english news paper | breaking news | latest today news in ... · committee on parliamentary affairs...

�� !��"��"��#��!��$

��% &��'�(�� )*+��,��-��.+� ��.��(�� /��$

�� % ��"&��/�� 0+��-��0�0.�� &��$

��!"��"�#�� "#$��

%��&%�'()&�&�'1��#�0��!�230.�&&&0-4��/��(��!��045��"��6��*��7�8��$

� �� "6/�-62 &

The month-long WinterSession of Parliament, the

last of the 16th Lok Sabha, is setto commence on December 11with the Modi Governmentwanting to give a final push tothe passage of the controversialtriple talaq Bill pending in theRajya Sabha and score a “win-ner” before taking on theOpposition which is workingon an anti-BJP alliance acrossthe country. The CabinetCommittee on ParliamentaryAffairs (CCPA) on Tuesdaynight recommended conveningof the Winter Session fromDecember 11, 2018 to January8, 2019.

The Ram temple issue isexpected to echo in the WinterSession with the BJP and theOpposition launching attackagainst each other. TheOpposition would go all out toaccuse the ruling party ofcommunalising the politics onthe eve of Lok Sabha pollswhich are only months away.

BJP Rajya Sabha memberRakesh Sinha has said he maybring a private member Bill inthe Upper House demandingthe construction of the templein Ayodhya. The BJP is hopingthat the Bill may force theOpposition parties to take astand on the sensitive issue.The Bill, if brought on the table,could also be put to vote.

The Winter Session willstart on the day (December 11)when the counting of votes isto commence for five State

Assemblies with the BJP seek-ing a repeat mandate inMadhya Pradesh, Rajasthanand Chhattisgarh. The resultsby the evening would create apolitical impact on the tempoof the Winter Session with thewinner sure to dominate theproceedings in next onemonth.

Much is at stake for the BJPand the Congress and otherOpposition parties in the polloutcome of Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh,Telangana and Mizoram whichmay set the narrative for thegeneral elections 2019 andcould provide a definite sug-gestion to the political prowess

of the either side. Triple talaq, which has

been made a penal offence bythe Government by way ofpromulgating an Ordinance,would again be tested finally onthe floor of the Rajya Sabhawhere it has been pendingafter being passed in the LokSabha where the BJP has athumping majority.

The Government wouldalso want the Indian MedicalCouncil AmendmentOrdinance and the CompaniesAmendment Ordinance to bepassed as Bills in this session.

The Winter Session will bethe “last roar” of the ModiGovernment on the floor of

Parliamentwith the Opposition partieslikely to put a collective effortto puncture it and set theircampaign agenda against theBJP.

Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister Chandrababu Naidu,whose TDP has quit BJP-ledNational Democratic Alliance,has been touring variousOpposition parties-led States towork out a common strategyagainst the Modi Governmentin the Lok Sabha poll. TheParliament session will testwhether a “grand allianceOpposition parties” wouldspeak in one voice on the floorof Parliament or would expe-rience disarray on the eve offinal electoral battle, next year.

Minister of State forParliamentary Affairs VijayGoel said the session fromDecember 11 to January 8would have 20 working days.This would bring down curtainon the 16th long Lok Sabhawhere, for the first time, theBJP had a majority on its own.

“We seek support andcooperation of all parties forthe smooth functioning ofParliament during the session,”said Goel.

The session was delayedthis year due to the Assemblyelections in five States.

The onus of conductingParliament session from theGovernment’s side would fallon Narendra Singh Tomar andGoel following the untimelydemise of Parliamentary AffairsMinister Ananth Kumar.

�� "6/�-62 &

The Supreme Court onWednesday said there is no

question of a debate on the pric-ing of the Rafale fighter deal inthe court till it comes to the con-clusion that the pricing infor-mation is to be brought in thepublic domain.

The court reserved its order

on pleas seeking court moni-tored probe in procurement of36 Rafale fighter jets. TheGovernment refused to make

public details related to thepricing of the 36 Rafale fighterjets in the Supreme Court, say-ing “our adversaries may get anadvantage” by such a disclosure.

A Bench comprising ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi andJustices SK Kaul and KM Josephconcluded in nearly four hoursthe arguments advanced byvarious parties which have alsosought registration of FIR inconnection with the allegedirregularities in the deal.

India had signed aGovernment to Governmentcontract with France in 2016worth over �59,000 crore to buy36 fighter Rafale jets in the fly-away condition.

