the Assembly elections in 2017 as State­ ditionalities. Crucial to the appeal These groups have to borrow from from poor households. tioned only if it comes on top of both datasets. The Aadhaar identi­
level incumbents usually enjoy some momentum going for such a demand — for a UBI — is moneylenders and adhatiyas at ex­ public services such as primary ty can be used to rule out duplica­
into a national election. The Akali­BJP alliance took a that millions of people remain un­ orbitant interest rates ranging Better productivity health and education. This means tions and update the list of eligible
beating in the Assembly election after having been in employed and are extremely poor, from 24 to 60%. As a result, they In other words, income transfers that direct transfers should not be households.
power for two terms, but still managed a substantial despite rapid economic growth in do not stand to benefit much from to the poor will lead to improved at the expense of public services As an approximation, the num­
30.6% vote share, which could keep it competitive in the last three decades. The Nation­ the interest rate subsidy for the health and educational outcomes, for primary health and education. ber of eligible households is 10
al Democratic Alliance govern­ agriculture sector. Likewise, the which in turn would lead to a If anything, budgetary allocation crore. That is, even in its basic
the Lok Sabha election. There is also the emergence of
ment has already unfolded a limit­ benefits of subsidised fertilizers more productive workforce. It for these services should be raised form, the scheme will require ap­
the Aam Aadmi Party as a viable contestant in the State ed version of the UBI in the form of and power are enjoyed largely by seems to be a good idea to transfer significantly. Programmes such as proximately ₹1.5 lakh crore per an­
(especially in the southern Malwa region). For the BJP, a the Pradhanmantri Kisan Samman big farmers. In urban areas, con­ the money into the bank accounts the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Em­ num. The PM­KISAN Yojana can
coalition with the Akalis, despite being allotted only Nidhi Yojana (PM­KISAN) which tract workers and those in the in­ of women of the beneficiary hou­ ployment Guarantee Scheme be aligned to meet a part of the
three seats, was therefore an imperative. As with its oth­ promises ₹6,000 per annum to formal sector face a similar pro­ seholds. Women tend to spend should also stay. With direct in­ cost. Moreover, the tax kitty can
er coalition partners such as the Shiv Sena, the alliance farmers who own less than 2 hec­ blem. The rapid pace of more of their income on health come support, the demand for the be expanded by reintroducing
in Punjab too went through degrees of rough weather, tares of land. Going by media re­ automation of low­skill jobs and and the education of children. programmes will come down nat­ wealth tax. Nonetheless, the re­
ports, the election manifesto of formalisation of the retail sector The effect of an income transfer urally. However, in the interim, it quired amount is beyond the
but there was too much at stake for seat­sharing talks to
the Congress Party may announce mean the prospects of these scheme on unemployment is a will serve to screen the poorest in Centre’s fiscal capacity at the mo­
fail. Besides reasons of arithmetic, the SAD also pre­ an even more ambitious version of groups are even bleaker. moot point. In principle, cash the country and give them a cru­ ment. Therefore, the cost will have
sents a strong and traditionally anti­Congress position the scheme. An income support of, say, transfers can result in withdrawal cial safety net. to be shared by States. States such
in its ideological core, tinged with a certain degree of ₹15,000 per annum can be a good of beneficiaries from the labour as Telangana and Odisha are alrea­
sectarianism. This coheres well with the overall vision Where it will work supplement to their livelihoods — force. However, the income sup­ Using datasets dy providing direct income sup­
of the BJP. The UBI is neither an antidote to an amount worth more than a port suggested above is not too If basic public services are main­ port to their farmers. These States
In allocating a larger share to the Akalis in Punjab, the vagaries of market forces nor a third of the average consumption large to discourage beneficiaries tained, there is limited fiscal space can extend their schemes to in­
the AIADMK and other partners in Tamil Nadu, besides substitute for basic public servic­ of the poorest 25% households, from seeking work. In fact, it can for direct income support. It will clude the ‘non­farmer poor’. The
es, especially health and educa­ and more than a fourth of the an­ promote employment and eco­ have to be restricted to the poorest other States too should join in.
retaining its alliance with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra,
tion. Besides, there is no need to nual income of marginal farmers. nomic activities. For instance, in­ of poor households. The Socio­ The income transfer scheme is
the BJP has signalled its awareness of the efficacy of co­ transfer money to middle­ and This additional income can re­ come receipts can come in handy Economic and Caste Census costly. However, the cost of persis­
herent pre­poll coalitions based on the party’s high­income earners as well as duce the incidence of indebted­ as interest­free working capital for (SECC) 2011 can be used to identify tent poverty is much higher.
strengths in these States. The BJP­led National Demo­ large landowners. ness among marginal farmers, the­ several categories of beneficiaries the neediest. Groups suffering
cratic Alliance has seen some attrition since 2014, with However, there is a strong case reby helping them escape (fruit and vegetable vendors and from multidimensional poverty Ram Singh is a Professor at the Delhi
the loss of the Telugu Desam Party. But it has compen­ for direct income transfers to moneylenders and adhatiyas. Be­ small artisans), thereby promoting such as the destitute, the shelter­ School of Economics
sated with additions such as the Janata Dal (United), be­
sides the retention of other allies. Even though it has
projected a certain personalised form of administration
with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being the dominant
face of the government, the BJP is crucially dependent
The mixed signals from Pakistan
on the support of its allies. In the last five years, the par­
One can get a fair idea of the Pakistani military’s thinking by analysing the politicians’ statements and actions
ty has steadily lost parliamentary by­elections and its the current India­Pakistan stan­ kistan government not to let the lation have to be measured against
current tally in the Lok Sabha is below the majority doff and its impact on the standing crisis get out of hand. It was also the Pakistani military brass’s ob­
of the Pakistani military in the clear from U.S. President Donald session with its honour and credi­
mark. Only with the support of the allies does the NDA
eyes of the country’s population. Trump’s statement in Hanoi, in bility among its people. Both have
now have a comfortable majority. The BJP might scoff at Mr. Khan has, on the one hand, which he suggested that good been severely damaged by its in­
attempts made by the Opposition to form a grand coali­
#398299

emphasised his desire for de­esca­ news was about to emanate from ability to anticipate and thwart the
tion and portray them as an incoherent mishmash of or­ Mohammed Ayoob lation without accepting blame for South Asia, that Washington had Indian aerial attack on Balakot
ganisations, but the fact that coalitions in Indian polit­ the initial action, the Pulwama ter­ put pressure on Islamabad and deep inside Pakistani territory.
ics are here to stay is not lost on its leadership. rorist attack, that triggered the possibly on New Delhi not to en­ The military is the real power be­

N
ow that the first round of present crisis. While ostensibly ad­ gage in further military action. hind the throne in Pakistan. Mr.
military tit­for­tats is over, it dressing the Indian government, It is true that the fear of escala­ Khan’s ascent to office was deftly
Hanoi hiccup
AFP

is important that New Delhi
settles down to parsing the mixed
Despite the collapse of talks, the U.S. signals coming out of Pakistan.
and North Korea must persist with CBMs While keeping all options open, it
is important for the government to
he has attempted to present a rea­
sonable face to the international low. Therefore, Islamabad does
community by expressing his not deserve extra credit for merely
yearning for peace in the subconti­ fulfilling its international
nent. He has especially empha­ obligations.
tion to the nuclear level haunts
both Indian and Pakistani deci­
sion­makers and acts as a formida­
ble restraint preventing both from
intensifying the conflict. An ac­
managed by the military high com­
mand, which, unlike in India, is al­
so in control of the country’s nu­
clear weapons and delivery
systems.

T
he abrupt end of talks between U.S. President Do­
make a definitive assessment re­ sised the fact that both countries In the same speech, Mr. Khan tion­reaction dynamic, such as the
nald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong­ garding Pakistan’s intentions be­ are nuclear powers and, therefore, warned the Indian leadership, “Do one that started with the Pulwama The need for care
un in Hanoi is clearly a setback to attempts to find fore taking the next step in both any further escalation could lead not take this confrontation furth­ attack, can conceivably graduate These facts make any future esca­
a peaceful solution to the Korean nuclear crisis. Both the military and diplomatic to disastrous results. er”, saying otherwise Pakistan will to the nuclear level if Pakistan, latory scenario look very scary.
sides cut short a two­day summit on the second day on spheres. This is a difficult job, be “forced to retaliate”. He also which does not accept the “no first For, if pushed to the wall and in
Thursday without even signing a joint communiqué. among other things because the The de-escalatory ladder made no apologies for the terrorist use” doctrine, decides to take re­ danger of losing control of the
They also gave conflicting versions on why the talks col­ real decision­makers in Pakistan His announcement on Thursday acts committed by jihadi groups course to tactical nuclear wea­ state, the Pakistani military can
are not the Prime Minister and his that Wing Commander Abhinan­ spawned by Pakistan’s military in­ pons, which it has stockpiled, if it employ a highly reckless strategy
lapsed. Mr. Trump said Mr. Kim insisted on a full with­
cabinet but the top generals en­ dan Varthaman would be released telligence. Instead, he once again finds itself unable to withstand In­ that would unleash an unprece­
drawal of American sanctions in return for the closure sconced in General Headquarters “unconditionally” falls in this cate­ asked New Delhi for proof that the dia’s superior conventional power. dented catastrophe in the Indian
of only one nuclear facility. However, North Korean Fo­ in Rawalpindi. gory of de­escalatory signals. His Pulwama attack could be traced to On the other hand, the Indian subcontinent. It is no wonder that
reign Minister Ri Yong­ho later said Pyongyang had Nonetheless, one can get a fair statement also made it clear that Pakistan despite the Bahawalpur­ nuclear doctrine does not make a Mr. Khan has to speak with both
sought only partial sanctions relief in return for dis­ idea of the thinking by Pakistani he wanted to link the release to the based Jaish­e­Mohammad’s ack­ distinction between tactical and sides of his mouth in a desperate
mantling the Yongbyon nuclear site, the North’s main decision­makers by analysing the reopening of negotiations with In­ nowledgement, immediately after strategic nuclear strikes and im­ attempt to preserve the military’s
facility. Whatever the actual reason, one thing is clear: statements and actions of politi­ dia in order to find a way out of the the suicide bombing, that it was plies that India will respond honour while attempting to get off
cians because they are often or­ current crisis. responsible for the incident. through massive retaliation even if the escalatory ladder that can lead
the bonhomie between the two leaders after last year’s
chestrated by the military high While India welcomed this There are various reasons one a tactical weapon use does only a to unpredictable consequences.
Singapore summit was missing in Hanoi. After the Sin­ command. Pakistan Prime Minis­ move, it refused to give Pakistan can decipher for Pakistan’s dou­ limited amount of damage. It is,
gapore meet, both sides had agreed to have “new U.S.­ ter Imran Khan’s pronouncements credit for what Islamabad consid­ ble­speak. Mr. Khan’s de­escalato­ therefore, difficult to predict in Mohammed Ayoob is University
DPRK [North Korea] relations” and establish a “lasting are, therefore, worth following ers a humanitarian gesture. India ry rhetoric is in part the result of this context where the escalatory Distinguished Professor Emeritus of
and stable peace regime” on the Korean peninsula. closely. His most recent statement has characterised it as an act un­ external pressure, especially from process, if left unchecked, would International Relations, Michigan State
Pyongyang had also promised to work toward “com­ in the Pakistan Parliament betrays dertaken in consonance with the the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. The end. University and Non-Resident Senior
plete denuclearisation”. No such comments about the the internal conflict in both his Geneva Convention that Pakistan, Saudi Foreign Minister made a However, all these very real Fellow, Center for Global Policy,
and his generals’ assessment of as a signatory, is compelled to fol­ dash to Islamabad to advise the Pa­ concerns about uncontrolled esca­ Washington DC
future course of the peace process were issued this
time. The North Koreans have ruled out any immediate
plans for a future meeting between the two sides. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
A part of the problem was the failure of both Wash­
ington and Pyongyang in following up on commitments Step back now in possession of comprehension of the core not have more of such release of the Indian pilot — taking his daughter to school
made in Singapore. A few weeks ahead of that summit It is time to stop the sophisticated weaponry, war issues, we will continue to people and moves in both he deserves to be on his motorcycle and she
in June, North Korea had announced a complete freeze tensions between the two is no option to settle beat around the bush till we countries? complimented. Let this be a received minor injuries after
on nuclear and missile tests as a reconciliatory gesture. nuclear­armed countries, disputes. There may not be reach the next flashpoint. Kamala Menon Cochran, harbinger of happier things the incident. We hope we
India and Pakistan. As the any harm if there are International pressure Secunderabad to come. But will he also see will be able to return next
It had asked the U.S. to reciprocate — its main demand
writer (Editorial page, preliminary rounds of talks should be sustained till the writing on the wall and year to discover funds having
was a formal declaration of an end to the 1950­53 Ko­ “Living on the edge”, to defuse the situation. This Pakistan takes concrete ■ Pakistan’s decision to ensure that support for been invested to remove all
rean War, but the Trump administration refused to do March 1), who has in­depth will not be construed as a measures against terrorists release the Indian pilot is a terror groups is stopped? stray dogs from public
so. Lack of confidence­building measures too blunted knowledge about the sign of weakness but as one and terror outfits. step that will promote peace Saner counsel must prevail. places. Sentiment is one
the momentum created in Singapore. When U.S. Secre­ politics of the subcontinent, of maturity in dealing with a S. Parthasarathy, and deserves S.V. Venkatakrishnan, thing, suffering is another.
says, there should be a way difficult situation. How the Chennai acknowledgement by India. Bengaluru Andy & Hilda Small,
tary of State Mike Pompeo first visited Pyongyang, Mr.
Kim refused to meet him. Later, the American intelli­ to keep de­escalating. God government can manage this We have taught our Cliddesden, Hampshire, U.K.

forbid if further tensions
gence community reported that North Korea continued
between the two
its ballistic missile programme after the first Trump­ neighbours become worse
Kim summit. With these problems still in place, the se­ and more destructive.
cond summit between the leaders was announced. Any Leaders in both countries
hopes of clinching a big agreement in Hanoi fell as both have the right opportunity
sides stuck to their respective demands. However, the now to show real
setback need not necessarily bring the peace process to statesmanship and solve all
differences at the
a halt. Mr. Trump himself has said denuclearisation is a
diplomatic high table.
long process. The freeze on nuclear and missile tests Better sense must prevail.
that Mr. Kim announced is still in place. The Korean pe­ Javeed Bin Nabi,
ninsula has been calm, while inter­Korean relations Bandipora, Jammu and Kashmir
have markedly improved. Before the Hanoi summit,
■ It is noteworthy that there
there were reports that the U.S. would declare an end to
the Korean war and that both countries would open were no conditions attached
to the release of the Indian
liaison offices in each other’s capitals as part of normal­
pilot (Page 1, “Pakistan will
isation of ties. They should go ahead with such mea­ release Abhinandan today”,
sures and build confidence and mutual trust while also March 1). With this, one
taking a phased approach to dealing with more conten­ hopes that the war clouds
just before the general
election will be interesting.
D.B.N. Murthy,
Bengaluru
■ Given the fact that a
number of terror outfits
operate from within Pakistan
and have been moving
around with impunity for
decades now, one is not sure
what action can be taken by
Pakistan Prime Minister
Imran Khan, or by any other
Pakistan Prime Minister for
that matter, on such terror
organisations. As these
outfits are being used to
stage a proxy war, what kind
of a crackdown, and a
genuine one at that, can be
■ The Indian reaction to the
deadly attack on a convoy of
CRPF personnel triggered a
quick, justifiable response,
though it led to the downing
of an Indian fighter aircraft
and pilot. The pleasant and
surprising response by
Pakistan has, however,
suggested that there may still
be room for efforts to resolve
the long­running India­
Pakistan dispute. Could
Pakistan Prime Minister
Imran Khan’s move to order
the release of the Indian pilot
now serve as an opportunity
for both sides to take a fresh
look? One can only hope so.
Let us recall the action of
Navjot Sidhu who, in his own
neighbour a lesson with the
air strikes. Now that the
purpose has been served, it
is the duty of leaders in both
countries to de­escalate and
try to explore peace. It may
not be an exaggeration to say
that countries like the U.S.
are like merchants of war
and genuinely uninterested
in peace.
P.H. Hema Sagar,
Secunderabad
■ There is the widespread
perception that the political
leadership in Pakistan is
under the thumb of the
Pakistan Army and the ISI. If
Prime Minister Imran Khan
has chosen to decide
Dog control
We are two holidaymakers
from the U.K. entering the
final week of our two­month,
and the 12th, visit to Kerala.
This year we have been
sickened by the increase in
the number of stray dogs on
the beaches and by their
appalling condition. They
scavenge an existence,
suffering from mange and
fleas. Most have no hair left,
and can be seen limping
from injuries and desperate
for some form of humane
intervention. This year, two
of our Indian friends were
hospitalised with serious
injuries caused while trying
to avoid stray dogs on the
Mutilating notes
The Reserve Bank of India
issues instructions asking
people not to write on
currency notes. Despite this,
one comes across notes that
have been scribbled on with
pen or pencil. Banks
continue to dispense such
notes even through their
ATMs. When cash is credited
through cash deposit
machines, the same notes
are often rejected. If banks
themselves cannot follow the
RBI’s guidelines, how
prudent is it to insist on us
following this rule?
Shalini Murthy,
Bengaluru

tious issues such as denuclearisation. over India and Pakistan will expected is anybody’s guess. way, sought to improve independently and act boldly road and consequently more letters online:
fade away. With both nations Unless there is a India­Pakistan relations. Why on a crucial issue — the cannot work. One friend was www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