�� "6/�-62 &

Abrief spell of rain onTuesday night came to the

rescue of the people residing inthe national Capital as Delhi’sair quality improved “remark-ably” and the National AmbientAir Quality Index recorded thelevel of harmful pollutants as“lowest” of this season.

The contribution fromstubble burning to pollutionwas recorded at three per cent.From severe to poor, SAFAR’strend marked air quality rela-tively good! However, the fore-cast said air quality may dete-riorate from Thursday.

The major pollutant PM10, which has remained above410, was recorded at 280 onWednesday, whereas PM 2.5was significantly less on AirQuality Index (AQI) at 127.

According to the CentralPollution Control Board(CPCB), Ministry ofEnvironment, Forest andClimate Change (MoEF &CC),the overall average Air QualityIndex was recorded at 312microgram per cubic whichwas 642 on the very next day

of Diwali. Citing the local climate

trend, SAFAR said air qualityhas improved considerably dueto rainfall early on Tuesday; itwashed away bigger particlesand created space for faster dis-persion without decline in tem-perature.

“AQI is back to “very poor”.A slight increase in AQI is pre-dicted in next three days andlikely to remain very poor,”SAFAR said.

“This is mainly due to thefact that surface winds are stilllow and temperature is likely tocool down. Stubble fire is

unlikely to impact Delhi AQIas fire counts are significantlydown and winds are also flow-ing from other direction,”SAFAR explained on Metgraph.

The largest contributer toPM 2.5 pollution onWednesday was power plantsfollowed by diesel generators.Household pollution con-tributed 15.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, air quality inneighbouring States of Delhiwas better.

The restriction imposedby on heavy vehicles’ entry toDelhi was lifted on Wednesday.

�� "6/�-62 &

With monkey menace pre-vailing in the corridors of

power in New Delhi, includingParliament, ahead of theWinter Session, the Lok SabhaSecretariat has come out witha circular advising people not

to make direct eye contactwith monkey and do not crossthe path between a mother andher infant.

The Parliament HouseComplex along with othernearby buildings, including theNorth and South Blocks andthe Rashtrapati Bhavan around

the Central Ridge forest, facemonkey menace. There is noofficial data on Delhi’s monkeypopulation.

The city has thousands ofRhesus Macaque monkeys thatbreak into houses, terrorisepeople and steal food. Thecivic bodies estimated around

30,000-40,000 monkeys in thenational Capital. Many peoplefeed monkeys on Tuesday andSaturdays — days associatedwith God Hanuman.

This practice means thatpeople carrying food at othertimes risk being bitten. Around90 per cent of the monkeys

carry tuberculosis.The circular suggests: “In

case a monkey collides withyour vehicles (especially twowheelers), do not stop there.Do not get scared if a monkeymakes a ‘kho-kho’ noise as nor-mally it is a bluff, ignore themonkey and walk away. Be

light footed while passingthrough monkey group i.e donot run. Do not irritate or teasethe monkey, leave them aloneand they will leave you alone,”the circular said.

It further suggests that oneshould not hit a monkey. Keephitting the ground with a big

stick to make monkey leaveyour house and garden.

Officials of the MunicipalCorporation of Delhi (MCD)are clueless about tackling theproblem as despite severaladvertisements none of langurwalas came forward to catchmonkeys.

��

�� 121.)1

Sri Lanka’s Parliament onWednesday passed a no-

confidence motion againstPrime Minister MahindaRajapaksa, who was installedby President MaithripalaSirisena in a controversialmove, a day after the SupremeCourt overturned the presi-dential decree to dissolve theHouse and hold snap polls onJanuary 5.

Amid raucous scenes,Parliament on Wednesday metfor the first time since October26 when President Sirisenasacked Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe and installedRajapaksa in his place and sus-pended the House, plunging theisland nation into an unprece-dented constitutional crisis.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriyaannounced that a majority ofthe 225-member Parliamentsupported the no-confidencemotion against Rajapaksa, the72-year-old former strongman,who ruled the country for adecade from 2005. “Accordingto the voice, I recognise that theGovernment has no majority,”Jayasuriya announced in theHouse as Rajapaksa supportersprotested.

He gave the ruling after theno-confidence motion wastaken for a vote. The Speakercalculated the votes based onthe voices he heard.

The passing of the no-confidence motion comes as amajor blow to PresidentSirisena and a victory to oust-ed Prime MinisterWickremesinghe.

��

�� !"#

�� $��

� ��+�� #�� /��-��99��*��:��4;95

� ��'��,��/��)*+��1��

� ��<��!�#�� 1�� '�(��

%�� #��& �� '��!��' ��&��$�� (�� '�� #�� ) ��*��&��$�� '�� +��& ��,�� !

��

��

�� !"�� #��

�� '�&!�'

Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath

on Wednesday came downheavily on Congress andalleged it ̀ insulting martyrdom’of security forces and urgedpeople to defeat Congress can-didates in Assembly polls.

Addressing a campaignrally for the second phase ofAssembly polls in industrialcity Raigarh, Adityanathaccused Congress of "insultingmartyrdom" of security forcesengaged in anti-Naxal opera-tions by terming Naxals as"revolutionaries". "Congress hasdone nothing except dividing

the society on the basis of caste,region, religion, and language,’’he remarked at a well attendedelection rally here.

“During its 55-year rule inthe country, Congress alwaysencouraged poverty, misrule,terrorism, Naxalism, and cor-ruption,’’ he stated. Withoutnaming Uttar PradeshCongress president Raj Babbar,

Adityanath said, "a leader of UPCongress had termed Naxals asrevolutionaries which is aninsult to the martyrdom ofsecurity forces fighting Naxals".

He said that under theleadership of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, BJP with a slo-gan of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikashas launched public welfareschemes for the inclusive devel-opment of people belonging toall sections of society.

“During the Congress rule,mining and forest mafia, cattletrafficking and Naxalism wereat an all-time high inChhattisgarh but the BJPGovernment contained allthese issues,’’ he opined.

��

�� $��%��& RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

�� !�"�#$ %�#�&�

%�!%&��$&� �&�� & �!��&�� '&��&�!�

*)&+��*��,-./0

��1�� ! �� -21#3-.4�� -#�5

�� !"#$�"$�" ��"�$� %&''"&��

'�()(')�* �..6'��"-�

�1"!��++'1��

+'��,)=-6� �'6�->�?1'

'1 &"!>��'6+��'&��&1"�� !(�6@��**7� A;@

B�� 6,��

((()�� *��)��

�')-.� /�')&��!13��'>&"!��1�'6��

�1..1"�!'1C"-�1"�86>�&��C6�

�� & �!��+�,�!��&- +��#.�/%��012�3405

� �� "6/�-62 &

As the political fever riseswith the Assembly polls for

five States underway and theCongress vowing to "imple-ment ban" on Governmentemployees from participatingin the activities of RashtriyaSwayemsevak Sangh (RSS), theRSS affiliate Bhartiya MazdoorSangh (BMS) has written toPrime Minister Narendra Modito remove the ban provisionfrom the Government servicerules.

The ban on Governmentofficials taking RSS member-ship and joining its activitieswas there but some States likeGujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradeshhave them in service rules."After Keshubahi PatelGovernment took over inGujarat in 2000, the provisionwas removed from the Servicerules but in Madhya Pradeshit is continuing", said RSS func-tionaries.

Congress manifesto forthe November 28 Madhya

Pradesh polls in the Statepromises to ban 'Shakhas' ofthe RSS in Governmentpremises and stopGovernment employees fromattending RSS 'Shakhas' .Congress General SecretaryDigvijay Singh has said thatthe rule existed even under theJan Sangh and BJPGovernments in the State inthe past, including the regimesof V K Sklecha, Kailash Joshi,Sunderlal Patwa, Uma Bhartiand Babulal Guar and that theCongress was "only pledgingto continue it."

RSS leaders maintain thatit was already in the service rulebut it was never implementedin letter and spirit. "Congress isfor the first time promising toimplement if it comes to power

in Madhya Pradesh", they said.They remind that even duringJawahar Lal Nehru's time, sev-eral Congress members in theparty's Central WorkingCommittee were also membersof the RSS.

The BMS has sought PrimeMinister Narendra Modi tohave the service rule removedso as to lift the ban on theCentral Government employeesfrom working with the RSS.

The RSS outfit hasappealed to the Prime Ministerto intervene in the matter per-sonally and direct the con-cerned Ministry to issue nec-essary amendments permit-ting the Government employ-ees to participate in nation-building activities.

The Secretary-General of

Government EmployeesNational Confederation, affil-iated to the BMS, in a letter tothe Prime Minister on October20, pointed out that in accor-dance with provisions of DP &AR OM No. 15014/3/(S)/80-Estt. (B), dated 28.10.1980,there is a ban on participatingin the activities of RSS by theCentral GovernmentEmployees.