CM A ND-NDE
YK
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THE HINDU
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019
DELHI
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
”Missing from the discourse focussed on Avni is the story of how a rising tiger population is forcing the animal to seek out new hunting grounds, as tigers need a huge prey base.” Sarati village in Yavatmal district, Maharashtra, was gripped by fear of Avni.
Below: A tiger trap in Mohda village, Maharashtra. S. SUDARSHAN
Changing the stripes of conservation
Was the ‘man­eating’ tigress Avni that was killed in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district a casualty of rising man­animal conflict, or was some other dynamic at play?
Serish Nanisetti on how development projects in tiger habitats and the fragmentation of migration corridors call for a rethink of conservation policies
T <
he modest stretch of forest that’s
visible from the roadside is
flanked on either side by cotton
fields and toor dal (split pigeon pea)
crop. A few kilometres away, on the oth­
er side of this jungle, in Maharashtra’s
Vidarbha region, is National Highway 44
(NH 44). These fields are cultivated by
the residents of Sarati village, where the
Forest Department has set up a camp to
search for a tigress cub. The cub belongs
to the litter of T1, or Avni, the tigress
that was killed on November 2, 2018 and
caused a huge national outcry.
The killing of the tigress may have
slipped from public memory. But for
many villagers in Wedshi, Vihirgaon,
Pimpalshinde, Borati, Ralegaon, Loni,
and other villages in Yavatmal district,
the terror of the tiger remains real. The
media had highlighted the Tipeshwar
Wildlife Sanctuary as a hunting ground
for the tigress, which had been declared
a man­eater. But the tigress, when it was
killed, was several kilometres away, in a
different forested tract. How the tigress
sought out new territory, found a mate,
and had a litter in the small deciduous
forest surrounded by agricultural fields
and villages is still a matter of conjec­
ture for conservationists.
“We began cultivating here in 2003.
The forest was right till here [he points
to the road]. We cleared it and began
cultivating. That was the first time I ever
saw a tiger, and I cannot describe the
fear I felt,” says Gautam Patil, recalling
the day he caught a glimpse of Avni dur­
ing the monsoons, at the height of the
man­eater scare. Patil, a farmer, points
to his five­acre field. “This might be a
small forest, but we cannot see beyond
a few metres during the monsoons. We
cannot cultivate anything other than
cotton, as wild boars and other animals
raid the fields.”
Just three lamp posts away is the
house of Gajanan Shyamrao Pawar. He
went to his cotton farm abutting the for­
est to check on his crop on October 24,
2018, and never returned. The 30­year­
old’s half­eaten body was later disco­
vered in the jungle by his brother. “He
had food at 10 a.m. and went to the
farm. He didn’t return for lunch. A
goatherd called to say he was missing.
We began a search, and his body was
found far inside the jungle at around
one in the afternoon,” recalls his moth­
er Indukala Pawar, sitting on the door­
step of their small house. Soon after kill­
ing Pawar, the tigress had disappeared
from the area.
More tigers than before
According to the records of the Princi­
pal Chief Conservator of Forests based
in Nagpur, the tigress killed three other
people — Gulab Mokashe of Wedshi vil­
lage, Waghu Raut of Vihirgaon, and Nag­
orao Junghare of Pimpalshinde — in a
CM
YK
*
<
> The problem is that we haven’t
yet mapped the tiger corridor,
or any of the well­defined
routes that the tigers may be
using for migration and
resettlement. Adding to the
confusion is that there are
many forest tracts that abut
the roads.
Milind Pariwakam
Wildlife Conservation Trust
span of 24 days in August 2018. The
Pandharkawada Forest Department re­
cords the names of Avni’s other victims:
Sonabai Bhosale of Borati, Lakshmi
Rampuchrey of Jira, Shankar Atram, Ji­
ra, and Chanduk Phutki of Adni. All
these villages border the small forest
which the tigress had made its territory.
A few months later, the tigress was shot
dead by the son of a hunter tasked for
the job by the Forest Department.
Missing from the discourse focussed
on the ‘man­eating’ tigress is the story
of how a rising tiger population is forc­
ing the animal to seek out new hunting
grounds, as tigers need a huge prey
base. Not too long ago, there was a real
fear of the big cat’s extinction. But
things have changed since. Aided by ex­
cellent conservation efforts, more
awareness, and forest management and
control over poaching, the overall tiger
population in the country has gone up.
The 2006 tiger census by the Nation­
al Tiger Conservation Authority had
pegged the number of tigers at 1,411. Of­
ficials involved with the 2018 tiger cen­
sus operations say that the number is
now closer to 2,600. “We have complet­
ed the tiger census that was begun in
2018, and the analysis is going on. We
will release the information by the end
of May,” says Y.V. Jhala of the Dehradun­
based Wildlife Institute of India, which
deployed about 15,000 camera traps
spread over 400,000 sq. km in 18 States
for the census.
India began a quadrennial scientific
tiger census, discarding the old pug
mark counting method, from 2006. In
2010, there were 1,706 tigers, and in
2014, the number jumped to 2,226, rais­
ing expectations of optimistic numbers
for the 2018 census as well.
The surging numbers have pushed
the count of tigers to about 400 in Mad­
#398299
hya Pradesh, made famous by Rudyard
Kipling’s The Jungle Book. But is there
land to keep us with this increase? One
tiger was mapped travelling from Chan­
drapur district, bordering the Tadoba­
Andhari National Park in Maharashtra,
to the Satpura range near Hoshangabad
district in Madhya Pradesh. Another tig­
er, fitted with a tracking collar, was
found to have travelled 500 km in 72
days, starting from its habitat in the 138
sq. km Bor Tiger Reserve in Wardha dis­
trict. It travelled through Amravati and
Nagpur before getting electrocuted on a
farm in Wardha.
“He bag, waghache panje (see here,
the pug marks of a tiger),” says Nilesh
Gaddamvar in Marathi, pointing to large
pug marks in the dust. Gaddamvar
works as a guide at the Tipeshwar Wil­
dlife Sanctuary. Officials say that there
are now 18 tigers in the Sanctuary. “We
are getting visitors from Kolkata, Hyde­
rabad, Pune and Mumbai. Most of them
manage to spot the tiger in its habitat
here and take photographs,” says Gad­
damvar. He adds that there were only
five tigers here in 2011, when he began
working as a guide.
Safari visitors usually make a stop at
the Hanuman temple located next to a
small artificial lake on a ridge in Tipesh­
war. The luckier among them might get
to see frolicking tigers and cubs a few
yards away from the road and their pro­
tected vehicles. How the temple came
into being and why it is now deserted is
a success story of Indian conservation
efforts: nearly 500 villagers of Tipesh­
war were evacuated and the population
resettled outside the forest in Parva vil­
lage in 2010. Another 140 villagers from
Mihirgaon, inside the forest, were paid
about ₹7 lakh per family and relocated
outside the forest area in 2014.
While these two villages have been
pulled out of the forest and resettled,
the hamlets on the fringes of the jungle
have expanded rapidly. Sarati, which
didn’t exist before 2003, has 1,057 vo­
ters, Vihirgaon has 719 voters, and
Lone, another village where Avni
claimed a human life, has 417 voters.
Frequent accidents
On February 2, the Field Director of
Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra is­
sued a statement: “A road­hit case of a
tiger has been reported near Devalapar,
Harnakund, on NH 7, this evening bet­
ween 7 to 7.30 pm. PTR teams, as well as
the team of Nagpur division, have
reached the spot. There is a trail of
blood, and we have also identified the
vehicle. Teams reported that the tiger is
nearby, and they have heard growling
too. They are monitoring the situation,
and a proper decision will be taken as
per the local circumstances. The rescue
team has left for the spot.” Such reports
of road accidents and electrocutions in­
volving tigers are barely noticed beyond
a small circle of tiger conservationists
and observers.
As a matter of fact, roadkill incidents
are quite common on NH 44 (earlier
known as NH 7), which passes through
some of the most picturesque river val­
leys, ridges, and forested zones in cen­
tral India. In this region, NH 44, which
connects Srinagar to Kanyakumari,
passes through small agricultural fields
draped with rows of colourful saris to
keep wild boar at bay.
Broken migration corridors
Wildlife conservationists have read the
recent rise in the number of tigers as in­
dicating the existence of a broad and
long migration corridor — a tongue of
land in central India that is changing the
tiger story. This tiger corridor is criss­
crossed by seasonal rivers such as the
Godavari, Wainganga, Penganga, Dolla­
ra, and countless other smaller water
channels and ravines.
According to officials of the Wildlife
Conservation Trust, about 24,000 km
https://t.me/BrightFuture
GROUND ZERO 9
of roads cut through these corridors,
and they have a deadly impact on tigers.
About 16 tigers have been killed in road
and train accidents over the past five
years. Forty­two leopards have also
come under wheels. And no one has
been keeping track of the number of
smaller mammals such as foxes, rabbits,
deer, wolves, snakes, peacocks and oth­
er wildlife that die on these roads.
“The problem is that we haven’t yet
mapped the tiger corridor, or any of the
well­defined routes that the tigers may
be using for migration and resettle­
ment. Adding to the confusion is that
there are many forest tracts that abut
the roads. We want a problem­solving
approach to linear intrusions and habi­
tat fragmentation. It is important to
work on conservation, but it is also im­
portant to work on maintaining connec­
tivity between sub­populations,” ex­
plains Milind Pariwakam of the Wildlife
Conservation Trust.
Pariwakam had drafted a report on
the factors behind the fragmentation of
the fragile tiger corridor. The report
calls for a rethink of India’s approach to
infrastructure development, and re­
commends special pathways for wildlife
so that their movement during migra­
tion or resettlement is not affected.
“Tipeshwar is one of the better­main­
tained forests which visitors can check
out. There has been no man­animal
conflict here ever since we evacuated
the villages from the core area. Places
where such conflict occur are more
than 40­50 km from Tipeshwar,” says
P.B. Panchabhai, District Forest Officer
of Pandharkawada in Yavatmal district.
Threat from big projects
“The threat to tigers is not due to the
man­animal conflict. It is due to the
large­scale projects that are coming up
near the sanctuaries. Forest Depart­
ment officials have trans­located a vil­
lage called Agarzari on the border of the
Pench Tiger Reserve. But the resorts
that cropped up there after changes in
land use continue to operate. These use
barbed wire and electrified fencing to
keep animals at bay, leading to acci­
dents,” says Vinod Thakur, a veterinary
doctor and conservation activist who
was part of the tiger census operation.
He blames the ‘four­laning’ of the na­
tional highway running through the
Pench Tiger Reserve and Kanha Tiger
Reserve, and the widening of the rail­
way line in central India from narrow
gauge to broad gauge, for the fragmen­
tation of the habitat. “Even Jai, the tiger
which became famous as Asia’s biggest
feline, fell to this development jugger­
naut in the Umred­Karhandla Wildlife
Sanctuary. Jai’s cub, Srinivas, died due
to electrocution. Jai sired around 20
offspring, but now very few of them are
in Umred­Karhandla in Maharashtra.
> The
Pench Tiger Reserve has
30 tigers. While an adult tiger
requires 25­40 sq km of
forested area to enjoy
sufficient quantity of prey, now
there is one tiger for every 8­10
sq km, leading to spillage.
Vinod Thakur
Veterinary doctor and conservation activist
The rest have migrated,” says Thakur.
Big­ticket projects pose an even big­
ger threat. For instance, according to fil­
ings with the Bombay Stock Exchange,
the Birla Cement Corporation is plan­
ning to set up a 3.9­tonne greenfield in­
tegrated cement plant with a 40 MW
captive power plant in Yavatmal dis­
trict’s Mukutban village. Mukutban is on
the southern side of the Pandharkawa­
da Forest Department, where man­ani­
mal conflict has captured media atten­
tion. How a cement plant and the
ancillary activities associated with it will
affect the environment is anybody’s
guess.
Of the 50 designated tiger reserves in
the country, the 16 in central India form
a continuous tiger corridor. The Tipesh­
war Wildlife Sanctuary has about 18 tig­
ers. Kawal, though designated as Kawal
Tiger Reserve in 2012, has seen a tiger or
two only in the last four years. This year,
a tiger got electrocuted after it came in
contact with an electrified wire trap set
up by poachers. The Umred Karhandla
Wildlife Sanctuary, on the other hand,
is not a tiger reserve but is home to ma­
ny tigers. “The Pench Tiger Reserve at
present has 30 tigers. While an adult tig­
er requires 25­40 sq km of forested area
to enjoy sufficient quantity of prey, now
there is one tiger for every 8­10 sq km,
leading to spillage. The tigers are mov­
ing out to other forests to find prey. This
can be an opportunity to improve our
record and practices in wildlife conser­
vation,” says Thakur.
While the killing of Avni triggered ce­
lebrations among some villagers, there
are also a few who see it differently. “I
am unhappy that the tigress is dead. It is
a big loss. When the tiger scare was at its
peak, I was hopeful that this village
would be shifted. The tiger was merely
protecting the jungle, which was its
home,” says Gunawant Tekam, who
runs a small shop near the fields that
border the jungle in Sarati. “I am saying
this because I have seen the fear of the
people as well as the changes in the
landscape.”
The depredations of Avni may have
grabbed the headlines. But of far grea­
ter significance, though missing from
the mainstream discourse, is the chang­
ing dynamic of tiger migration and
movement, which suggests that India
needs to rework its conservation and
forest settlement policies.
A ND-NDE
Join https://t.me/EducationZones
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FROM PAGE ONE
Indian fighter pilot
freed, returns home
As a precautionary mea­
sure, the daily retreat cere­
mony on the Attari­Wagah
border, conducted by the
Border Security Force (BSF)
was closed for the public.
On Wednesday, IAF fight­
er jets intercepted Pakistan
Air Force jets as they en­
tered Indian air space and
attempted to bomb military
installations.
Wg. Cdr. Varthaman was
in a formation of Mig­21s
which intercepted them and
engaged in a dog fight with
an F­16 in which he shot it
and was shot down too and
crashed in PoK.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief
At OIC meet, India
flays terror funding
The speech by the Indian
Minister was overshadowed
by the current tension bet­
ween India and Pakistan.
As Ms. Swaraj delivered
her address that touched
upon the rich relations bet­
ween India and various Is­
lamic countries, a chair
meant for Pakistan Foreign
Minister Shah Mahmood
Qureshi remained empty as
he had cancelled the trip to
Abu Dhabi.
In a strong statement, the
Pakistan Foreign Minister
protested the OIC’s decision
to grant a “guest of honour”
status to India. Mr. Qureshi’s
letter argued India had no
“legal or moral grounds” to
be present at the meeting.
Emphasises ties
Ms. Swaraj named countries
like Saudi Arabia and Ban­
gladesh for the support ex­
tended for building ties with
OIC.
The Minister also named
Afghanistan, Indonesia,
Brunei, Egypt, Iran, Tunisia
and the African and Central
Asian members of the OIC
for maintaining historic and
Oppn. doubting armed
forces, helping Pak: PM
Addressing the well­attend­
ed function, the Prime Mi­
nister hailed Wing Com­
mander Abhinandan
Varthaman, saying every In­
dian was proud of him. “Ev­
ery Indian is proud that the
brave Wing Commander Ab­
hinandan belongs to Tamil
Nadu,” he said.
Mr. Modi urged Opposi­
tion parties, “Don’t weaken
India for your political mi­
leage... Your politics can
wait but not the nation’s se­
curity.” Accusing the Oppo­
sition parties of weakening
the country, he said, “They
are the same people whose
statements are being happi­
ly quoted in Parliament of
Pakistan and in the radio of
Pakistan. I want to ask them
— do you support our armed
forces or suspect them.”
He alleged that the erst­
JeM chief in Pakistan,
says Foreign Minister
Asked if he doubted the ter­
ror allegations against Azhar
and JeM, Mr. Qureshi said:
“It’s not a question of me
doubting. There is a legal
process and you have to sa­
tisfy the legal process.”
He said the focus of his
government was on fixing
Pakistan’s economic pro­
blems and improving gover­
nance in the country.
“We want to see peace
and reconciliation in Af­
ghanistan. The western
front is consuming us. After
a very long time in Pakistan,
there is a government which
has the complete support of
the Pakistan armed forces –
the civil and the political
leadership is on the same
page. The policy of this go­
vernment is that we will not
allow our soil to be used by
any organisation or any in­
dividual against anyone,
CM
YK
Minister Amarinder Singh
welcomed the release of
Wg. Cdr. Varthaman and
urged Pakistan to admit to,
and release, the Prisoners of
War (PoWs) still in its captiv­
ity from the 1971 war.
In Gurdaspur, talking to
journalists, the Chief Minis­
ter also urged the Centre to
take up the issue with Isla­
mabad. “I wholeheartedly
welcome Abhinandan Var­
thaman back home. Though
I would have loved to go and
receive him, I did not do so
in view of the existing De­
fence protocols. Hope to see
you soon officer!,” tweeted
Capt. Singh.
multi­layered ties with
India.
Laying out the Indian atti­
tude to solve the terrorism
problem, Ms. Swaraj said, “I
would like to say that this
menace could not be fought
only through military, intel­
ligence or diplomatic
means.”
Ms. Swaraj said the fight
against terrorism and extre­
mism does not amount to a
clash of cultures and instead
described it as a fight bet­
ween ideas. She presented
India’s pluralism and diver­
sity as a source of strength
and said Indian Muslims are
a “microcosm” of India’s
larger diverse culture.
“They speak Tamil and
Telugu, Malayalam and Ma­
rathi, Bangla and Bhojpuri
or any of the numerous lan­
guages of India. They have
diverse culinary tastes, my­
riad choices of traditional
attire, and they maintain
strong cultural and linguis­
tic heritage of the regions
they loved and have lived
for generations,” Ms. Swaraj
said, elaborating on India’s
vast Muslim community.
while UPA­I and II govern­
ments did not bother about
the nation’s security even af­
ter bomb blasts were or­
chestrated across the coun­
try claiming hundreds of
innocent lives. When the
IAF wanted to carry out sur­
gical strikes, no permission
was given, Mr. Modi
claimed. On the contrary,
when the Uri and Pulwama
attacks happened, the ‘New
India’ under National De­
mocratic Alliance regime
gave a fitting response, he
said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minis­
ter Edappadi K. Palaniswa­
mi and Deputy Chief Minis­
ter O. Panneerselvam
shared the dais with Mr. Mo­
di. The Prime Minister’s
speech in English was tran­
slated into Tamil by BJP na­
tional secretary H. Raja.
and that includes India,” he
added.
Mr. Qureshi said he
hoped there’s no war bet­
ween the two countries. “It
would be mutual suicide.”
Meanwhile, former Pakis­
tan Foreign Affairs Minister
Khawaja Muhammad Asif
said Pakistan had to intros­
pect and convince the world
that it had nothing to do
with terrorism.
“Now there is a need for
introspection and we need
to satisfy the world that we
have no relation with terro­
rism. We have successfully
fought a war against terror.
Those who were the West’s
assets in the past and as a
consequence were our as­
sets as well have now be­
come a liability for us,” he
told a joint session of Parlia­
ment, referring to the Af­
ghan jihad of the 1980s.
AAP­Congress alliance on the cards?
Central leadership all for an alliance in Delhi, but State unit pushes back against any adjustment
Sandeep Phukan
Jaideep Deo Bhanj
NEW DELHI
The Congress and the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) could
work out an alliance for the
seven Lok Sabha seats of Del­
hi as early as next week if the
central leadership of the
former can “convince” the
Delhi unit of the party.
If the deal is sealed, each
party could contest three
seats and support a common
candidate for another.
Names that are being dis­
cussed include BJP rebels
Shatrughan Sinha and Yash­
want Sinha as the common
candidate.
Surveys and polls done by
both the parties indicate that
if the AAP and the Congress
contest separately in Delhi,
the BJP could sweep the Lok
Sabha polls.
But convincing the Delhi
CEC Sunil Arora with Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa,
left, and Sushil Chandra in Lucknow on Friday. RAJEEV BHATT
Border tensions won’t
delay polls, says Arora
‘EC is capable of holding polls on time’
Special correspondent
LUCKNOW
The tensions between India
and Pakistan will not delay
the Lok Sabha election, the
Election Commission clari­
fied on Friday.
Asked about the possibili­
ty of any delay, Chief Elec­
tion Commissioner Sunil Ar­
ora told presspersons that
the EC was “capable” of
holding polls “on time”.
Mr. Arora was here to re­
view the preparation for the
polls. He, however, did not
divulge information about
the likely date of issuing the
notification, saying it would
be announced in a press
conference by norms.
On questions being raised
by the Opposition parties in
Uttar Pradesh over electron­
Quota ordinance will benefit
36 lakh in J&K, says Centre
Help for border residents and those from weaker sections
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI
The Home Ministry has said
the Union Cabinet’s ordi­
nance on reservation in Jam­
mu and Kashmir cleared on
Thursday will benefit
around 36 lakh people in the
State.
The Cabinet on Thursday
approved the Jammu and
Kashmir Reservation
(Amendment) Ordinance to
extend reservation in jobs,
education and promotions
to people living along the In­
ternational Border in Jam­
mu.
The Cabinet also cleared
an ordinance to implement
the 10% reservation for can­
didates belonging to the eco­
nomically weaker sections
in the State.
By the census, the eco­
Hizb was backed by JeI: Centre
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
A day after it banned the
Jammu and Kashmir­based
group Jamaat­e­Islami ( JeI)
under the anti­terror law,
the Centre said the organisa­
tion was responsible for the
formation of Hizbul Mujahi­
deen (HM), the largest terro­
rist organisation active in
the State.
Pradesh Congress Commit­
tee (DPCC) could turn out to
be tricky as it rejected such
an offer on Friday because of
the stiff resistance from the
workers. They maintain that
the Congress could win the
Lok Sabha polls on its own
without an alliance.
*
ic voting machines, Mr. Aro­
ra said the country had
made “EVMs into a football,
wittingly, unwittingly”.
“If result is X, EVM is fine,
if result is Y, then EVM is
malfunctioning,” said Mr.
Arora without naming any
party.
Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok
Sabha seats.
Mr. Arora said that
among the challenges in
conducting polls in the
State, the EC paid “special
emphasis” to addressing
communal flashpoints, cas­
teist overtones, or intra­
community law and order
problems.
He said that by a new not­
ification, candidates would
now also have to give details
of their properties abroad.
The economically weaker
sections constitute 12.5 lakh
of the population in J&K. AP
nomically weaker sections
constitute 12.5 lakh of the
1.25 crore population in Jam­