"Through an order datedNovember 30, 1966, (by theMinistry of Home Affairs), thethen Congress Governmenthas imposed the ban onswayamsevaks, who work invarious departments under theUnion Government.Unfortunately, the order hasbeen evoked time and again bythe successive Governments",the letter said.

Pointing out that any per-son going against the ruleinvites "imprisonment for aterm which may extend toseven years or fine or withboth", the BMS maintainedthat many Governmentemployees interested in theRSS activities hold back onaccount of the fear of discipli-nary action and "are not able tolend their hand in a genuinecause of Nation Building."

��

�� 0�� .��+��

�� "6/�-62 &�

The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on

Wednesday filed a chargesheetagainst banned terror groupDukhtaran-E-Millat's chiefAasiya Andrabi and her asso-ciates, Sofi Fehmeeda andNaheeda Nasreen, before adesignated court here forallegedly waging war againstthe country.

Andrabi and her associatesSofi Fehmeeda and NaheedaNasreen were actively run-ning a terrorist organisationDukhtaran-E-Millat which isproscribed under the FirstSchedule to the UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act,1967. DEM as a terroristorganisation is engaged inAnti-India activities and hasbeen inciting the general pop-ulace of Kashmir for an armedrebellion against theGovernment of India with aidand assistance of terroristorganisations based inPakistan, the NIA said.

"The three accused per-sons were using various mediaplatforms like Twitter,Facebook, YouTube, TVChannels including those inPakistan to spread insurrec-

tionary imputations and hate-ful messages and speechesagainst India. DEM throughAasiya Andrabi and others,openly advocates secession ofJammu & Kashmir from theUnion of India and its mergerwith Pakistan through violentmeans," the NIA said in astatement.

A case was registered bythe NIA on April 27 this yearunder various Indian PenalCode Sections relating to crim-inal conspiracy, waging waragainst the nation and underprovisions of the anti-terror lawUnlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, 1967.

The trio was arrested byNIA on July 6 in connectionwith the case and is sincelodged in the Tihar Jail here.

"Investigation has estab-lished that Aasiya Andrabi isheading Dukhtaran-E-Millatas its Chief and has used socialmedia and other platforms toabet waging of war againstGovernment of India. She isspreading seditious and insur-rectionary imputations againstGovernment of India. She ispromoting ill-will and enmitybetween different communitiesin India on ground of religion.Investigation has also estab-

lished that she has close con-tacts with designated GlobalTerrorist Hafeez MohammadSaeed who is head of Jamaat-Ud-Dawah (JuD) and Lashkar-E-Toiba (LeT), internationallydesignated terrorist organisa-tions that are based inPakistan," the NIA furthersaid.

Andrabi has used publicplatforms to incite youth ofKashmir to rise in armed insur-rection against theGovernment of India with anobject of achieving cessation ofKashmir from India and itsmerger with Pakistan, theagency said in its chargesheet.

The agency said investi-gation has also established thatSofi Fehmeeda, as PersonalSecretary to Chief of DEM andalso Press Secretary ofDukhtaran-E-Millat, andNaheeda Nasreen as its GeneralSecretary have been instru-mental in the use of socialmedia and other platforms forabetment of waging war againstthe Indian Government besidesspreading seditious and insur-rectionary imputations againstit, and are promoting ill-willand enmity between differentcommunities in India ongrounds of religion.

�#��,��'��-�,��$�� "6/�-62 &

Twitter has suspended twofake accounts being run in

the name of the ElectionCommission (EC). The accountused the EC logo as well as theTwitter handle@ElectionComm. Anotheraccount used @DalitFederationas its handle. The two accountshave been suspended after theEC asked Twitter to take "deci-sive action.

The Election Commission'sspokesperson confirmed thatthe Commission does not haveits own verified Twitter handle.The fake accounts had a hugefollowing with one of themhaving 4,751 followers. The ECfeared that they could misleadpublic ahead of Assembly pollsin five States and coming up LokSabha elections next year. "TheEC does not have any presenceon Twitter, though it does oper-ate a Facebook handle," said anofficial of EC on the conditionof anonymity.

The media division of theEC asked Twitter to take decisiveaction against them. Althoughthere were no tweets from theseaccounts, they had a large fol-lowing. The Commission hasavoided opening an account onTwitter as it does not have themanpower, a dedicated team ofprofessionals or media budget tohandle requests and grievancesthat are likely to flood it once itregisters its presence on Twitter,"an official said. However, EC hasauthorised the State chief elec-toral officers to create a Twitteraccount of their own.