mu and Kashmir.
The new reservation will
be in addition to existing qu­
otas in the State, a senior Mi­
A senior Home Ministry
official said the JeI had been
providing all kinds of sup­
port to the HM in terms of
recruits, funding, shelter,
and logistics. “In a way, the
HM is a militant wing of JeI
( J&K),” the official said.
The organisation was
banned twice in the past — in
1975 for two years by the J&K
government and in April
DPCC chief and former
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit
openly took a hard line and
rejected an alliance with the
AAP. After a meeting attend­
ed by senior Delhi Congress
leaders at Ms. Dikshit’s resi­
dence, it was decided not to
tie up with the AAP in the
Rahul seeks to tune up campaign blitz
Seeks more options; to meet publicity committee today for more themes
Sandeep Phukan
New Delhi
The Congress’s media cam­
paign for the 2019 Lok Sabha
polls could get delayed as
party chief Rahul Gandhi has
asked for more options after
reviewing a few campaign
themes to take on the BJP.
A source familiar with the
developments told The Hin-
du that he would meet a few
leaders of the publicity com­
mittee — tasked with design­
ing the campaign — on Satur­
day for a second time in two
days.
On Thursday, Mr. Gandhi
asked them to come up with
more options in terms of
themes to take on the NDA
government.
#398299
Not satisfied
He is learnt to have ex­
pressed his dissatisfaction
with a jingle that was an
adaptation of the Chak De
song from the eponymous
Shah Rukh Khan film and
slogans such as “Sachi Sar-
kar, Achi Sarkar” (truthful
government, good govern­
ment).
“The Congress president
was not entirely satisfied
with the creative aspects of
the slogans and campaign.
So he has asked for more op­
tions but that could push
back the entire campaign by
a few days,” said the source.
The publicity committee,
nistry official said.
J&K Governor Satyapal
Malik had told The Hindu
earlier that the ordinance in
no way affected the rights of
the people of the State nor
tinker with Article 35­A,
which provided special
rights and privileges to per­
manent residents of J&K.
An official said the Gover­
nor had the power to recom­
mend such amendment as
per Clause 1 (d) of Article
370.
“Benefit of promotion to
* Scheduled Castes and Sche­
duled Tribes, which in­
cludes Gujjars and Bakar­
wals, has been made
available to J&K. After 77
years, the 77th Constitution
Amendment of 1995 has now
been applied to J&K,” the of­
ficial said.
1990 by the MHA which con­
tinued till December, 1993.
“JeI is the main organisa­
tion responsible for propa­
gation of separatist and radi­
cal ideology in the Kashmir
Valley,” said the official. “Jel
has been pursuing the agen­
da of setting up an indepen­
dent theocratic Islamic state
by destabilising the govern­
ment,” said the official.
State for the upcoming Lok
Sabha election. “We held a
discussion about the tie­up
and most of the leaders were
against it. We will convey our
decision to the party high
command,” Ms. Dikshit said.
Speaking after the meet­
ing, Congress working presi­
dent Rajesh Lilothia said the
Congress was very strong in
Delhi and that the Congress
workers were against a tie­up
with a party that showed no
seriousness about working
for the people of Delhi.
“In elections, you win
some and you lose some. We
have been in power for 15
years at a stretch and the
Congress is regaining
strength in the State. We
took a decision to reject any
proposal from the AAP for a
tie­up,” he said.
But a source familiar with
the discussions told The Hin-
Charged up: Congress workers at Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Mumbai on Friday.
headed by Anand Sharma,
was ready with themes such
as vada (promise) versus
dhoka (betrayal) to highlight
“the gap between what
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi promised before 2014
and how he didn’t deliver in
the past five years.”
Four firms selected
From 13 advertising compa­
nies, the Congress had se­
lected four firms — Percept,
Crayon, Leo Burnett and De­
sign Boxed — based on their
presentation and past asso­
ciation with the Congress
campaigns as well as the UPA
5 security personnel
killed in Kashmir
Civilian killed in clashes in Kupwara
High alert: Soldiers standing guard during a lockdown in
Srinagar on Friday. AP *
Press Trust of India
Srinagar
A CRPF officer and four oth­
er security personnel were
killed in an encounter with
militants in Kupwara district
of Jammu and Kashmir on
Friday. A civilian was killed
in clashes near the site, offi­
cials said.
They said the security
forces launched a cordon­
and­search operation in the
Babagund area following in­
formation about presence of
militants. A gunfight started
after the militants opened
fire.
Cat­and­mouse game
There was lull in firing sev­
eral times during the day,
but militants would resume
firing as soon as the security
forces advanced towards
the house where they were
hiding, the officials said.
https://t.me/BrightFuture
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019
du that senior leader P.C.
Chacko, who is the All India
Congress Committee (AICC)
in­charge for Delhi, has had
two rounds of meeting with
Ms. Dikshit on how to take it
forward. Mr. Chacko is learnt
to have suggested that the
two parties have a “seat ad­
justment” in Delhi alone, de­
linking it from Punjab and
Haryana.
Congress president Rahul
Gandhi has left the issue to
be decided by the State unit
but conveyed that the main
political tactic is to ensure
the BJP’s defeat. While Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejri­
wal had publicly stated that
he was tired of asking for a
tie­up, the Congress officially
denied any discussion was
held. Ms. Dikshit said that
she did not know on what ba­
sis Mr. Kejriwal had made the
statement.
government. But opinion
within the party is divided
on which agency is best suit­
ed to helm the 2019 cam­
paign.
Leo Burnett successfully
handled the Congress’s cam­
paign in 2004 when aam
aadmi (common man) was
the focus of the campaign.
But in 2013, during the
UPA rule, Percept handled
the Bharat Nirman campaign
in the run­up to the 2014 Lok
Sabha polls.
More recently, Design
Boxed handled the party’s
successful campaign in the
Punjab, Rajasthan and
After one such interval,
the militants opened indis­
criminate fire on the ad­
vancing team of security
personnel, the officials said.
Four injured
Of the nine security person­
nel injured in the firing, a
CRPF inspector and a ja­
wan, two Army personnel
and a policeman later died,
they said.
Clashes between a group
of youngsters and security
personnel took place near
the encounter site, the offi­
cials said.
A youth, identified as Wa­
seem Ahmad Mir, suffered
severe injuries and was
rushed to a hospital where
the doctors declared him
“brought dead”, they said.
The operation was still
under way at the time of go­
ing to press.
DELHI
THE HINDU
PM and PR
inseparable,
says Rahul
Press Trust of India
Dhule
Congress president Rahul
Gandhi on Friday targeted
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, saying he can’t leave
aside his public relations
exercise “even for five
minutes.”
Addressing a rally in
Dhule district of north
Maharashtra, Mr. Gandhi
said: “Our Prime Minister
tells the media that India is
united after the Pulwama
terror attacks, but imme­
diately targets the Con­
gress.” “India’s Prime Mi­
nister can’t leave aside his
public relations [exercise]
even for five minutes. That
is the difference between
him and us,” he said.
The Congress leader ac­
cused Mr. Modi of misusing
solemn occasions to target
the Congress.
* VIVEK BENDRE
Chhattisgarh Assembly
elections.
Dividing tasks
The companies finally cho­
sen would conceptualise and
exclusively handle the par­
ty’s campaigns in print, elec­
tronic, digital and social me­
dia and also outdoor
campaigns.
But unlike the 2014 elec­
tions, where Dentsu India
handled a major chunk of
the Congress’s ₹500­crore
media campaign, the party
is keen on dividing the res­
ponsibility among multiple
agencies.
Delhi team
led searches
in ICICI case
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The Enforcement Directo­
rate on Friday carried out
searches at Mumbai and
Aurungabad in Maharash­
tra in connection with the
ICICI Bank­Videocon credit
fraud case. “A team of offi­
cials from Delhi led the op­
eration in coordination
with their local counter­
parts,” said an official.
The Directorate had ear­
lier registered a money
laundering case against
former managing director
and chief executive officer
of ICICI Bank, Chanda
Kochhar and her husband
Deepak Kochhar, Videocon
Group chief Venugopal
Dhoot and others, on the
basis of an FIR lodged by
the CBI, to probe the mo­
ney trail.
According to the CBI,
the bank had sanctioned
six high­value loans to va­
rious Videocon Group
firms between June 2009
and October 2011. As on
April 26, 2012, the out­
standing against these ac­
counts were adjusted as
another term loan of ₹1,730
crore sanctioned under re­
finance of domestic debt.
The accounts were de­
clared non­performing as­
sets in June 2017. The CBI
alleged that as quid pro
quo, Mr. Dhoot had invest­
ed ₹64 crore in Mr. Koch­
har’s company Nupower
Renewables Limited (NRL).
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THE HINDU
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019
DELHI
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
China hopes Pakistan
move will ease tension
Welcomes release of Indian pilot
Atul Aneja
Beijing
China on Friday welcomed
the release of the IAF pilot,
Abhinandan Varthaman by
Pakistan, and hoped it
would lead to further de­es­
calation of tensions bet­
ween New Delhi and Islama­
bad, as well as yield a joint
investigation into the Pulwa­
ma terror attack.
Asked if China had played
any behind­the­scenes role
in facilitating Wing Com­
mander Abhinandan’s re­
lease, Foreign Ministry spo­
kesperson Lu Kang said,
“From the start, China has
been calling upon both
sides to exercise restraint
and take measures to de­
crease tension, engage in
dialogue to resolve their
differences.”
“I have taken note of the
development [and] that Chi­
na welcomes the goodwill
signals released by the Pa­
New Delhi briefs Colombo
on Pulwama terror attack
High Commissioner meets Sirisena, Ranil and Rajapaksa
Meera Srinivasan
COLOMBO
Indian High Commissioner
Taranjit Singh Sandhu met
Sri Lankan President Maith­
ripala Sirisena, Prime Minis­
ter Ranil Wickremesinghe
and Leader of the Opposi­
tion Mahinda Rajapaksa ov­
er the last few days and
briefed them about the Pul­
wama terror attack and sub­
sequent developments, the
Indian mission here said.
Tweeting about the meet­
ing held on Friday, Mr. Raja­
paksa said: “I believe this sit­
uation can be resolved with
peaceful dialogue between
the respective leadership &
by the region uniting to de­
feat terrorism.”
Jawan’s wife
trolled for
peace message
Special Correspondent
Kolkata
Huge support poured in on
social media for the anti­
war message from Mita
Santra, wife of CRPF jawan
Bablu Santra, who was
killed in the February 14
Pulwama attack. Ms. San­
tra was trolled on social
media, following her com­
ment that she opposed war
under every circumstance.
Ms. Santra was subject
to vicious trolling, includ­
ing people questioning her
integrity and fidelity as a
wife. The attack, however,
sparked off a huge counter,
with many objecting to the
offensive statements made
against her.
Citizens call for India, Pakistan to solve differences peacefully
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI
More than 600 citizens from
different walks of life have is­
sued an “Appeal for Reason” ov­
er the recent escalation of ten­
sions between India and
Pakistan. The statement was
drafted before the situation of
Wing Commander Abhinandan
became clear. Economist Jean
Dreze, one of the signatories,
said his release was a welcome
but limited step towards de­es­
calation and much more was
needed.
The following is the text of
the “Appeal for Reason” calling
upon both the Indian and Pakis­
tani governments to refrain
from further hostilities and to
resolve the differences within
the framework of international
law and human rights:
“We, citizens of India, are
deeply concerned at the recent
escalation of tensions between
India and Pakistan, and at the
climate of intolerance that is de­
veloping around it.
“Nothing can justify the act
of terrorism that took the lives
CM
YK
Lu Kang
kistan side. “De­escalation
serves the common interest
of both sides. We encourage
the two sides to engage in
more dialogue for the peace
and stability in the region.”
Asked to comment on
Wing Commander Abhinan­
dan’s release as well as the
presentation of a dossier by
India to Pakistan on the Pul­
wama episode, Mr. Lu said
Beijing had been encourag­
ing both sides “to create a fa­
vourable atmosphere for
the joint efforts to deal with
the relevant issue”.
Taranjit Singh Sandhu
Soon after the bombing
on February 14, which
claimed the lives of 40 CRPF
personnel, Mr. Sirisena, Mr.
Wickremesinghe, Speaker
Karu Jayasuriya, Mr. Raja­
paksa and several Ministers
put out messages condemn­
MPs’ panel raises questions on Balakot
Members ask Foreign Secretary to scotch misinformation campaign, end speculation
Sobhana K. Nair
NEW DELHI
The Centre must circulate evi­
dence of the damage suffered by
the Jaish­e­Mohammad ( JeM)
camp in Balakot to the interna­
tional community to end specu­
lation in the international press
about the number of casualties
in the Indian Air Force attack,
members of the Standing Com­
mittee on External Affairs said
on Friday.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gok­
hale and other senior officials of
the External Affairs Ministry
briefed the panel. Mr. Gokhale
was meant to speak on the new
government taking charge in Pa­
kistan, but the briefing was lar­
gely centred on the Pulwama at­
tack and its fallout.
of more than 40 CRPF person­
nel in Pulwama on 14 February
2019. Nor can anything justify
the Pakistan government’s cov­
ert support of armed groups
that have carried out this sort of
attack in Kashmir over the
years. Nevertheless, India’s res­
ponse to this incident must
abide by international law in let­
ter and spirit. It must also be
responsible and take into ac­
count the risks involved in an
armed conflict between two nu­
clear powers.
“The history of war across
the world has repeatedly shown
how easily and speedily an
armed conflict can escalate well
beyond what was initially ex­
pected. The first World War, we
may recall, began with a single
assassination, which set in mo­
tion a chain of attacks and coun­
ter­attacks that eventually led to
millions of casualties. Similarly,
it would be easy for seemingly
“safe” strikes and counter­
strikes between India and Pa­
kistan to lead to a major con­
frontation, possibly even nu­
clear war, with disastrous
Pak. forced pilot to record video
Abhinandan’s release was delayed by the insistence of the authorities on this
Press Trust of India
Lahore
The handing over of IAF
Wing Commander Abhinan­
dan Varthaman to Indian of­
ficials at Wagah was delayed
till late on Friday as he was
asked to record a statement
on camera by Pakistani auth­
orities before he was allowed
to cross the border, sources
said.
It was not clear whether
he was made to record the
video about his capture un­
der duress. The video, which
was released to the Pakistani
press around 8.30 p.m., has
several obvious jump cuts,
indicating that it has was
edited heavily.
“Recording of his video
message delayed his handing
over,” a source said.
In the video message, Wg.
Cdr. Varthaman is heard say­
ing he entered Pakistan’s
space to “find a target” but
his aircraft was shot down. “I
had to eject from the plane.
As soon as I ejected and
ing the terror attack, even as
they expressed their sym­
pathies to the families of
slain soldiers. Sri Lanka and
its leaders have strong ties
with India and Pakistan.
On Wednesday, Sri Lan­
ka’s Ministry of Foreign Af­
fairs said the country was
“deeply concerned about
the recent developments fol­
lowing the brutal terrorist
attack on a Central Reserve
Police Force convoy in Pul­
wama.” “Requesting” India
and Pakistan to act “in a
manner that ensures the se­
curity, peace and stability of
the entire region,” it said Sri
Lanka strongly supports
peace and stability in the
region.
Seeking details: The picture shows Pakistani troops at a location
reportedly struck by Indian planes in Jaba, near Balakot. AP
The Foreign Secretary re­
fused to give operational details
about the air strikes of February
26, pleading that it did not fall
under his domain.
He also refused to answer
questions on the number of pos­
consequences for both sides.
“Even a limited confronta­
tion would resolve nothing —
neither the tensions between
India and Pakistan, nor the
Kashmir dispute. On the con­
trary, it would aggravate ten­
sions and delay the process of
conflict resolution.
“The principal victims of this
conflict are the civilian resi­
dents of Kashmir, who have en­
dured immense suffering over
the years, including gross hu­
man rights violations. In recent
days, Kashmiris have also been
a target of brutal attacks across
the country. If the conflict in­
tensifies, this hostility is likely
to be extended to other minori­
ties and dissidents.
“The victims also include
hundreds of thousands of mili­
tary and para­military person­
nel, largely drawn from under­
privileged groups, who are
exposed to the most trying ser­
vice conditions in Kashmir and
may soon be exposed to further
danger.
“The victims of continued
hostility also include the Indian
https://t.me/BrightFuture
NEWS 11
Leaders hail valour
of Abhinandan
F­16 but there was no men­ PM says India proud of his courage
tion of that in the video
message. Press Trust of India
India has maintained that New Delhi
Wg. Cdr. Varthaman’s plane Leaders cutting across party
was downed when IAF lines welcomed the return
planes foiled an attempt by of Indian Air Force pilot Ab­
the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) hinandan Varthaman on
to target Indian military in­ Friday.
stallations in Jammu and Prime Minister Narendra
Kashmir on February 27. He Modi said the nation was
baled out of the aircraft but proud of his exemplary
drifted into Pakistan­occu­ courage. “Welcome Home Abhinandan Varthaman
pied Kashmir, where he was Wing Commander, Abhi­
detained by the Pakistan nandan! The nation is proud is proud of your courage
Army. of your exemplary courage,” and valour. India is glad to
Although there has been he tweeted. have you back. May you con­
no official word as to what Defence Minister Nirmala tinue to serve the nation and
Jubilant mood: People celebrating the release of Wing time he was brought to the Sitharaman tweeted, IAF with unparalleled pas­
Commander Abhinandan at Wagah on Friday. REUTERS * Wagah border on Friday, “Proud of you Wing Com­ sion and dedication. Best
sources said he reached La­ mander #AbhinandanVar­ wishes for your bright fu­
when my parachute opened seen as saying. hore after 4 p.m. thaman. The entire nation ture,” he said.
and I fell down, I had a pistol “The army personnel The Pakistani media re­ appreciates your valour and Congress president Rahul
with me...There were many saved me from the mob. The ported that “his papers were grit. You held your calm in Gandhi said his dignity,
people...” Pakistani army is very pro­ being checked at the Wagah the face of adversity.” poise and bravery had made
“People chased me, their fessional and I am impressed immigration,” which is why BJP president Amit Shah all in India proud. “Wing
emotions were running by it,” he says. Later, he is he was not being “imme­ said the entire nation was Cdr. Abhinandan, your dig­
high. Just then, two Pakista­ seen criticising the Indian diately” handed over. Wg. proud of the courage and nity, poise and bravery
ni Army officials came and media. Cdr. Varthaman was finally valour of the pilot. made us all proud. Welcome
saved me...and did not let The IAF said Wg. Cdr. Var­ handed over at around 9.20 “Dear Wing Commander back and much love,” he
any harm come to me,” he is thaman had shot down an p.m. (IST). Abhinandan, entire nation said on Twitter.
Pilot’s parents
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
Two faces of loss get standing
ovation
Special Correspondent
MUMBAI
IAF pilot Abhinandan Var­
thaman’s parents got a
standing ovation on their
flight to Delhi.
A video, which went vi­
ral on Friday morning,
showed Air Marshal S. Var­
thaman (retired) and Shob­
ha Varthaman receiving a
round of applause from the
fellow passengers. It also
showed the passengers
making way for the couple
to alight from the aircraft.
After his MiG­21 jet
crashed on Wednesday,
Wing Commander Abhi­
#398299
nandan ejected safely, but
was taken into custody by
Pakistani forces. His pa­
Final salute: Vijeta, wife of Squadron Leader Ninad Mandavgane who was among the six IAF personnel killed in a helicopter rents left Delhi for Amrit­
crash in Budgam on February 27, with daughter Vidita at his final rites in Nashik on Friday; (right) Squadron Leader Arti holding sar, to Wagah to receive
the Tricolour, at the funeral of her husband and colleague Squadron Leader Siddharth Vashisht in Chandigarh. VEERU KADAM & PTI * him.
“The international communi­
ty is claiming that our strikes
had no impact, the camps were
already empty and no men were
killed. They are trying to hide
the glory of our armed forces. So
we told the Foreign Secretary
that this misinformation cam­
paign needs to be combated by
widely circulating the relevant
evidence,” an Opposition leader,
who attended the meeting, said.
The panel asked Mr. Gokhale
*
to highlight the justification for
the air strikes and the JeM’s role
sible casualties at the JeM camp, in spreading terror in India.
committee sources said. Mr. Gokhale assured the Com­
The panel members hailed mittee that diplomatic overtures
the strikes by the Indian Air to the international community
Force but lamented that interna­ were still under way. Mr Gok­
tionally India had not been given hale, the sources said, also
due credit. spoke on OIC support for India.
population at large, in so far as sador of India; Ajitha George,
it absorbs valuable financial researcher and women’s rights
and human resources that activist; writers Amitav Ghosh,
could be used for better purpos­ Arundhati Roy, Mukul Kesavan
es. Perhaps the biggest national and Meena Kandasamy; Aruna
damage is the erosion of de­ Roy, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti San­
mocracy including the freedom gathan; Bezwada Wilson, na­
of expression and dissent. Un­ tional convener of the Safai Kar­
fortunately, the climate of jin­ machari Andolan; N. Ram,
goism that tends to develop Chairman, The Hindu Publish­
around this sort of situation is ing Group; C. Rammanohar
obscuring these simple truths. Reddy, Editor, The India Fo-
Even reasoned demands for a rum; Devaki Jain, concerned ci­
peaceful solution tend to be tizen; Debraj Ray, Professor of
conflated with anti­national Economics, New York Universi­
sentiment. ty; Githa Hariharan, author and
“We appeal to the govern­ editor; Indira Jaising, Lawyers’
ments on both sides to refrain Collective, New Delhi; Harbans
from further hostilities, overt or Mukhia, former Professor and
covert, and to resolve their dif­ Rector, Jawaharlal Nehru Un­
ferences within the framework iversity; Janaki Nair, Professor,
of international law and human Jawaharlal Nehru University;
rights.” Jignesh Mevani, social activist
and lawyer; Jothi S.J., director,
List of signatories Udayani Social Action Forum,
The list of signatories include Kolkata; Mrinal Pande, senior
A.P. Shah, former Chief Justice, journalist and author; Nandita
Delhi High Court; L. Ramdas, Das, actor and director; Swami­
Admiral (retired); Aftab Seth, nathan Aiyar, senior journalist;
former IAS officer; Wajahat Ha­ and Zoya Hasan, former Profes­
bibullah, former IAS officer; sor of Political Science, Jawa­
Madhu Bhaduri, retired Ambas­ harlal Nehru University.
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12 WORLD DELHI

SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019

THE HINDU
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S. Korea to help U.S., N. Korea reach a deal London Mayor urges Brexit
Moon Jae-in says his administration will work with both countries to resolve denuclearisation issue
Reuters
SEOUL/HANOI
South Korea will work with
the U.S. and North Korea to
ensure they reach agree­
ment on denuclearisation,
the South’s President said on
Friday, a day after talks bet­
ween the U.S. and North Ko­
rean leaders collapsed over
sanctions.
A second summit between
U.S. President Donald
Trump and North Korean
leader Kim Jong­un, in Viet­
nam, was cut short after they
failed to reach a deal on the
extent of sanctions relief
North Korea would get in ex­
change for steps to give up its
nuclear programme.
South Korea’s President
Moon Jae­in has been an ac­
tive supporter of efforts to
end confrontation on the Ko­
rean peninsula, meeting Mr.
Kim three times last year and
trying to facilitate his nuclear
negotiations with the U.S.
“My administration will
closely communicate and
cooperate with the U.S. and
North Korea so as to help
their talks reach a complete
settlement by any means,”
Mr. Moon said in a speech in
the South Korean capital,
Seoul.
Joint tourism projects
Mr. Moon also said South Ko­
rea would consult the U.S. on
ways to resume joint projects
with the North, including
tourism development at
Mount Kumgang and the
Kaesong industrial complex,
both in North Korea.
The Hanoi summit came
eight months after Mr.
Trump and Mr. Kim met for
the first time in Singapore
and agreed to establish new
relations and peace in ex­
Talks to continue: North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, centre, arriving for a ceremony at the
Presidential Palace in Hanoi on Friday. AFP
change for a North Korean
commitment to work toward
complete denuclearisation
of the Korean peninsula.
Mr. Trump said two days
of talks had made good pro­
gress but it was important
not to rush into a bad deal.
He said he had walked away
because of unacceptable
North Korean demands.
“It was all about the sanc­
tions,” Mr. Trump told a
news conference after the
talks were cut short. “Basi­
cally, they wanted the sanc­
tions lifted in their entirety,
and we couldn’t do that.”
On Friday, Mr. Trump
tweeted that the negotia­
tions with Kim were “very
substantive” and that “we
know what they want and
they know what we must
have,” but he gave no other
details about any next steps.
“Relationship very good, lets
see what happens!” he
wrote.
‘Biggest step so far’
However, North Korean Fo­
reign Minister Ri Yong Ho
*
told a news conference after
Mr. Trump left Hanoi that
North Korea had sought only
a partial lifting of sanctions
“related to people’s liveli­
hoods and unrelated to mili­
tary sanctions.”
He said North Korea had
offered a realistic proposal
involving the dismantling of
all of its main nuclear site at
Yongbyon, including pluto­
nium and uranium facilities,
by engineers from both
countries.
“This is the biggest denu­
clearisation step we can take
based on the current level of
trust between the two coun­
tries,” Mr. Ri said.
North Korean Vice­Fo­
reign Minister Choe Son Hui
told the briefing she had the
impression that Mr. Kim
“might lose his willingness to
pursue a deal” after the U.S.
side rejected a partial lifting
of sanctions in return for
destruction of Yongbyon,
“something we had never of­
fered before.”
Speaking to South Korean
media later on Friday, Ms.
Mr. Trump for putting in ef­
forts to get results, state
KCNA news agency said.
The United Nations and
the U.S. ratcheted up sanc­
tions on North Korea when
the reclusive state conduct­
ed repeated nuclear and bal­
listic missile tests in 2017,
cutting off its main sources of
hard cash.
‘Need full commitment’
The U.S. has demanded
North Korea’s complete, ver­
ifiable and irreversible denu­
clearisation before sanctions
can be lifted. North Korea
has denounced that position
as ”gangster like.”
The U.S. official said North
Choe appeared more pessi­ Korea had proposed closing
mistic about chances for part of its Yongbyon nuclear
progress. complex in exchange for the
“Having conducted the lifting of all U.N. sanctions
talks this time, it occurs to us except those directly target­
that there may not be a need ing their weapons of mass
to continue,” she said, ad­ destruction programmes.
ding that North Korea had ta­
ken “many steps” to try to
reach a deal.
The U.S. side said “that
wouldnt work”, he said.
“The dilemma that we
“We’re doing a lot of were confronted with is the
thinking,” she said while ad­
ding, the situation would
change “if our demands can
North Koreans at this point
are unwilling to impose a
complete freeze on their
be resolved.” weapons of mass destruc­
But despite the doubt that tion programmes,” said the
Ms. Choe raised, both sides official, who declined to be
have indicated they want to identified. “So to give many,
maintain the momentum many billions of dollars in
and press on. sanctions relief would in ef­
“We are anxious to get fect put us in a position of
back to the table so we can subsidising the ongoing de­
continue that conversation velopment of weapons of
that will ultimately lead to mass destruction,” said the
peace and stability, better official, who spoke on condi­
life for the North Korean pe­ tion of anonymity.
ople, and a lower threat, a Analysts estimate North
denuclearised North Korea,” Korea may have a nuclear ar­
U.S. Secretary of State Mike senal of 20 to 60 weapons,
Pompeo said in Manila. which, if fitted to its inter­
Mr. Kim, who is due to continental ballistic missiles,
leave Vietnam on Saturday, could threaten the U.S
also expressed gratitude to mainland.
delay to break deadlock
‘Not enough time to rework the withdrawal agreement’
Agence France-Presse
London
London Mayor Sadiq Khan
has urged Prime Minister
Theresa May to delay Bri­
tain’s departure from the Eu­
ropean Union, warning time
has run out to rework her
withdrawal agreement.
“It’s clear that we can’t
reach a meaningful deal
that’s agreed by Parliament
by March 29,” Mr. Khan,
from Britain’s main opposi­
tion Labour Party, said.
“I’m hoping the Prime Mi­
nister sees sense and either
extends the notice period
for Article 50, or withdraws
Article 50.”
Article 50 is the EU law
that Britain invoked in 2017
triggering a two­year count­
Netanyahu defiant after move
to indict him ahead of polls
Agence France-Presse
Jerusalem
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s long reign atop
Israeli politics has earned
him the nickname “King Bi­
bi,” but a decision ahead of
the April elections to indict
him on corruption charges
may be his biggest challenge
yet.
After Israel’s Attorney
General announced on
Thursday that he intended
to charge Mr. Netanyahu
with bribery, fraud and
breach of trust pending a
hearing, he showed charac­
teristic defiance in a tele­
Sadiq Khan
down to Brexit that ends at
11pm (23:00 GMT) on March
29.
The country is currently
on course to leave without
an agreement after MPs in
January overwhelmingly re­
jected a divorce deal Ms.
May struck with the EU late
last year.
The embattled leader is
now seeking changes to the
Benjamin Netanyahu
vised statement.
He blamed his political
opponents for what he
called a “witch hunt” intend­
ed to force him from office —
though he had appointed
the Attorney General who is­
pact which she hopes will be
enough to get it through Par­
liament by March 12.
In her revised strategy un­
veiled this week, Ms. May
has vowed that if her deal is
rejected, lawmakers will
vote in the following days on
whether to leave without a
deal or delay Brexit briefly.
But European leaders
have warned any postpone­
ment would come with con­
ditions.
Mr. Khan, a leading advo­
cate for a second referen­
dum on EU membership, ar­
gued that freezing the
process by unilaterally with­
drawing Article 50 was the
most feasible way forward.
“Lets do it... stop the
clock,” he said.
sued the decision.
“Netanyahu will not re­
sign,” said Ilan Greilsammer,
political science professor at
the University of Tel Aviv.
Mr. Netanyahu is not le­
gally required to resign if in­
dicted, only if convicted
with all appeals exhausted.
Mr. Netanyahu now faces
a challenge from a centrist
political alliance, led by
former armed forces chief of
staff Benny Gantz, in the
April 9 election. Should he
win, he will be on track to
surpass founding father Da­
vid Ben­Gurion’s record of
more than 13 years in office.

ELSEWHERE
Russia vows more support Taliban attacks
Afghan Army
for Maduro, including aid
#398299

base, 25 killed
Reuters
It vetoed a U.S. resolution on Venezuela in the UNSC Kandahar

At least 25 Afghan soldiers

Agence France-Presse
Moscow
Russia on Friday vowed to
Sudan's Bashir steps
down as party chief maintain support for the em­
CAIRO battled regime of its Vene­
Sudanese President Omar zuelan “friend” President
al-Bashir has handed his Nicolas Maduro, including
powers as chief of the with humanitarian aid
country’s ruling party to his supplies.
deputy, Ahmed Harun, after During talks with Vene­
more than two months of zuelan Vice­President Delcy
protests against his nearly Rodriguez in Moscow, Rus­
three-decade rule. AFP sian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said President Vladi­
Hezbollah rejects
Britain’s move to ban it mir Putin expressed “sup­
port and solidarity for his
BEIRUT
colleague and friend” Mr.
The Lebanese group
were killed as they repelled
an attack on Friday by the
Taliban on a military base
in Helmand province in
southern Afghanistan, offi­
cials said.
Afghan forces killed at
least nine Taliban insur­
gents, including three sui­
cide bombers, during the
attack, the provincial go­
vernor said. Afghan com­
mando forces were clear­
ing the area, he said.
An official said one of
Help at hand: Venezuela’s Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez and the suicide bombers had
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. REUTERS blown himself up in a din­
*

Hezbollah condemned on Maduro in the country’s pol­ ing room inside the mili­
Friday the British itical standoff with the and asserted that Maduro plies” of wheat to Venezue­ tary corps compound, and
government’s decision to list Opposition. was no longer legitimate. la, claiming those shipments clashes continued.
it as a terrorist organisation, “Russia will continue to Mr. Maduro and his allies helped normalise the hu­ The U.S. advise and as­
saying the move showed assist the Venezuelan auth­ — including Russia — have ac­ manitarian situation in the sist mission, which works
“servile obedience” to the orities in resolving social cused Washington of at­ crisis­hit country. alongside Afghan troops,
U.S. AP and economic problems, in­ tempting to carry out a coup Meanwhile, Russia and operates from the base. Fo­
cluding through the provi­ against his government. China on Thursday vetoed a reign forces present at the
Myanmar officer’s wife base were safe as the Tali­
sion of legitimate humani­ The U.S. has recognised U.S. resolution in the UN Se­
killed in Rakhine violence ban could not breach the
YANGON
tarian aid,” Mr. Lavrov told a Mr. Guaido and led a diplo­ curity Council on addressing
joint news conference with matic campaign in support the crisis in Venezuela, but a walls of their compound.
The wife of a Myanmar
Ms. Rodriguez afterwards. of his leadership. counter­proposal from Mos­ Security officials say
military officer was killed by a
Battered by an economic Mr. Lavrov said Russia cow did not win enough clashes between the Tali­
pipe bomb as they moved
into a new home in Rakhine meltdown, Venezuela des­ had recently sent to Vene­ votes. The U.S. resolution ban and government forces
State, the army said on cended into political crisis zuela 7.5 tonnes of medical called for new presidential have not subsided even as
Friday. The bomb went off in when opposition leader Juan supplies. elections in Venezuela and U.S. and Taliban officials
the house of a newlywed Guaido declared himself in­ He added that Russia was unimpeded deliveries of hu­ are holding talks in Qatar
Major in Buthidaung. AFP terim President in January also sending “mass sup­ manitarian aid. to end the prolonged war.