EC had earlier held talkswith Twitter and other socialmedia companies like Googleand Facebook to help it trackfake news and monitor pollexpenditure on social mediaadvertising and publicity.Google, Facebook and Twitteron Monday promised to domore to fight news in India,while refusing to provide anydefinite timeline for bringingtougher actions that could elim-inate the menace of fake newsfrom their platform.

�� "6/�-62 &

Soon database of country'salmost all health establish-

ments including clinics, nursinghomes, hospitals and diagnos-tic labs whether in private orGovernment sector will beavailable online with interactivemaps.

Aiming to improve healthoutcomes and create healthdatabase, the Union HealthMinistry has rolled out theNational Health Resource

Repository (NHRR) whereinmassive exercise to map allpublic and private healthcareestablishments at the districtlevel is being undertaken in thecountry. This is the first everhealthcare establishment cen-sus, using paperless technolo-gy.

A senior Health Ministryofficial said that a web-basedand geo-mapping enabled sin-gle platform of all the healthresources both Governmentand private is being developed.

It will comprise of the data onhealth infrastructure, humanresource and the availability andtype of medical facilities.

The importance of healthmapping lies in the productionof interactive and publishedmaps that would link the geog-raphy of communities withother dimensions such as avail-ability and accessibility of healthservices, or disease preventionand control services particularlyin rural areas, added an officialfrom the WHO.

1%��2��-��

!��"�#��#��$��$��$�� "6/�-62 &

Liberalised Visa regimeimplemented for the past

two years witnessed sharpincrease of visit of foreigners toIndia. As per the statistics in2017 and 2018, more than 35lakh foreigners visited India,including tourists, businesspurposes. Before launching ofe-Visa and instant visa, in2015, as per the statistics,around 4.5 lakh foreigners vis-ited India. As many as 26 air-ports and five sea ports, theBureau of Immigration (BoI)

has implemented e-Visa sys-tem.

"The Electronic Visa Facilitynow covers practically all thecountries of the world. Foreignnationals of 166 countries cannow enjoy this facility at 26 air-ports and 05 seaports. The for-eigner does not have to interactwith any Indian official till hisarrival at the immigrationcounter. The Bureau ofImmigration (BoI) generallydecides within 24-48 hourswhether or not to grant an e-visato a foreigner. The popularity ofe-visa is sky rocketing. The

number of foreigners who visit-ed India on e-visa has gone upfrom 4.47 lakhs in 2015 to 17.00lakhs in 2017. The figure for 2018is 18.78 lakhs upto 30th October,2018," said Home Ministry in astatement on Wednesday, detail-ing the sharp increase of visitors.

Currently e-Visa is per-mitted in five categories liketourist, business, medical, con-ference and medical attendant."The local FRRO has beenempowered now to extendduration of electronic visasbeyond 60 days upto 90 days.

Moreover, these e-visas can

now be availed three times inone year against twice in a yearearlier. For foreigners who arealready in India and who requireany consular/visa services likeextension of visa, conversion ofvisa, exit permission or any ofthe total 27 visa-related services,an online e-FRRO facility hasnow been launched throughoutthe country. The foreigners donot have to physically visit theoffices of FRROs/FROs. Theycan apply as well as receive con-sular/visa services online aftermaking online payment," saidHome Ministry.

.��/0(�� #�� 1��

�� "6/�-62 &

In a move to encourage coop-erative start ups and business

ventures in agriculture andallied sectors, the Ministry ofAgriculture on Wednesdaylaunched a new scheme thataims to provide cheaper loansto startups in the cooperativesector and those having inno-vative projects costing up to �3crore.

The scheme is called 'YuvaSahakar CooperativeEnterprise Support andInnovation Scheme' will beimplemented by the NationalCooperative Development

Corporation (NCDC). A cor-pus fund of �1,000 crore hasbeen created to this purpose.The scheme would be liberal tocooperatives in the north east-ern region, those registeredand operating in 'aspirationaldistricts' identified by think-tank Niti Aayog as well ascooperatives which have 100per cent women and SC/STmembers. The heavily incen-tivised scheme has componentof subsidy as well as interestsubvention and cooperativeregistered even one years agowill be eligible.

Launching the scheme,Union Agriculture Minister

Radha Mohan Singh said thatthe new scheme aims toencourage newly formed coop-eratives to take advantage ofinnovative ventures, especiallyby societies having new andinnovative ideas. "Cooperativesoperating for at least for oneyear and having a positive networth are eligible to avail cred-it under the scheme for newand innovative project ideas",Singh said.

The project cost should notexceed �3 crore and there willbe two years moratorium onpayment of principal amount,he said, adding that the periodof moratorium may vary

depending on type of projectand ability to generate revenue.NCDC lending so far has beento cooperatives working infishery, sugar, textiles, food-grains, crops, fruits, vegetables,cold storage, water conserva-tion, dairy, poultry, handlooms,coir and seri culture so far.There are eight lakh registeredsocieties in the country.

As an incentive, theMinister said the credit will beprovided at two per cent lessthan the applicable interestrate on term loan for the pro-ject activities. The interest rateincentive would be applicableonly for timely repayers.

% ��,��,��,�� , ��

Washington: President DonaldTrump on Tuesday said US'relationship with India can actas a "bulwark" for freedom,prosperity and peace as he cel-ebrated Diwali in the WhiteHouse along with eminentIndian-Americans.

It is the second consecutiveyear that President Trump hascelebrated the largest festival ofIndia and Indian Americans inthe White House.

"I am thrilled to be here forthe celebration of Diwali, theHindu Festival of Lights, and Iam honored to host this beau-tiful ceremony at the WhiteHouse. Very, very special peo-ple," Trump said.

"I'm honoured to host thisbeautiful ceremony at theWhite House. Very, very specialpeople. We're gathered today tocelebrate a very special holidayobserved by Buddhist, Sikhsand Jains throughout theUnited States and around theworld," Trump said.

"This ceremony signifiesthe triumph of light over dark-ness and good over evil. It is ajubilant occasion that bringsloved ones, neighbours, and

communities closer together,"Trump said before lighting theceremonial diya in the historicRoosevelt Room of the WhiteHouse.

He said the shining lightsremind people to "seek wis-dom, to give thanks, and toalways cherish and love theones who grace our lives.

"Our nation is blessed to behome to millions of hard-working citizens of Indian andSouth East Asian heritage toenrich our country in countlessways. Together we are oneproud American family. Do weagree with that? I think so. Ithink we do. Right? Better,believe it," he said.

"India is the world's largestdemocracy, and the relation-ship between our two countriescan act as a bulwark for free-dom, prosperity, and peace,"Trump said, amidst China flex-ing its military muscles in thestrategic Indo-Pacific region.

He said the United Stateshas deep ties with India and hewas grateful for his friendshipwith Prime Minister NarendraModi.

"Modi is my friend andnow her (Ivanka) friend andhas great respect for India andthe Indian people that I cansay," said the US President as heintroduced his daughter to theaudience, who was present in

the room."Absolutely," replied

Ivanka, who had visited Indialast year. She was the first topofficial of the Trump adminis-tration to travel to India toattend the GlobalEntrepreneurship Summit inHyderabad in November lastyear.

Trump also mentioned theongoing negotiations betweenthe US and India on a tradedeal but indicated that thetalks were moving though itwas tough.

"We're trying very hard tomake better trade deals withIndia. But, they're very goodtraders. They're very goodnegotiators. You would sayright. The best. So we're work-ing. And it's moving along," hesaid.

Along with nearly twodozen top Indian-Americanofficials of his administration,Trump invited the IndianAmbassador to the US, NavtejSingh Sarna, his wife Dr AvinaSarna, and his special assistantPratik Mathur to be presentduring the White House Diwalicelebrations. PTI

��

2��#��,��$��3$��'*�� ,�

Singapore: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Wednesdaytold US Vice President MikePence that all the traces and allthe leads in the global terrorattacks ultimately leads to a"single source and single placeof origin", in an apparent ref-erence to Pakistan.

Modi, who held talks withPence on a wide range of bilat-eral and global issues of mutu-al interests on the sidelines ofthe East Asia Summit here, alsoexpressed concern over theparticipation of terrorists in theelections in Pakistan.

Briefing the reporters afterthe meeting, Foreign SecretaryVijay Gokhale said there wassome discussion on the issue ofterrorism. Pence referred to theupcoming 10th anniversary ofthe deadly Mumbai terrorattack on November 26 andhailed cooperation between

the two sides on counter ter-rorism, Gokhale said.