With probe demands, Trudeau’s woes mount

Ex-Minister contradicts PM’s claims that he didn’t act improperly to settle a case against SNC-Lavalin
Ian Austen
OTTAWA
If Prime Minister Justin Tru­
deau had any thought that a
burgeoning political scandal
could be quietly contained,
that hope vanished on
Thursday, as Canadians dis­
sected the explosive testimo­
ny from his former Justice
Minister before a parliamen­
tary committee.
“I don’t think I’ve ever
seen a Minister strafe her
own government like this,”
said Andrew MacDougall,
who was the spokesman for
Stephen Harper, the Conser­
vative Prime Minister Mr.
Trudeau replaced in 2015. “It
just reinforces people’s per­
ception that all politicians
are kind of bent.”
During nearly four hours
CM
YK
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Quebec.
of testimony before the
House of Commons Justice
Committee on Wednesday
evening, the former Minis­
ter, Jody Wilson­Raybould,
repeatedly contradicted and
undermined Mr. Trudeau’s
assertions that neither he
nor his staff acted improper­
ly in trying to settle a crimi­
* REUTERS
nal case against SNC­Lavalin,
a multinational construction
and engineering company
based in Montreal.
Ms. Wilson­Raybould’s de­
scription of 10 meetings, 10
conversations and a series of
emails about the criminal
case from senior govern­
ment officials dominated so­
cial media and news cover­ explanations and quoted Ms.
age in Canada on Thursday, Wilson­Raybould’s testimo­
as Andrew Scheer, the Con­ ny that no one acted illegally
servative opposition leader or undermined the justice
in Parliament, asked the system.
Royal Canadian Mounted Parliament’s Ethics Com­
Police to open a criminal in­ missioner is already looking
vestigation of the matter. at the accusations.
Mr. Trudeau has acknow­
Call for resignation ledged that he and others
Mr. Trudeau, who is running spoke with Ms. Wilson­Ray­
for re­election this fall, is al­ bould about cutting a deal in
ready fending off a call for the case, in which SNC­Lava­
his resignation by Mr. Scheer lin has been charged with
as well as demands for an in­ paying millions of dollars in
dependent public inquiry. bribes to officials in Libya
On Thursday night, the while the country was con­
opposition parties led an trolled by dictator Moammar
emergency debate in the Gadhafi, but he has denied
House of Commons, during acting improperly.
which they condemned the The deal would have seen
actions of the Prime Minister the company pay a large pe­
and his circle. Liberal mem­ nalty but not receive a crimi­
bers reiterated Mr. Trudeau’s nal conviction. NY TIMES
A ND-NDE
Join https://t.me/EducationZones https://t.me/BrightFuture
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THE HINDU
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019
DELHI

BUSINESS 13
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market watch
01-03-2019 % CHANGE SEBI slashes regulatory fee for brokers GST collection drops to
₹97,247 crore in February
Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 36,064 ddddddddddddddd0.55
US Dollar dddddddddddddddddddd 70.92 ddddddddddddd -0.28
Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 34,080 ddddddddddddd -0.35
Brent oil dddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 65 ddddddddddddd -1.51 A 33.33% reduction in charges on intermediaries may bring down overall trading costs for investors
January figures totalled ₹1.02 lakh cr.
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT provided by such agencies quire shares from the public
MUMBAI subject to certain checks and shareholders. Such an ex­ Special Correspondent “While the monthly col­
NIFTY 50 NEW DELHI
The Securities and Exchange balances. This is important emption from making an lection is a tad lower than
PRICE CHANGE
Adani Ports . . ................... . . . . . 333.20. . . . . . . . . 7.35 Board of India (SEBI) has lo­ considering that ratings open offer would, however, Gross Goods and Services last month, it is more or less
Asian Paints. . ................. . . . 1392.35. . . . . . -12.85 wered the regulatory fee that agencies typically stop valu­ be available for banks and Tax (GST) revenue collec­ same as average monthly
Axis Bank . . ...................... . . . . . . 702.40. . . . . . . . -7.15 it charges market intermedi­ ing securities once the rating other financial institutions. tion in February stood at collection of 2018­19,” Pratik
Bajaj Auto . . ...................... . . . 2863.50. . . . . . -37.10
Bajaj Finserv. . ............... . . . 6440.60. . . . . . -21.85
aries, a move that is expect­ falls below investment Meanwhile, the regulator ₹97,247 crore, down from Jain, partner and leader, in­
Bajaj Finance . . .............. . . . 2660.75. . . . . . . 11.75 ed to bring down the overall grade, thereby leading to has given its nod for the par­ the ₹1.02 lakh crore collect­ direct tax, PwC India, said.
Bharti Airtel . . ............... . . . . . 307.65. . . . . . -10.40 trading costs for investors. lack of uniformity in pricing ticipation of MFs and portfo­ ed in January. “We have seen that col­
BPCL. . .................................... . . . . . . 346.05. . . . . . . . . 8.50 The fee that brokers have of such securities across lio managers in the exchange The February 2019 figure lection of over ₹1 lakh crore
Cipla . . .................................... . . . . . . 551.55. . . . . . . . -3.00
Coal India . . ...................... . . . . . 232.65. . . . . . . . . 4.35
to pay to SEBI has been re­ fund houses. traded commodity deriva­ is, however, 13% higher than in a month has typically
Dr Reddys Lab . . .......... . . . 2646.00. . . . . . . 14.35 duced by 33.33%, while the Incidentally, the IL&FS tives segment. what it was in February come in the last month of
Eicher Motors. . ............ 19948.65. . . . . . . 79.55 the fees levied on agri­com­ episode saw many fund Further, Category III Alter­ 2018. the quarter only, so a slight
GAIL (India). . ................. . . . . . 343.85. . . . . . . . . 1.85
modity brokers has been cut Sky high: India has featured among the most­expensive houses taking a hit in diffe­ native Investment Funds, “Total gross GST revenue reduction doesn’t seem to
Grasim Ind . . .................... . . . . . 791.75. . . . . . . 14.70
HCL Tech. . ........................ . . . . 1052.60. . . . . . . . -1.30 by 93.33%. countries in market trading costs. PAUL NORONHA
*
rent proportions after the which are already permitted collected in the month of be a cause for worry,” he
HDFC . . .................................. . . . . 1859.45. . . . . . . 18.25 The regulatory fee paid by company defaulted on its to participate in commodity February, 2019 is ₹97,247 added.
HDFC Bank. . .................... . . . 2083.35. . . . . . . . . 5.80 stock exchanges has also stitutional investors like uation across fund houses. payment obligations. derivatives, have now been crore of which CGST is
Hero MotoCorp . . ....... . . . 2675.60. . . . . . . 47.50
Hindalco . . ........................ . . . . . . 196.15. . . . . . . . . 0.40
been lowered by 80%. The mutual funds and portfolio “The valuation agencies The regulator has also said permitted to deal with goods ₹17,626 crore, SGST is Plan for next year
HPCL . . .................................. . . . . . . 232.70. . . . . . . . . 9.35 move assumes significance management services in the appointed by Association of that entities that acquire a received in delivery against ₹24,192 crore, IGST is That said, Mr. Jain did point
Hind Unilever . . ............ . . . 1734.65. . . . . . . . . 2.00 as India has always featured commodity derivatives Mutual Funds in India (AM­ significant stake in a listed physical settlement of such ₹46,953 crore and cess is out that the real question
Indiabulls HFL . . .......... . . . . . 671.90. . . . . . . 16.65 among the most­expensive segment. FI) may provide valuation of entity as part of a debt res­ contracts, if any. ₹8,476 crore,” the govern­ should be how the govern­
ICICI Bank . . ...................... . . . . . 354.25. . . . . . . . . 4.10
IndusInd Bank . . .......... . . . 1514.10. . . . . . . 40.25
countries globally in terms of The watchdog has said money market and debt se­ tructuring will not be eligible “SEBI’s decision to allow ment said in a statement on ment plans to achieve next
Bharti Infratel . . .......... . . . . . 293.25. . . . . . . . -0.40 trading costs in the capital that credit rating agencies curities rated below invest­ for exemption from open off­ entry of MFs and portfolio Friday. year’s revenue target, which
Infosys . . ............................. . . . . . . 741.90. . . . . . . . . 7.60 market. The board of the reg­ may provide valuation of ment grade,” SEBI said in a er obligations. management services (PMS) The total number of is 20% higher than the tar­
Indian OilCorp . . .......... . . . . . 148.05. . . . . . . . . 3.45
ulator, which met in Delhi on money market and debt se­ release, adding that fund This effectively implies for commodity trading is a GSTR 3B returns filed for the get for the current year, es­
ITC . . ......................................... . . . . . . 278.20. . . . . . . . . 2.15
JSW Steel. . ........................ . . . . . 282.10. . . . . . . . . 1.00 Friday, also tweaked the val­ curities that are rated below houses would be responsible that if Etihad acquires a stake very investor friendly move,” month of January up to Fe­ pecially since the GST Coun­
Kotak Bank . . ................... . . . 1225.95. . . . . . . 12.85 uation norms for debt mu­ investment grade, thereby for fair valuation and may in Jet Airways, it will have to said Sanjit Prasad, CEO, In­ bruary 28, 2019 is 73.48 cil doesn’t have the room to
L&T . . ....................................... . . . . 1308.55. . . . . . . 15.60 tual funds, while allowing in­ providing uniformity in val­ deviate from the valuation make an open offer to ac­ dia Commodity Exchange. lakh. increase tax rates.
M&M . . .................................. . . . . . . 649.70. . . . . . . . . 3.80
Maurti Suzuki . . ............ . . . 6935.15. . . . . 105.45
NTPC . . .................................. . . . . . . 143.00. . . . . . . . . 1.75
ONGC . . ................................. . . . . . . 149.10. . . . . . . . . 0.45
PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 183.20. . ........... 0.35
Reliance Ind . . ............... . . . 1226.05. . . . . . . . -5.00
State Bank . . .................... . . . . . 272.95. . . . . . . . . 3.90
Manufacturing PMI at a Automakers drive on slow lane in Feb.
14­month high of 54.3 in Feb.
Sun Pharma . . ................. . . . . . 447.35. . . . . . . . . 2.20
Tata Motors . . ................. . . . . . 180.30. . . . . . . . . 2.85
Tata Steel . . ...................... . . . . . 507.60. . . . . . . . . 7.15
Maruti posts near­flat growth while Tata Motors clocks low single­digit rise in sales
TCS . . ....................................... . . . . 1995.40. . . . . . . 11.95
Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 831.80. . ........... 1.65 Special Correspondent we hope the market will re­
NEW DELHI vive soon.”
Titan . . .................................. . . . . 1021.35. . . . . . . . -3.85
UltraTech Cement . .. . . . 3878.35. . ....... 51.85 Index expands on sharp, accelerated rise in sales: survey Major players like Maruti Su­ For Mahindra and Mahin­
UPL. . ....................................... . . . . . . 869.75. . . . . . . . -7.85
Vedanta . . .......................... . . . . . . 173.45. . . . . . . . . 4.05
zuki and Tata Motors posted dra, domestic passenger veh­
Wipro . . ................................. . . . . . . 375.70. . . . . . . . . 6.80
Special Correspondent the 14­year survey history,” a low single­digit growth in icles sales rose 17% to 26,109
YES Bank. . ........................ . . . . . . 237.60. . . . . . . . . 6.45 NEW DELHI the report added. domestic passenger vehicle units. The company’s presi­
Zee Entertainment . . . . . . 486.35. . ....... 19.65 Manufacturing activity ex­ sales in February 2019 while dent, automotive sector, Ra­
panded to a 14­month high New work orders players such as Honda and jan Wadhera, said February
of 54.3 in February, driven The report said that suppor­ Mahindra and Mahindra re­ had augured well for Mahin­
EXCHANGE RATES by increases in sales, output, tive government policies and gistered double digit growth. dra with a strong double digit
Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit and employment, according strengthening demand con­ Maruti Suzuki posted an sales growth of 16% in its util­
except yen at 4 p.m. on March 01
CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL
to a private sector survey. ditions resulted in an expan­ almost flat growth in sales of ity vehicles portfolio.
US Dollar . . .
The Nikkei India Manufac­ sion in the inflow of new domestic passenger vehicles Toyota Kirloskar Motor
70.71. . . . . . . 71.03 turing Purchasing Managers’ work orders. The increase, it during the month at more (TKM) sold 11,760 units in the
Euro . . .
Index registered a strong said, was the sixteenth in as than 1.36 lakh units. domestic market, down from
80.48. . . . . . . 80.84
British Pound . . .
reading of 53.9 in January as many months and the most Seeking the accelerator: Leading firms are experiencing a 11,864 units in February
93.55. . . . . . . 93.98 well. A reading over 50 de­ port said. “At 54.3 in Febru­ pronounced since October New generation products tepid consumer sentiment. ASHOKE CHAKRABARTY
*
2018. N. Raja, deputy manag­
Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 63.23. . ....... 63.52 notes an expansion in activi­ ary, up from 53.9 in January, 2016. Tata Motors said its passen­ ing director, TKM, said, “We
Chinese Yuan . . .

10.54. . . . . . . 10.59 ty and one below 50 shows a the Nikkei India Manufactur­ “The Indian manufactur­ ger vehicle sales in the dom­ our growth trajectory at a dia posted 16% growth with have seen improvement in
Swiss Franc . . . contraction. ing Purchasing Managers’ In­ ing sector made further pro­ estic market rose 2% to 18,110 time when the market is un­ domestic sales of 13,527 units consumer sentiment as com­
70.83. . . . . . . 71.15 “The health of the Indian dex reached a 14­month gress midway through the fi­ units on the back of good de­ der stress. Despite the chal­ in February 2019. Rajesh pared to last month. Howev­
Singapore Dollar . . .

52.28. . . . . . . 52.52 manufacturing sector high. nal quarter of FY18, building mand for its new generation lenging environment last Goel, senior vice­president er, auto sales is witnessing a
Canadian Dollar . . . strengthened further in Fe­ “The latest figure was on the accelerated upturn vehicles. Mayank Pareek, month, we witnessed a and director, sales and mar­ temporary slowdown in pre­
BULLION RATES 53.84 . . . . . . . 54.09
CHENNAI
bruary, with a sharp and ac­ consistent with a robust im­ noted in January,” Pollyanna president, passenger vehi­ growth of 2%, fuelled by the keting, Honda Cars India election phase in addition to
Malaysian Ringitt
March 01 rates in rupees
.. .
with previous
#398299

rates in parentheses 17.35. . . . . . . 17.43 celerated increase in sales, provement in business con­ De Lima, principal econo­ cles business unit, Tata Mo­ good performance of our said, “The overall market factors like tight liquidity
Retail Silver (1g)
Source:Indian Bank . . ................. 42.5. . . . . . . (43.6) boosting growth of output ditions that was stronger mist at IHS Markit and auth­ tors Ltd. said, “In February new generation products.” sentiment is not overtly bu­ conditions impacting the
22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . ................ 3137. . . . . . (3193) and employment,” the re­ than seen on average over or of the report, said. 2019, we strived to maintain Likewise, Honda Cars In­ oyant at this stage, however, buying behaviour.”

Jet’s Goyal writes to staff, Adhia posted Bajaj Auto’s bike sales
as BoB
seeks ‘time’ till March 18 non-executive
rise 10%, TVS’ grow 8%
‘Confident things will ease up by then’ chairman Royal Enfield’s volume falls 14%
special correspondent N. Anand
Mumbai Special Correspondent CHENNAI
Jet Airways chairman Na­ Ahmedabad Two­wheeler major Bajaj
resh Goyal on Friday wrote Former Finance Secretary Auto Ltd. posted a double­
to his employees saying he Hasmukh Adhia was on Fri­ digit growth in sales for Fe­
was prepared to make ‘any day appointed as non­exec­ bruary 2019 while compa­
sacrifice to ensure their fu­ utive chairman of State­run nies such as TVS Motor post­
ture comfort, prosperity, Bank of Baroda for three ed moderate growth for the
airline’s viability and em­ years. Dr. Adhia superan­ month.
ployee welfare.’ nuated as Finance Secre­ The sales of Eicher Mo­
“I commit to you perso­ tary in November 2017. tors’s Royal Enfield was
nally from my heart, that I His appointment in the down by 14% following a la­
am prepared to make any Naresh Goyal Bank of Baroda comes in bour strike at its Oragadam nessed 8% jump from 1.13
sacrifice to ensure your fu­ midst of the bank’s merger factory near Chennai from lakh units to 1.23 lakh units
ture comfort and prosperi­ “for just a little while longer with two other state len­ February 13 to February 22. while scooter sales dipped
ty, viability of the airline so that we can cross the line ders —Vijaya Bank and De­ Bajaj Auto Ltd. posted a to 86,935 units from 93,573
and in fact welfare of all the together. I solemnly assure na Bank. 10% growth in its motorcy­ units. Three­wheeler sales
employees of the company,” you to keep you updated The Department of Per­ cle sales for the month of Fe­ grew 41% from 9,731 units to
he wrote. when our CEO, Vinay Dube sonnel and Training bruary to 3.28 lakh units 13,742 units.
He added he was filled and his team will ensure a (DoPT) on Friday issued against 2.98 lakh units sold Truck major Ashok Ley­
with nostalgia at the man­ fresh detailed update to be notification for Dr. Adhia’s in the year­earlier period. land Ltd. posted flat sales
ner in which employees sus­ provided to you by March appointment after the Ap­ TVS Motor Company re­ growth of 1% in the domes­
tained the highest standards 18, by which time I am confi­ pointments Committee of gistered a 3% growth in its tic market for trucks and
of performance. dent of the situation gently the Cabinet (ACC) headed overall sales to 2.99 lakh un­ buses. The firm sold 17,352
In the letter, he appealed easing up in our favour,” Mr. by Prime Minister Naren­ its from 2.91 lakh units. units against 17,213 units for
to them for their support Goyal said. dra Modi cleared his name. Its motorcycle sales wit­ in the year­earlier period.