Some 166 people werekilled in the attack carried outby Pakistan-based 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. Nine of theattackers were killed by policewhile lone survivor AjmalKasab was caught and hangedafter handed down death sen-tence by an Indian court.

Modi thanked Pence forhis words and reminded himthat in one way or another allthe traces and all the leads inthe global terror attacks ulti-mately leads to a "single sourceand single place of origin",without naming any country ororganisation.

He was apparently refer-ring to Pakistan.

A number of terroristattacks across the world havebeen carried out by people ofPakistani origin. On December

2, 2015, 14 people were killedin a mass shooting by aPakistani origin married cou-ple in San Bernardino,California.

A Pakistani-origin manwas among three knife-wield-ing militants responsible forcarrying out the brutal terrorattack in London that killedseven people and injured 49 inJune 2017.

Prime Minister Modi alsoexpressed concern over theMumbai terror attack master-mind Hafiz Saeed's party con-testing the July 25 elections inPakistan.

"He (Modi) did point outthat the mainstreaming of peo-ple involved in the Mumbaiattacks in a political processwhich has taken place in therecent elections in Pakistanshould be a matter of seriousconcern not just to the two

��%��&��

S i n g a p o r e :There was alight momentduring PrimeM i n i s t e rNarendra Modi's meeting withUS Vice President Mike Pencein Singapore on Wednesdaywhen he riffed on the meaningof 'Indiana' — the Americanleader's home state.

Through his translator,Modi said that when he metPence in the US in 2017 he toldhim that "Indiana" (INDIA-Ana) in Hindi, meaning "Tocome to India."

Modi then repeated hisinvitation to Pence to visitIndia.

Pence laughed apprecia-tively. "Thank you, Mr. PrimeMinister," Pence said. "I expectI will 'Indiana'." The US vicepresident is likely to visit Indiain 2019. PTI

��!��3(��4��5

Sriharikota (AP): India onWednesday successfully putinto orbit its latest communi-cation satellite with its heaviestrocket and the new space mis-sion is expected to serve thecommunication needs of peo-ple in the remote areas of thecountry.

The textbook launch ofthe rocket GSLV-MkIII-D,which is dubbed by the ISROas the 'Bahubali' or "fat boy" ofIndian rockets, is also seen ascrucial for the space agency asit would be used for the ambi-tious Chandrayaan-2(lunarmission) and the country'splanned manned space mis-sion. The 3,423 kg satelliteGSAT-29 is also the heaviestIndian satellite to be put intoorbit.

Indian Space ResearchOrganisation(ISRO) chief KSivan said while the rocket's

first operational mission wasgoing to be "none other thanChandrayaan" in January 2019,"this fantastic vehicle is goingto carry humans to space inthree years from now."

ISRO has set a 'target' ofachieving the country's ambi-tious manned mission to spaceby 2021, with the firstunmanned programme of'Gaganyaan' planned forDecember 2020, according to

Sivan.Prime Minister Narendra

Modi announced in hisIndependence Day address thisyear that India will attempt tosend an astronaut to space by2022 on board 'Gaganyaan'.

The 27-hour-countdownfor the Wednesday launchbegan at 2.50pm Tuesday andthe rocket blasted off at 5.08pm from the spaceport atSriharikota over 100 km fromChennai.

The satellite carries Ka andKu band high throughputtransponders which will pro-vide communication servicesto remote places in the NorthEast and Jammu and Kashmir,besides aid the Centre's DigitalIndia programme, Sivan said.

ISRO scientists broke intocheers as the satellite was inject-ed into a geosynchronous orbit,16 minutes after lift-off.

#��.��,,��,��%��"145�� ,'��

�� "6/�-62 &

The big four snakes —Russell's Viper, Common

Cobra, Common Krait and SawScaled Viper are responsible formore than 90 per cent snake bitedeaths across India. But, sur-prisingly, the Government hasno incident-related data thatcould help it frame policies anddevelop better snake anti-ven-oms to save the victims.

Taking initiative in this

direction to collate the data at theground level, The Big4 Mapperapp has been developed thatwould register each incident ofbites by the big four snakes. Theapp which is a part of "IndianSnake Bite Initiative," a joint pro-ject by Madras Crocodile Bank, Global Snakebite Initiative andIndiansnakes.org would helpconservationists and herpetolo-gists to map out the distributionof snakes and incidents of bitesreported in the country.