‘High GST rate hit housing sector’ Gill takes over

as MD & CEO
Uneven diligence by NBFCs added to cash crunch: economist Indira Rajaraman of Yes Bank
Special Correspondent under­construction proper­ in conjunction with uneven SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Chennai ty, the GST was 18% and with diligence by NBFCs and cre­ Mumbai

The high rate of Goods and one­third abatement of value dit rating failure were among Former India chief of
Services Tax (GST) on under­ of land, the effective rate was the many factors leading to Deutsche Bank Ravneet
construction properties 12%. “Clearly, the taxation of the serial defaults by Infras­ Gill took charge as the ma­
(which was reduced recent­ pre­construction purchase tructure Leasing and Fi­ naging director and chief
ly) led to the fund crunch in at 18% with simultaneous ex­ nance Company (IL&FS) in executive officer of private
the housing sector and also emption of completed hous­ September 2018 and the con­ sector lender Yes Bank on
among non­banking finance ing implied the intent to tagion impact on NBFCs the­ Friday. He will have a
companies (NBFCs), accord­ shatter that financing model, reafter. There is also present­ three­year term.
ing to Indira Rajaraman, eco­ perhaps to squeeze out the ly a huge build­up of unsold Mr. Gill succeeds Rana
nomist and a former mem­ use of untaxed cash (black inventories of housing un­ Kapoor, the co­founder of
ber of the Reserve Bank of money) in the construction its,” Dr. Rajaraman said. the bank, whose term end­
India’s board. sector,” Dr. Rajaraman said. The GST Council does not ed on January 31, 2019. Mr.
“In the earlier funding Post­GST, the construc­ seem to have thought Ajai Kumar, one of the
model (prior to GST regime), tion sector turned for fund­ through the implication of board members, was ap­
for construction of houses, liah Memorial Lecture on the ing to NBFCs which had al­ shattering that business fi­ pointed as the interim CEO
housing companies obtained topic ‘The Evolving GST’. ready received investible nance model of the sector after Mr. Kapoor’s term
working capital through sale funds after demonetisation (housing), which played a ended. Yes Bank decided
of apartments before the ‘Distortionary content’ flooded banks with cash in key role both in terms of job to search for a new chief
construction even began. Dr. Rajaraman was pointing November 2016. This was creation and fulfilling the executive after the RBI de­
“This had the property of out to the construction sec­ followed subsequently by fi­ housing needs, she added. clined to extend Mr. Ka­
getting consumer commit­ tor being one of the exam­ nancing from mutual funds, Dr. Rajaraman also said poor’s tenure beyond Janu­
ment [even] before the start ples of distortionary content she added. she flagged this issue to RBI ary 31, 2019, though the
of the projects,” she said, de­ under the GST. “The impact of this ave­ Governor Shaktikanta Das board had endorsed a
livering the sixth Raja J. Chel­ She pointed out that for nue of funding replacement during a meeting in Delhi. three­year extension.
CM A ND-NDE
YK
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14 BUSINESS
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
IN BRIEF
Ola Electric mobilises
₹400 crore funding
NEW DELHI
Ride­hailing major Ola on
Friday said its electric vehicle
business — Ola Electric
Mobility (OEM) — has raised
₹400 crore in a funding
round led by Tiger Global
and Matrix India. “OEM, a
company backed by Ola, has
raised a sum of ₹400 crore
led by several of Ola’s early
investors, Tiger Global and
Matrix India and others, as
part of its first round of
investment,” according to a
statement. PTI
Nalco to pay ₹4.50 as
interim dividend
NEW DELHI
Aluminium maker Nalco on
Friday declared an interim
dividend of ₹4.50 per share
for the current fiscal. “The
board of directors of the
company have approved the
payment of interim dividend
at the rate of ₹4.50 per share
on the paid­up equity share
capital of ₹932.81 crore for
the financial year 2018­19,”
Nalco said in a regulatory
filing. The payment shall be
made on or before March 31,
2019 to all eligible
shareholders, Nalco said. PTI
Union Bank reduces
lending rates by 10 bps
MUMBAI
State­run lender Union Bank
of India on Friday said it had
reduced marginal cost of
funds­based lending rate
(MCLR) by 10 basis points
across all tenors.
The lender has reduced its
one­year MCLR or the
minimum lending rate,
against which most of the
consumer loans are
benchmarked, to 8.60%
from 8.70% earlier. The bank
has set the new six­month
MCLR at 8.50% and two­
year at 8.70%. pti
CM
YK
EverSource, NIIF, CDC to invest
$330 mn in Ayana Renewable
Ayana eyeing prominent role in India’s renewable energy sector
Special Correspondent
MUMBAI
EverSource Capital along
with National Investment
and Infrastructure Fund of
India (NIIF) have partnered
U.K. government’s CDC
Group to invest $330 million
in Ayana Renewable Power
(Ayana), the renewable ener­
gy platform founded by CDC.
EverSource Capital, a
joint venture between Ever­
stone Capital and Light­
source BP, manages Green
Growth Equity Fund (GGEF)
that has NIIF and the U.K. go­
vernment as anchor LPs (li­
mited partners or investors).
Solar, wind projects
“Ayana was launched to de­
velop utility­scale solar and
wind generation projects
The Carlyle Group picks
up 9% stake in SBI Life
SBI remains majority shareholder
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Mumbai
Private equity fund The Car­
lyle Group has picked up 9%
stake in the life insurance
arm of State Bank of India —
SBI Life Insurance — for an
undisclosed amount, Car­
lyle said in a statement.
“Carlyle’s equity for this
investment came from CA
Emerald Investments, an af­
filiated entity of Carlyle Asia
Partners V, Carlyle’s flagship
$6.55 billion fund focused
on buyout and strategic in­
vestments across a range of
sectors in Asia Pacific,” it
said. Following this transac­
tion, BNP Paribas Cardif and
CA Emerald Investments
now own 12.8% and 9% of
Powered by sun: Ayana is currently constructing 500MW of
solar generation capacity. AP
across growth States in In­
dia. It is currently construct­
ing 500MW of solar genera­
tion capacity with a strong
future pipeline of renewable
energy opportunities. With a
management team that has a
track record of successful ex­
ecution of renewable energy
the company, respectively,
while SBI remains the ma­
jority shareholder with a
62.1% stake.
“The life insurance indus­
try in India has strong
growth potential thanks to
favourable demographics
and an increasing focus on
financial savings…SBI Life,
led by a strong management
team, is well positioned to
further benefit from indus­
try trends,” said Sunil Kaul,
MD of the Carlyle Asia
Buyout advisory team.
Dinesh Kumar Khara,
MD, global banking and sub­
sidiaries, SBI, said “We look
forward to Carlyle’s support
to SBI Life in bolstering its
franchise in the country.”
*
projects, Ayana is well
placed to play an important
role in India’s ambition to
build 175 GW of renewable
energy capacity,” said Ever­
Source Capital, NIIF and
CDC Group in a joint
statement.
“We are delighted we
ChPT to get
Kamarajar
Port stake
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI
The Centre has decided to
divest its stake in the Kama­
rajar Port Ltd. (KPL) to
Chennai Port Trust (ChPT)
in a single process through
strategic sale.
The Cabinet Committee
of Economic Affairs (CCEA)
chaired by the Prime Minis­
ter gave its in­principle ap­
proval for strategic disin­
vestment of 100% equity
shares of KPL to ChPT in a
single stage process by fol­
lowing ‘arm’s length’
principles.
Presently, the Central
Government holds 67% of
shares and Chennai Port
Trust 33% shares in Kama­
rajar Port Ltd.
achieved our early objective
to attract fresh capital and
we are proud to partner with
NIIF and EverSource Capi­
tal,” said Srini Nagarajan,
head of Asia, CDC.
“Their domestic expertise
will further strengthen Aya­
na and support its mission in
developing affordable and
accessible renewable energy
across India.
“This investment demon­
strates our commitment to
invest a further $1.7 billion in
India and neighbouring
countries over the next three
years,” he added.
CDC is looking for further
investment opportunities in
power generation, power
transmission and distribu­
tion, transport, the gas mid­
stream and the water sector.
Indian exporters need to tap African
countries more, says Exim Bank MD
The dark continent has an almost ‘unlimited market,’ says David Rasquinha
Special Correspondent
KOLKATA
Indian exporters need to in­
creasingly tap African coun­
tries that have an almost
“unlimited market,” said Da­
vid Rasquinha, MD, Export
Import Bank of India.
Pointing out that expand­
ing geographical range and
product diversification were
critical for Indian exporters,
he said in 2018­19, exports
were expected to surpass the
$304­billion figure of 2017­
18. Delivering the keynote
address at an international
trade conclave arranged by
the Bengal Chamber of Com­
merce and Industry here, on
#398299
Friday, he also highlighted
Skoda Auto aims to make
India its fifth­largest market
Plans dealer expansion, new product launches
Yuthika Bhargava
New Delhi
Czech firm Skoda Auto is
aiming to make India its
fifth­largest market, selling
about 75,000 vehicles an­
nually by 2023, driven by
dealer expansion and new
product launches.
“My personal target is to
be the fifth biggest market
for Skoda worldwide by
2023,” Zac Hollis, director­
sales, service and market­
ing, Skoda Auto India, told
The Hindu.
“Currently, we are num­
ber 13… Presently, U.K. —
which is my home country —
is the fifth largest market,”
he said.
To become the fifth lar­
gest market, the company
would need to sell about
75,000 cars a year. In 2018,
gladesh and Vietnam, he
David Rasquinha
the rising concerns of the In­
dian textile exporters and
the challenges being faced
by exporters.
Referring to Africa, he
said that India’s exports to
this continent had increased
https://t.me/BrightFuture
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019
Electric vehicles
Zac Hollis
Skoda Auto India sold more
than 17,240 units.
Asked if the current slow­
down in the auto industry
would impact the compa­
ny’s plans, Mr. Hollis said,
“When you have an econo­
my like India, growing at
about 7%, the car industry
will continue to grow… I
think, the next two years
from 7.5% in 2009­10 to 8%
in 2017­18. Of the 54 African
countries, there was signifi­
cant trade with 47. Many of
these countries ranked high
in terms of ease of business.
Facing competition
On the issue of the competi­
tion being faced by Indian
textile exporters from Ban­
dollar interest rate had been
highlighted the need to scale
up business to combat cost
pressures.
“We grow cotton, others
do not. We have to leverage
our strengths,” he said, ad­
ding India also needed to
move towards textile blends.
On the changing role of fi­
DELHI
THE HINDU
will be a little bit turbulent
because of the change from
BS IV to BS VI… It will cause
some disruption to the mar­
ket. Nevertheless, I would
still expect the market to
grow this year over the last
year, and next year to grow
over this year.”
Asked about electric vehi­
cles, he said, “Now is not the
right time in my opinion be­
cause customers need to see
the infrastructure.
“One of the biggest anxie­
ties of customers in India is
where do I charge my car...
Once we get a clear direction
on infrastructure and clear
timeline, then we can start
planning. We will bring elec­
tric cars in India, the only
question is when.”
nance, he said that the bank­
ing sector’s health was now
improving through various
measures, especially
through the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code. He shared
his concern on LIBOR as a
benchmark rate, noting that
its trustworthiness had now
come under the scanner.
While a new benchmark
created (Secured Overnight
Financing Rate), the change
from LIBOR is not easy as it
is tied to all kinds of financial
instruments
He said that the bank may
clock 10% growth, with its
business likely to touch ₹1
lakh crore this fiscal.
A ND-NDE
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THE HINDU
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019
DELHI
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Team India has an enviable ODI record to protect
The host’s challenge will be in finding the ideal combination to counter Australia’s batting depth
AUS IN INDIA
Shreedutta Chidananda
Hyderabad
India enters its final One­Day
International series before
the World Cup with a great
degree of certainty around
the squad.
There were “just one or
two places” that remained to
be filled in the final 15­man
group for the big tourna­
ment, M.S.K. Prasad, chair­
man of the Senior Selection
Committee, said recently.
Last week, Virat Kohli felt
every piece of the jigsaw was
"more or less sorted". It is
clear that Kohli and the selec­
tors have no intention of
making any dramatic last­mi­
nute additions or excisions,
instead largely keeping faith
in the unit that has taken
shape over the last year­and­
a­half.
One last look
This five­match series against
Australia, which begins with
the first ODI at the Rajiv
Gandhi International Stadi­
um here on Saturday, will
give the home side a last look
at itself in a competitive envi­
ronment ahead of the World
Cup.
IPL will have no bearing on WC selection: Kohli
Chahal­Kuldeep duo best spin combination in the world, says India captain
V.V. Subrahmanyam
HYDERABAD
India captain Virat Kohli says
he doesn't think the IPL will
have any influence on World
Cup selection.
"We need to be absolutely
clear of what team we want
for the World Cup. I don’t see
anything changing on how
the IPL goes for any of the
players,” Kohli said here on
Friday.
He rated the spin duo of
Yuzvendra Chahal and Kul­
deep Yadav as the strongest
in the world right now.
Impact bowlers
“These guys are impact bow­
lers in the middle­overs, they
have been outstanding,” he
said.
New
TV PICKS
Zealand vs
Bangladesh: 1st Test, SS Se­
lect 1 (SD & HD), 3.30 a.m.
NBA: Sony Ten 1 (SD & HD),
6.30 a.m.
Syed Mushtaq Ali T20: Star
Sports 2 (SD & HD), 9 a.m. &
1.30 p.m.
India vs Australia: 1st ODI:
Star Sports 1 (SD & HD), 1.30
p.m.
Snooker: Indian Open, Sony
Ten 1 (SD & HD), 7 p.m.
ISL: Star Sports 2 (SD & HD),
7.30 p.m.
West Indies vs England:
5th ODI, Sony Six (SD & HD),
8.30 p.m.
IN BRIEF
Steve Smith returns to
nets after elbow surgery
SYDNEY
Steve Smith has returned to
the nets after elbow surgery,
with Australia coach Justin
Langer expecting the banned
former captain and his
deputy David Warner to be fit
for the Indian Premier
League. “Great to have my
first hit back. The elbow is
feeling good,” Smith posted
to his 1.4 million Instagram
followers with a short video
early on Friday. AFP
Valencia to meet
Barcelona in final
MADRID
Valencia set up a Copa del
Rey final with Barcelona as
Rodrigo’s (in pic) goal in the
56th minute secured a 1­0
second­leg win over Real
Betis on Thursday. It was 2­2
after the first leg. AFP
CM
YK
Buckle up, boys! India goes into the final dress rehearsal for the World Cup with a great degree of certainty around the squad.
* K.V.S. GIRI
It is also a final opportuni­
ty — going by Kohli's pro­
nouncement that IPL perfor­
mances would not be a factor
— for players not yet sure of
their spots to make a mark.
Among those would be Vi­
jay Shankar, who impressed
under pressure in New Zea­
On their toes: K.L. Rahul, Kedar Jadhav and Siddarth Kaul will
be looking to stake their World Cup claims. K.V.S. GIRI
On a suggestion he should
be batting at No. 4, Kohli said
if that was what the team
Latham, Rawal tons
put Kiwis on top
Agence France-Presse
Hamilton
Centuries by Tom Latham
and Jeet Raval, and the best
opening partnership for
New Zealand in nearly half a
century left Bangladesh on
the ropes on day two of the
first Test here on Friday.
Kane Williamson, unbea­
ten on 93, added to the run
fest in a century stand for
the fourth wicket with Hen­
ry Nicholls. At stumps, New
Zealand was 451 for four,
leading by 217.
Latham made 161, Raval
notched up his maiden cen­
tury with 132, while Nicholls
departed two overs before
stumps for 53.
ith the assistance of a flat
track, Latham and Raval put
on 254 for the first wicket —
the third­highest opening
A hotline to
the middle
ANI
London
Broadcasters in Australia
recently made a small ex­
periment where they al­
lowed no commentary in
cricket matches but stump
microphones were turned
on all the time.
The International Crick­
et Council (ICC) is now con­
sidering replicating the
idea for the World Cup.
Tournament director Steve
Elworthy said he was in fa­
vour of it. “People want to
get close to their heroes.
They want to understand
what goes on in the heat of
battle. But you’ve also got
to understand there are
sensitivities around these
things. So it is a fine balanc­
ing act,” Elworthy said.
land and had, according to
Prasad, "changed the dynam­
ics" of selection. Rishabh
Pant was underwhelming in
the two T20s, but he will
have to justify his presence
ahead of Dinesh Karthik over
the next two weeks.
K.L. Rahul, who it would
* on the combination. “I don’t
needed he would be more
than happy to do it. "I have
batted at that slot before and
partnership by a New Zea­
land pair.
Latham punished Bangla­
desh for dropping him be­
fore he had scored at the
start of the innings.
He occupied the crease
for more than six hours,
scoring freely around the
ground and reaching the
boundary with 17 fours as
well as hitting Mehidy Hasan
over the mid­wicket fence
three times.
Raval, frustrated by hold­
ing the New Zealand record
for the most fifties (eight)
without a century, finally
got that monkey off his back
in his 17th Test.
The scores: Bangladesh 234 vs
New Zealand 451 for four in 118
overs (Jeet Raval 132, Tom
Latham 161, Kane Williamson
93 batting, Henry Nicholls 53).
Churchill puts a spoke in Chennai City FC’s wheel
Plaza’s brace caps a fine victory for the host
I-LEAGUE
K. Keerthivasan
VASCO
Any plans Chennai City FC
had of celebrating a title win
has been put on hold.
Requiring victory to bag
the I­League crown, Chennai
City lost to a superior Chur­
chill Brothers 3­2 at the Tilak
Maidan Stadium here on Fri­
day. With 40 points, the ta­
ble topper has to wait till
March 9 and hope to put it
past Minerva at Coimbatore.
Churchill came up with an
attractive and attacking
game, while CCFC was way
below par. Of CCFC’s two
goals, one came via a deflec­
tion off the ‘Wall’ through a
seem is leading the race for
the reserve opener's spot,
may also be seen at the top of
the order over the course of
the series. Ravindra Jadeja
was only called up as a re­
placement for Hardik Pan­
dya, who is injured, but the
Saurashtra all­rounder can
my game doesn't change, be­
cause the template is the
same. I always back myself in
any position," he said.
"I think the Aussies know
the conditions here as many
of them play in the IPL. So,
we have to be at our absolute
best.
“The focus is on winning
the series and not just expe­
rimenting. We will continue
to experiment. We always
want to improve as a team,”
he said.
On Rishabh Pant getting
more chances in the series,
Kohli said it would depend
think playing a bowler short
is a good idea. Because with
the extra fielder in till the
40th over it becomes very
Team on the right path, says Dhoni
One of the fittest sides across all sport, avers former skipper
Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD
Star finisher M.S. Dhoni said
the Indian team was on the
right path in its preparations
for the World Cup.
“It is a long and demand­
ing schedule and all the
players are up for the chal­
lenges ahead — gamewise
and physically. In fact, I must
say this Indian team is one of
the fittest across all sport,”
said Dhoni at a promotional
event of the specially de­
signed Nike gear here on
Friday.
“Definitely, the 2007 T20
World Cup and 2011 ODI
World Cup triumphs mean a
lot. What impresses me most
about this team is the consis­
tency, about which I am real­
ly proud of,” he said.
“My message to kids is to
Aerial duel: Churchill, CCFC players fight for possession.
free­kick by Sandro and the
other a penalty conversion
by Pedro Manzi.
For Churchill, striker Wil­
lis Plaza scored a brace to
complete 20 goals and is in
now make a case for himself.
Kohli will be wary of Aus­
tralia's batting depth this se­
ries.
Both sides will remember
— the bowlers with a little less
fondness — their manic run­
fest in this country in 2013,
when six ODIs produced a to­
difficult to get a few guys to
chip in with a few overs here
and there.
“We will have to work out
the batting combination to
try and give game­time to the
guys we want to. But, I don’t
see the bowling combination
changing," he said.
On the 11th anniversary of
leading India to the Under­19
World Cup win, a smiling
#398299
Kohli said: “That was a long
time ago. The one thing I re­
member from that time was
we always had the belief we
could do it.”
Kohli was all praise for
K.L. Rahul.“When he plays
well, he operates at a diffe­
rent level. It’s good he’s in
great nick and hopefully he
can carry it forward.
Dressed for success: Jemimah Rodrigues, Ajinkya Rahane, M.S. Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Harmanpreet
Kaur and Prithvi Shaw at the unveiling of the Nike gear in Hyderabad. K.V.S. GIRI
chase excellence to earn the
right to wear this jersey.
There is a lot of pride at­
tached and it is not someth­
ing one gets with one good
*
PTI
contention for the Golden
Boot award with Manzi.
Churchill equalised 10 mi­
nutes after Sandro's goal. A
fine cross by Nicholas from
the left was wonderfully di­
tal of over 3,500 runs.
India will seek to bat deep
and strong, which makes
numbers 5, 6 and 7 in the or­
der important. It will be in­
teresting to note what combi­
nations Kohli tries out over
the five matches.
M.S. Dhoni (who had an
Aussies look for improvement
Finch angling for a long over­due victory
Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD
Captain Aaron Finch says
the ODI series against India
is a great opportunity for
Australia to concentrate on
improvement in some areas
after a very good T20 series
win.
“We're here to win. It’s
been a long time since we
won a one­day series here,
so we're very keen to keep
improving and win,” he said
here on Friday.
Maxwell’s form
On Glenn Maxwell, Finch
said: “He's been in great
form. His one­day cricket
has been really good as well.
I'm not sure where he'll bat
just yet, but it'll be higher
performance in a season,”
Kohli said.
India women’s T20 cap­
tain Harmanpreet Kaur said
the team had been doing
rected into goal by a sliding
Plaza. There were several an­
xious moments for CCFC ear­
ly in the first half, and it
should consider itself lucky
not to have conceded more
goals.
The second session fol­
lowed a pretty much similar
pattern. Plaza had an open
goal but hit wide over the
post. Churchill then surged
ahead through a brilliant
strike by Lorougnon. The
Ivory Coast forward struck a
blinder after receiving a pass
from Wayne Vaz.
Plaza scored the match­
winner with a fierce shot
from the centre after taking a
fine pass from Khalid Aucho.
Not content, Churchill conti­
nued to attack, but missed
https://t.me/BrightFuture
SPORT 15
their squad.
injury scare in the nets on
Friday), Kedar Jadhav and Vi­
jay Shankar filled those plac­
es in India's last one­dayer, in
New Zealand, but the ab­
sence of Hardik means Kohli
will have to consider how
many overs he can get out of
Kedar Jadhav and Vijay.
On a high: Australia goes into the ODIs with its confidence
boosted by the T20 series win. K.V.S. GIRI
than No. 7, I'd imagine,” he
said.
Finch admitted they
would have to manage the
workload of the fast bowlers
over the next 10 ODIs as
most of them like Pat Cum­
mins have been playing a lot
of cricket.
*
well and the goal was to win
the the next World Cup. Je­
mimah Rodrigues, Ajinkya
Rahane and Prithvi Shaw
were also present.
several chances.
Difficult pitch
CCFC head coach Akbar Na­
was cited the bouncy pitch
as one of the reasons for the
defeat.
“There was no pressure
on our team. The pitch was
difficult to play on, it was
bouncy. It is not good for
competitive football. But full
credit to Churchill. They
were better," he said.
Churchill coach Petre Gi­
giu was magnanimous in vic­
tory. "I am sure Chennai City
will become champion."
The result: Churchill Brothers 3
(Willis Plaza 38 & 71, Christ Re­
mi Loroungon 50) bt Chennai
City FC 2 (Sandro 29, Pedro
Manzi 69).
Australia will be confident
after victory in the two
T20Is; starting tours well, its
hero Glenn Maxwell noted,
made a huge difference to
team morale.
Hard to beat
At the end of this trip, Aaron
Finch’s men have five more
one­day matches, against Pa­
kistan in the UAE, to settle on
India, though, will be hard
to beat here. It has won 12 of
its last 13 ODI series, and has
lost only one series at home
since the start of 2013. After a
first T20 series defeat at
home in over three years,
Kohli will not want another
record to fall.
The teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (Capt.), Rohit
Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Amba­
ti Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, M.S.
Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit
Bumrah, Mohammed Shami,
Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Ya­
dav, Vijay Shankar, Rishabh Pant,
Siddharth Kaul and K.L. Rahul.
Australia: Aaron Finch (Capt.),
Pat Cummins, Alex Carey, Jason
Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter­
Nile, Peter Handscomb, Usman
Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn
Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, An­
drew Tye, Marcus Stoinis, Ash­
ton Turner and Adam Zampa.
Match starts at 1:30 p.m.
*
On handling Kuldeep Ya­
dav and Yuzvendra Chahal,
he said: “the spin duo is a big
threat. They have had the
better of us in recent times.
“We have been working
hard on that and there are
plans in place for improve­
ment.”
Not shifting
Mohali, Delhi
ODIs: Khanna
Press Trust of India
Hyderabad
The BCCI has “no plans to
shift” India’s final two ODIs
against Australia in Mohali
and Delhi, acting­president
C.K. Khanna said on
Friday.
The fourth ODI in Moha­
li is scheduled on March 10
while the fifth game at Del­
hi will be held on March 13.
“There is certainly no
such plan to shift any of the
games. I can confirm that
both ODIs in Mohali and
Delhi are happening as per
schedule,” said Khanna.
It’s Federer
vs Tsitsipas
Roger Federer. * REUTERS
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
DUBAI
Roger Federer will play for
his 100th career title on Sa­
turday after demolishing
Borna Coric 6­2, 6­2 in the
semifinals of the Dubai
Championships.
Federer will face Stefa­
nos Tsitsipas in the final af­
ter the Greek carved out a
4­6, 7­6(4), 7­6(4) win over
Gael Monfils. Federer, 37,
was shocked by Tsitsipas in
the fourth round of the
Australian Open in their
only previous meeting.
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16 SPORT DELHI

SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019

THE HINDU
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Ruffina is the overwhelming first choice

With a record 14 horses in the fray, the Stayers’ Cup wears an open look
Cyrus J. Madan
HYDERABAD
The Hyderabad Race Club
has the honour of hosting
the 57th running of the In­
dian Turf Invitation Cup,
which returns to the ‘twin ci­
ties’ after a lapse of five
years, this weekend.
It would be horse racing at
its finest, bringing together
the very best of horses, pro­
fessionals, owners, breeders
and aficionados from across
the country for two days of
unbridled excitement and
pageantry. Four Grade 1 Rac­
es and one Grade 2 make it a
connoisseur’s delight and
the prize money of
₹3,86,40,000 makes it the
richest weekend of Indian
racing.
Adverse effect of GST
But while this is the ‘Wee­
kend of the Year’, the very
existence of horse racing in
India is under serious threat
with the government’s deci­
sion to impose 28% GST on
betting virtually bringing the
sport to its knees.
The slide began in July
2017 and since then, the col­
lections have gone just one
way — downward! In 2016­
2017, the gross collection
was ₹ 3,954 crore and in
2018­2019, it will not even
cross ₹1900 crore.
The turf authorities have
done all they can to highlight
the plight that threatens to
throw the ‘sport of kings’ off
the rails.
But for now, let’s enjoy
the moment. Saturday will
see the weekend blast off
with the Sprinters Cup, a
blinding test of speed over
1200 metres, and that will be
followed by the Dr. M.A.M.
Ramaswamy Stayers’ Cup
over a gruelling 3000m.
Thirteen horses will line
up for the Sprinters’ Cup
with Ruffina (Excellent Art
ex Miss Danehill) towering
above the rest. She won this
race last year in Kolkata and
has proved time and again to
be one of the best speedsters
ever.
With 12 wins from 14
starts, she is bound to start
as the overwhelming first
choice and the crowd would
love to see her triumph.
Trained by Dallas Todywalla,
Ruffina will have jockey San­
desh steering her fortunes.
Sibling rivalry
The other dozen are certain­
ly not going to let the ‘Flo Jo
of the Indian Turf ’ have
things her way. Corfe Castle,
her younger brother, is in
great nick and has the home
advantage too. It would be
an amazing sight to see a
brother and a sister run
against each other in a Grade
1 pot­boiler. Mauritania and
Tutankhamun are the other
two who will be right there
and as always, it’s going to be
an absolute thriller.
On the other hand, the
Stayers’ Cup is wide open. It
boasts of 14 runners — the
highest on record since it
was first run in 1981.
Fast and furious
So what’s it going to be on Sa­
turday evening? It’s anybo­
dy’s guess. With 14 horses in
the field, it is bound to be a
fast and solid run, testing the
stamina and endurance of all
the contenders.
It will also be a pointer of
things to come the next day
as five four­year­olds take on
older counterparts. Their
performance would be
watched closely as it could
well highlight what unfolds
in the Invitation Cup on Sun­
day.

What the professionals say

Cyrus J. Madan
HYDERABAD
SPRINTERS’ CUP
Pesi Shroff: Captain Cour­
age has tremendous ability
and when things go right for
him, he can beat any horse.
The 13 draw of course is a big
dampener. Clymene has on­
ly just come to me so I would
not like to comment on her
chances.
S.S. Attaollahi: Accolade is
in good heart and I am sure
he will give a good account.
S. Padmanabhan: Maurita­
nia with David Allan will be a
force to reckon with. Ruffina
is the one to beat.
D. Netto: I have Titus and
Rahuls Pet and both run with
a chance although they are
not well in on the scale when
looking at the verdict in the
Kakatiya Million.
L. D’Silva: Corfe Castle has
the home advantage and has
done everything right. I
hope he can beat his older
sister Ruffina.
Satish Narredu: Tutankha­
mun will be right there. He
just got edged out in the
Sprinters Trials to Maurita­
nia, but he can reverse the
verdict.
Ruffina comes after a
slight setback and that may
give the opposition an added
advantage.
D. Todywalla: Rufina
comes into the Sprinters af­
ter a slight setback. But she’s
not a mare who needs much
work and I think she has
bounced back very well.
STAYERS’ CUP
Shroff: Sacred Roman has
really come up well this sea­
son. He stays well and alth­
ough he may not be as ma­
ture as some of the older
horses but we have decided
to take a chance. I am sure
he will run well.
R. Sequeira: Reunion and
Nimble Mind are both good
stayers. I feel at this stage
and over this distance, the
older horses with more ex­
perience have a better
chance. The race is very
open and both my horses
will run well.
Warren Singh: Nanhipari
won the Golconda Oaks last
year and ikes Hyderabad.
She will relish the trip.
B. Suresh: Saving Grace will
give a good account of
herself.
K. Sateesh: First time over a
trip of 3000 metres but Like
Wise has always shown that
she will be comfortable over
the same.
Irfan Ghatala: Watchmy­
script is a mare with a lovely
temperament. She switches
off beautifully in a race and I
am confident she will get the
3000 metre trip. She will
run a big race.

Higgins pips Vafaei in a thriller Blasters fail to

#398299
Wakelin jolts former World champion Murphy
INDIAN OPEN
Stan Rayan
KOCHI
For almost three frames,
Hossein Vafaei could only sit
and admire four­time World
champion John Higgins dur­
ing their second round
match of the fifth Indian
Open snooker tournament
at the Grand Hyatt, Bolghat­
ty Island, on Friday.
break NEUFC’s
resolve
M.R. Praveen Chandran
KOCHI
A 10­men NorthEast United
FC courageously held Kera­
la Blasters to a goalless
draw in their Hero ISL
match at the Jawaharlal
Nehru stadium here on
Friday.
The draw ended a sea­
Master at work: John Higgins, unfazed by Hossein Vafaei’s son of woes for the host
comeback, clinched the decider. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
*

which failed to take advan­

Defending champion Hig­
gins, who went on to win the
match 4­3 and move into the
pre­quarterfinal, raced to a
3­0 lead before Vafaei sud­
denly woke up and realised
that he had a job to do.
The 24­year­old, the first
Iranian to play professional
snooker, had lost two years
after winning the 2011 World
amateur title in Bengaluru
owing to visa issues and had
to miss the pro tour in
England.
“Those were two golden
years of my life,” said Vafaei,
the World No. 33, who
stormed back with a century
break in the fourth frame.
Inspired, he went on to win
three frames in a row to
draw level.
However, World No. 4
Higgins, the master that he
is, shut out the Iranian in the
final frame with a 128 break
to clinch the thriller.
Meanwhile, England’s
Chris Wakelin shocked
Shaun Murphy 4­2.
The results (second round):
John Higgins (Sco) bt Hossein
Vafaei (Irn) 4-3 (69-23, 71-22,
73-30, 1-106(106), 45-82, 1-71,
128(128)-0); Chris Wakelin
(Eng) bt Shaun Murphy (Eng)
4-2 (13-85, 65-28, 16-109, 58-
23, 72-18, 74-60); Anthony Ha-
tage of its numerical supe­
milton (Eng) bt Zhao Xintong riority.
(Chn) 4-2 (80-50, 72-17, 77-7,
5-77, 48-68, 75-44); Sam Crai- The 0­0 draw saw Blas­
gie (Eng) bt Peter Ebdon (Eng) ters end its campaign with
15 points while NEUFC fin­
4-1 (63-57, 112-1, 67-12, 0-108
(108), 76-1); Graeme Dott (Sco) ished its engagements with
bt Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Tha) 29 points.
4-1 (73-48, 13-59, 78-25, 77-4,
68-32); Lyu Haotian (Chn) bt
It was a familiar story of
Luke Simmonds (Eng) 4-3 (0-
missed chances for Blas­
83, 0-61, 119(114)-5, 67-14, 49- ters but the big moment
61, 71-46, 69-55); Li Hang came in the 22nd minute
(Chn) bt Joe Perry (Eng) 4-2 when NEUFC was reduced
to 10 after defender Gur­
(77-30, 0-102, 2-94, 70-31, 126
(109)-0, 120(116)-22); Lu Ning winder Singh was sent off
(Chn) bt Yan Bingtao (Chn) 4-0 by referee Rahul Gupta for
(81-1, 76-1, 93-0, 57-21); Stuart a foul on Matej Poplatnik.
Bingham (Eng) bt John Astley The result: Kerala Blasters 0
(Eng) 4-2 (0-94, 123 (123)-1, drew with NorthEast United
67-36, 0-81, 70-32, 69-38). FC 0.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12563 (set by Dr. X)

13 English royal house beginning
to decline, crushed by
revolutionary defeat (5)
14 Opening batter ultimately
secures duck, gets more
miserable (6)
15 Player disheartened by duck
for opener (7)
18 Ship’s crew in revolving
lounge, killing time (7)
20 Intensely passionate and fired
up securing victory (6)
22 World poverty killing many (5)
24 They drink alcohol freely and
move in vehicles (9)
25 Lament about cash destroyed
in fire (9)
26 Director replacing liberal
supporter of the arts relented
(5)
■ ACROSS 27 Approaches and rushes around
in an excited state (3­3)
1 Result of monstrous asteroids
striking globe? (8) 28 Largely agitated after wife
5 Panics when wife breaks chairs fights (8)
(6)
■ DOWN
10 Small role by star got Oscar (5)
11 Run down a girl after dispute 1 Pure cocaine and ecstasy
in end (9) concealed in pit (6)
12 They corruptly net posts, 2 Electronic chart in promenade
admitting kin essentially (9) that’s used for signalling (9)
CM
YK
SUDOKU FAITH
3 What a cowboy might do to
speak recklessly without Immersed in devotion
thinking? (5,4,3,3)
Durga is one of the names of Goddess Sakthi in the Lalitha
4 Consumer in topless drunken Sahasranama. As Durga, She revealed Her ferocious aspect
spree around America (3,4) and destroyed Durgasura. She thus assured Her devotees
that She would always come to protect them. She showed
6 Be dominant in union but
that none could oppose Her and get away with it. But this
shelter inferior members?
protection that She offers Her devotees is seen not only
(4,3,8)
when She manifests Her angry side, but also in the gentle
7 Drama about man becoming ways in which She comes to the rescue of Her devotees. The
woman gets Oscar, say (5) story of Abhirami Bhattar illustrates this, said R.Narayanan
in a discourse.
8 Old soldiers, largely Subramania Iyer lived in the town of Tirukkadaiyur and
exhausted, protecting injured was a devotee of Goddess Abhirami. When he worshipped
mare (8) Her in the temple, he forgot himself andhis surroundings.
He was so immersed in his devotion. One day the King came
9 Runs out, pursues rogue but to the temple and noticed Subramania Iyer, who was not
tires out (4,2)
aware of the King’s presence. The King asked Subramania
16 Common worry — Rupee
Iyer what day it was. Without giving the question a thought,
beginning to slide in value (9) Subramania Iyer replied, “Today is full moon day.” But it so
happened that it was new moon day. The angry king or­
Solution to puzzle 12562 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku dered that if the moon did not appear that night, then Sub­
17 Climber races frantically to
conquer tip (8) ramania Iyer would be killed. A fire was lit and the bhakta
was kept suspended in a swing above.
19 Rose steals heart almost in The devout man started singing in praise of Abhirami,
minutes (6) knowing fully well that She would not let him down. As each
rope that kept the swing suspended was cut, the swing kept
20 Hold back ring in panic (7)
getting closer and closer to the fire. But then the unexpected
happened. The Goddess pulled off one of Her ear orna­
21 Whispers by assistants around
ments and flung it in the air. The dark night sky began to
front of stage (6)
glow as if it were a full moon day. The king realised what a
23 Brake contains special sticky great soul Subramania Iyer was, and from that day onwards
stuff (5) Subramania Iyer came to be known as Abhirami Bhattar.
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THE HINDU
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019
DELHI
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‘Hadn’t imagined all would happen so soon’
‘Dravid has helped me a lot in the transition and to adjust to higher levels of cricket’
Focused: Shubman Gill says one needs to match the highest
standards in all aspects of the game. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Interesting finish on the cards
Gagan Sethi fights back from seventh to third
JK TYRE HD-7
Rayan Rozario
Phuentsholing (Bhutan)
The battle between Ajgar Ali
(co­driver Mohammed Mus­
tafa) and Jogendra Jaiswal (T.
Nagarajan) seems to be get­
ting closer in the seventh
edition of the JK Tyre Hima­
layan Drive, the only TSD
event of the country that
crosses an international bor­
der, here on Friday.
In fact, Ajgar was in full
command in the first three
stages and it was his clean
and safe driving skills that
saw him right up there on
the leader board the other
day. But when the results
were out in the morning, it
Ajay, Anjali
clinch u-18
crowns
SPORTS BUREAU
CHANDIGARH
Top seed Ajay Malik and
qualifier Anjali Rathi won
the under­18 boys’ and
girls’ titles in the AITA Sup­
er series junior tennis tour­
nament at the CLTA Com­
plex on Friday.
Chirag Duhan, who lost
the under­18 final to Ajay,
won the under­16 title.
The results (finals):
Boys: Under­18: Ajay Malik bt
Chirag Duhan 6-3, 7-5; Un­
der­16: Chirag Duhan bt
Sushant Dabas 4-3
(conceded).
Girls: Under­18: Anjali Rathi
bt Vanshika Choudhary 6-2,
7-6(6); Under­16: Vaishnavi
Adkar bt Anjali Rathi 6-4, 6-2.
IN BRIEF
Rosner ends Ghosal’s
remarkable run
CHICAGO
Germany’s Simon Rosner
ended the run of 11th seed
Saurav Ghosal in the
quarterfinal of the PSA World
squash championship on
Thursday. Third seed Rosner,
making his maiden last-eight
appearance, won 11-8, 11-6,
11-7 in 50 minutes.
Sanju’s hat­trick helps
India thrash
Turkmenistan
ALANYA (TURKEY)
Sanju produced a hat-trick as
the Indian women’s team
romped to a massive 10-0
victory against Turkmenistan
in their second match of the
Turkish Cup on Friday. Sanju
(17th, 37th, 71st), Anju
Tamang (51st, 83rd), Ranjana
(60th, 62nd), Dangmei Grace
(7th), Sumithra (77th) and
Indumathi Kathiresan (87th)
found the target for India.
India meets Romania on
Sunday. PTI
Extra day’s races in
Bengaluru on March 23
BENGALURU
The Stewards of Bangalore
Turf Club Ltd have decided to
conduct an extra race day on
March 23 (Saturday).
CM
YK
* On his successful transition
Bumpy ride: Ajgar Ali in action at the Diana riverbed on Friday.
* RAYAN ROZARIO
came as a shocker to see Jo­
gendra replacing Ajgar at the
top.
It did surprise many but
not the Haldia driver. who
had been in this situation
many a time before. He was
confident that he was the
leader.
Angad, Maheshwari struggle
SPORTS BUREAU
DOHA
National champions Angad
Vir Singh Bajwa and Mahesh­
wari Chauhan had a tough
time coping with the condi­
tions on the opening day of
the skeet competition in the
Qatar Open shotgun cham­
pionship on Friday.
Daniele infuses life into Manav Academy
‘Indian shooters need a lot more competition’
Kamesh Srinivasan
FARIDABAD
Daniele Di Spignio believes
building champions from
scratch, driving home the
good basics into their sys­
tem, so that they blossom
without even the support of
the coach.
Daniele, the former World
champion in double trap
who had finished seventh in
the Athens Olympics when
his friend Rajyavardhan
Singh Rathore won the sil­
ver, spends almost half his
time every month at the
beautifully designed Manav
Rachna Academy in Pali.
“The biggest attraction is
that we have machines that
can send the clay at different
speeds. So, when a beginner
comes, he gets to hit the bird
very quickly and get at­
tached to the sport,” re­
vealed Daniele, even as a
stream of top­class shooters
including Shagun Chowd­
hary, Shreyasi Singh, Laksh­
ay Sheoran, Ankur Mittal,
Varsha Tomar, Bhowneesh
Mendiratta went through
their drill in preparation for
the Perazzi Cup, a multi­city
event.
Need of the hour
“Indian shooters need a lot
more competition. We are
planning to get them regular
competition in the country,
so that they can gauge their
progress better and train
with purpose,” said the Ita­
lian, who is into the big pro­
Amol Karhadkar
INDORE
From being the player of the
series of India’s triumphant
Under­19 World Cup in 2018
to being India’s latest ODI
cricketer, Shubman Gill has
taken a giant stride in a span
of just 12 months. In bet­
ween, he played the role of
the finisher for Kolkata
Knight Riders in the Indian
Premier Legue and followed
it up with a remarkable run
across formats in domestic
circuit and for India A.
The Punjab batsman
opens up on his impressive
year.
Excerpts
On the last 12 months
Life’s changed a lot in terms
of the experience I am gain­
ing, even at a higher level.
Early last year, when I was
preparing for the (U­19)
World Cup, I would think if I
do well here, it may lead to
more opportunities. But I
hadn’t imagined all this
would happen so soon.
“There must have been
something that had gone
wrong. I don’t want to think
about that much because it’s
a long day today,” he said
and went about with his
business.
The first leg of the day was
cancelled due to unsafe con­
After two good rounds of
24 each, Angad slipped to a
round of 17 in the men’s sec­
tion. He was on 65 out of 75,
languishing in the 33rd spot,
with two shooters leading
on 73, three on 72, and many
just behind them.
In the women’s event, Ma­
heshwari recovered to shoot
Solid support: Daniele Di Spignio, second from left, with
Ronjan Sodhi, Shreyasi Singh, Varsha Tomar and Ankur Mittal
at the Manav Rachna Academy in Pali. KAMESH SRINIVASAN *
ject of introducing shooting
in schools back home in
Italy.
Even though he is an exp­
ert in double trap, the 44­
year­old Daniele points out
that he had started with
trap, and understands the
nuances of skeet as well.
In fact, he teaches the
coaches in these events.
“I may not be able to
shoot skeet that well, even
though I understand the me­
chanics and know what to
do. Shooting works more on
muscle memory. So, one
needs to train regularly to
build the correct technique,”
he said.
Attracted by the vision of
Amit Bhalla, the brain be­
hind everything sports in
the Manav Rachna Educa­
tional Institutions, the multi­
ple world champion was
further convinced about
putting his energy behind
the Academy when he found
that the former World No. 1,
https://t.me/BrightFuture
SPORT 17
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Points table Sowjanya &
B Group A: Jharkhand 5-4-1-16 (+2.087); Delhi 5-4-1-16 (+1.247);
Kerala 5-4-1-16 (+2.396); Jammu & Kashmir 6-3-3-12 (-0.410);
Petra bow out
Andhra 5-2-3-8 (+1.290); Manipur 5-1-4-4 (-2.927); Nagaland
5-0-5-0 (-3.919). SPORTS BUREAU
ANTALYA
from junior to first­class on the mind at times but the B Group B: Gujarat 5-4-1-16 (+1.650); Vidarbha 5-4-1-16 (+1.176);
Himachal 6-4-2-16 (+0.705); Tamil Nadu 5-3-2-12 (-0.458); Sowjanya Bavisetti and Ca­
cricket moment I take the field, all
Rajasthan 5-2-3-8 (+0.720); Bihar 5-1-4-4 (-2.100); Meghalaya nadian partner Petra Janus­
Rahul [Dravid] sir has those thoughts are put be­ 5-0-5-0 (-1.853). kova lost 6­4, 6­4 to the
helped a lot in this transi­ hind. All these faaltu ki chee-
Group C: Railways 5-5-0-20 (+1.587); Mumbai 6-5-1-20 (+1.590);
Chile­Brazil combination
tion. He is aware of what a zein (redundant stuff ) will B
Saurashtra 5-3-2-12 (+1.342); Madhya Pradesh 5-2-3-8 (-0.326); of Barbara Gatica and Re­
youngster needs to do to ad­ only pull me down, so the fo­
Punjab 5-2-3-8 (+0.657); Goa 5-1-4-4 (-0.726); Sikkim 5-0-5-0 beca Pereira in the semifi­
just to higher levels of crick­ cus has to be on batting. (-4.979). nals of the $15,000 ITF wo­
et. It’s not only about bat­
On his ODI debut
Group D: Karnataka 6-6-0-24 (+3.352); Bengal 6-4-2-16
men’s tournament on
ting. Many times, you lack B
It was an overwhelming ex­ (+2.063); Haryana 6-4-2-16 (+1.193); Chhattisgarh 6-3-3-12 Friday.
fitness, or the fielding stan­
dards are not up to interna­ perience. When Ravi [Shas­ (+0.819); Assam 6-3-3-12 (+0.605); Odisha 6-3-3-12 (+0.284);
Arunachal Pradesh 6-1-5-4 (-3.423); Mizoram 6-0-6-0 (-5.288).
tional level. One needs to tri] sir told me after the third
match the highest standards match I would play the next B Group E: Maharashtra 6-5-1-20 (+1.249); Uttar Pradesh 6-5-1-20 Manimeghlai,
in all aspects of the game. He one, it was a surreal feeling. (+2.154); Uttarakhand 6-4-2-16 (-1.287); Services 6-4-2-16
helped me realise all that. To take the field with players (+0.529); Baroda 6-3-3-12 (-0.059); Hyderabad 6-1-5-4 (-0.182); Shruti for World
whom you have idolized Pondicherry 6-1-5-4 (-1.238); Tripura 6-1-5-4 (-1.265).
Besides, I also learnt how to
handle success and failures since childhood, to get the B (Read as Played, Won, Lost, Points and Net Run Rate). Para meet
from him. Also, at times India cap from Mahi bhai, it DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
was amazing.
when a youngster reaches DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Special Correspondent
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
the highest level, he starts On his conventional batting NEW DELHI
taking it easy and doesn’t style Saturday’s schedule
SOS Children’s Village,
work as hard in the nets as Group A (Mulapadu): Delhi vs Nagaland; Jharkhand vs Kerala;
I feel every batsman has his B Khajurikallan in Madhya
earlier. I feel it’s important to way to score runs. At the Manipur vs Andhra. Pradesh will have two of its
take the additional effort in end, what matters is the inmates — 19­year­old Shru­
B Group B (Surat): Gujarat vs Vidarbha; Rajasthan vs Bihar;
other aspects but you cannot amount of runs you have ti and 16­year­old Mani­
Meghalaya vs Tamil Nadu.
compromise on your basic scored, not how you get meghlai — being part of the
work ethic if you have to sus­ B Group C (Indore): Madhya Pradesh vs Sikkim; Punjab vs Railways;
them. I try to score runs off Indian contingent at the
Saurashtra vs Goa.
tain at a higher level. every ball. In today’s cricket, World Para Athletics
On dealing with distractions it’s important to reduce the B Group D (Cuttack): Assam vs Arunachal Pradesh; Chhattisgarh vs Championships later this
off the field number of dot balls. If you Mizoram; Haryana vs Karnataka; Odisha vs Bengal. month. Both girls will be
We try and ignore all the talk keep rotating strike, it unset­ participating in cycling at
B Group E (New Delhi): Hyderabad vs Uttarakhand; Maharashtra vs
off the field. No doubt the ex­ tles the bowler and the strike the meet, to be held from
Tripura; Baroda vs Uttar Pradesh; Pondicherry vs Services.
pectations do tend to weigh rate too doesn’t fall. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD March 14­21 in Dubai.
ditions. “The sleek and
slushy situation because of
heavy snowfall the last three
days rendered it unsafe,”
said Tamal Ghosal, the Clerk
of the Course.
And, it came as a huge dis­
appointment for all of them.
And as the drivers were
heading back to take on the
challenge inside India, came
the confirmation that Ajgar
indeed was the leader.
The organisers clarified
that the results circulated
earlier in the day were provi­
sional and that Ajgar is fol­
lowed by Jogendra and chal­ #398299
lenged by Gagan Sethi, the JK
Tyre Hornbill Challenge win­
ner last month, at the third
position..
a perfect round of 25 after
the first of 20, but slipped to
a round of 16 in the third.
Her total of 62 put her in the
15th spot in a field of 24
shooters.
Two more rounds will be
shot on Saturday, and the
top six will compete in the
final.
Asian Games gold medallist
and multiple World Cup Fi­
nal gold medallist, Ronjan
Sodhi was fully entrenched
in the shooting project.
No hesitation
National champion Shagun
Chowdhary has no hesita­
tion in saying that she owes a
lot of her growth to the
coaching of the Italian.
On his part, Daniele says
that the Indian women trap
shooters need to improve
their average score to world
class standards so as to be
able to win the big laurels.
The only way forward is to
have more competition.
“Mere training is not
enough. Training has to be
specific and with correct gui­
dance. You have to break the
entire mechanics into va­
rious segments and address
the problematic ones to tune
the whole mechanism to
perfection,” he said.
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18 WEEKEND SPORT DELHI

SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019

THE HINDU
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#398299

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THE HINDU
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019
DELHI

WEEKEND SPORT 19
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#398299

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YK
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20 LIFE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The arts unite against hate
Artists across the country are coming together to offer a message of peace
Peter Griffin
Mumbai
This weekend, India’s arts
and culture community is
raising a collective hand of
protest
A series of hate crimes, al­
legedly by Hindutva­related
right­wing elements against
minorities, led to protests in
different cities across India,
under the broad umbrella of
#NotInMyName. Many of the
people leading or participat­
ing in these protests hap­
pened to be from the arts
community, and over 2018,
their conversations conti­
nued, as their worries about
polarisation in the country
increased.
Around September 2018,
the murmur of worry coa­
lesced into a loose collective,
Artists Unite!, to discuss
Priyanka Chopra stars in
new song by Jonas Brothers
The band has reunited for its first single in five years
Indo-Asian News Service
Los Angeles
Rock band Jonas Brothers
have reunited for a single tit­
led Sucker after a gap of six
years. Its video features ac­
tor Priyanka Chopra who
married the youngest broth­
er, Nick Jonas, three months
ago.
“This is the first time
we’ve worked together but
not for a moment did it feel
like work. Such a fun family
affair... Proud of you, hus­
band,” Priyanka tweeted
while unveiling the song
among social media users.
The video also stars Kevin
Jonas’ spouse Danielle and
Joe Jonas’ fiancee and Game
of Thrones actor Sophie Tur­
ner. Priyanka added: “Jonas
Brothers and the J sisters
cheering each other on.”
CM
YK
<
> Will defend the
plurality of our
country through our
images, speech,
words, music and
bodies
Declaration by Artists Unite!
ways of acting against what
seemed to be escalating ef­
forts to create an atmosph­
ere of hate and the taking ov­
er of cultural institutions.
No to assault
Delhi­based filmmaker Saba
Dewan, a member of the col­
lective, says, “We felt that gi­
ven the kind of assault we
are witnessing against cul­
ture, the way culture is being
reduced to one colour, we
should be protesting. And
that the way we should prot­
est should be by using our
The Jonas brothers with their partners in the new album.
Nick also took to Twitter
to announce the band’s
comeback.
He said: “Sucker video is
officially out! We really had
the best time shooting this
video in England with our fa­
mily. Hope you guys love it.
Feels good to be back.”
Nick also complimented
Priyanka saying she looks
cultural practices.” Over the
next few months, cultural
practitioners across the
country joined in, discussing
the form their protests
should take.
The group issued a decla­
ration in early December (it
has over 700 signatures) that
concluded with the resolu­
tion to defend the plurality
of the country by countering
hate with love, violence with
peace, “through our images,
speech, words, music and
bodies”.
Those protests are taking
place on March 2 and 3, in
Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai,
Bangalore, Kolkata, Bhuba­
neshwar, Pune, Ahmedabad,
Nagpur, Dharwad, Chandi­
garh, Indore, Jamshedpur
and a few other cities.
Two cities will witness
“so beautiful in this video”.
The Jonas Brothers band
was formed in 2005 but the
band split in 2013. The sin­
gers have created hits such
as Burnin’ up, Hold on and
Fly with me. The brothers —
Joe, 29, Kevin, 31, and Nick,
26 — announced their reu­
nion in The Late Late Show
with James Corden.
https://t.me/BrightFuture
DELHI
SATURDAY, MARCH 2, 2019
THE HINDU
multi­disciplinary and multi­
ple stage events at a single
venue: the 15 August Park in
Red Fort in Delhi, and the
Visthar campus, Bengaluru.
In Mumbai on March 2, there
will be a ‘participatory per­
formance parade’ from Chai­
tyabhoomi, Dadar, to the
Carter Road seaface. Chen­
nai will see a film festival in
Panuval bookstore and an
‘inclusive playground’ at
Santhome.
Artists Unite! says that
there is no attempt to curate
things: creative people have
come forward with their
ideas, and resources like art­
works are shared, but events
are self­organised in each lo­
cation.
For more details on the
events, visit facebook.com/
artistsuniteindia.
Remembering
filmmaker
Aravindan
TIKI RAJWI
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
The National Film Archive
of India (NFAI), which has
restored and preserved
many of filmmaker G. Ara­
vindan’s path­breaking
movies, recently received a
delightful gift from the di­
rector’s family.
On the sidelines of the
Bengaluru International
Film Festival, Aravindan’s
son Ramu Aravindan do­
nated two boxes of photo­
graphs and other material
on his father’s films to the
NFAI collection.
NFAI director Prakash
Magdum said he was excit­
ed about the donation,
which consisted of produc­
tion stills — prints and tran­
sparencies — from Aravin­
dan’s films. Mr. Magdum
said the material would be
digitised and researchers #398299
would be given access.
A ND-NDE