By collating incidents at theground level, the app aims tohelp researchers and policy-makers get a clearer picture ofthe situation and can potential-ly save lives, said the brainbehind the app, Jose Louiesfrom the Wildlife Trust of India.

He elaborated, "The Big4Mapper app helps conserva-tionists and herpetologists mapout the distribution of snakesand incidents of bites reportedin the country. The app can

potentially save lives, once itreaches its critical mass and ifreceived well by the governmentmachinery."

Talking about its function-ing, he said that the snake res-cuers have to download theapp and take a photo of thesnake every time they go on arescue trip. When rescuers takea photo of the snake in the placethey found it, the app automat-ically logs in the GPS coordi-nates, time and the date.

��

New Delhi: The BJP onWednesday announced its sec-ond list of 31 candidates forthe Rajasthan Assembly elec-tion, dropping 15 sittingMLAs, included threeMinisters.

The BJP has so farannounced the names of 162candidates in the 200-memberAssembly.

Outgoing MinistersBabulal Verma, RajkumarRinwa and Dhan Singh Rawatwere denied party ticket thiselection.

BJP MLA Gyandev Ahuja,who hit the national headlinesat the height of the JNU con-troversy in 2016 for hisremarks that thousands ofcondoms were found on theuniversity campus daily, wasalso dropped. PTI

67��8 ��4��

� ��!"# ��$�& �!��+�,�!��&- +��#.�/%��012�3405

�� !�""��#� ��$��%��#��&''()��*��#��%�'��+,-.//0�� '��1/00"2...3.4/50/��#��*��67'��8��9�� 8�%�'��+,-.//:�6��;��%��6��;)��<� ��&��;$�(4��=� ��8�� )��>�� $�8<� ��+""///.��;/""+,/""/,::��&��;?+3"�)��4�$&@<9�=��$ �+./"3/"�A(�(��;/"./+,B0-B//C,B0--//(

�� !��"�� #�� $��%��&�� '�� "��(��

�� )&*�+C'

As many as four Border SecurityForce (BSF) jawans and a civil-

ian were injured in an improvisedexplosive device (IED) blast trig-gered by Maoists on Wednesday inviolence-hit Bijapur district, policesaid.

Maoists targeted a bus carryingBorder Security Force personnelreturning from poll duty in Bijapur,around four kilometres away fromthe district headquarters at MahadevGhat.

“Two of the BSF jawans werevery critical and they had been air-lifted to state capital Raipur forurgent medical attention,’’

P Sundarraj, Deputy InspectorGeneral (Anti-Naxal operation) toldmedia persons.

The other injured BSF men had beenadmitted to a hospital in Bijapur.Reinforcement was rushed to the spot.The attack took place just two days afterthe first phase of polling in the stateincluding in Bijapur district which hastrack record of poll-related Maoist vio-lence.

The attack site is located about 450kilometres from Raipur.

Naxal attacks have been common insprawling Bastar region where leftistinsurgents are active in forested interiorsfor about a quarter century. The secondphase of polling in state for remaining 72seats will be held on November 20.

$��6�$��%��(-��

�� *�"*!&'0� �.+�

Union Home MinisterRajnath Singh on

Wednesday mocked theOpposition Congress at anelection rally in Chhattisgarhover "factionalism" in the partyand demanded that it reveal thenames of its Chief Ministerialcandidates in poll-boundChhattisgarh, Madhya Pradeshand Rajasthan, like the BJP.

Campaigning for the sec-ond phase of assembly electionsin which polling to be held for72 seats on November 20,Singh claimed the Congresswould "break into factions"the moment it announces thenames of its chief ministerialcandidates.

He equated the campaignrallies of Congress with mar-riage processions and linkedthe announcement of names of

chief ministerial candidates tobridegroom's identity.

"If a 'barat' is taken out,then the name of the 'dulha'

(bridegroom) should also beout. I want to know the nameof the bridegroom from theCongress. However, the

moment Congress announcesits candidates for the post ofchief minister, the party willbreak into factions," Singh

said at a rally in JanjgirChampa.

He further added, "Notjust in Chhattisgarh butCongress should reveal thenames of their candidates forthe post of chief minister inMadhya Pradesh andRajasthan, like the BJP. We havemade it clear who would be thenext chief minister of the BJPin these states and the Congressshould do the same," .

The home minister alsodefended the Rafale jet dealwith France and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, thetarget of the Congress partyover the agreement.

Singh lashed out at theCongress for using "objection-able language" against Modiand said the BJP "never abused"a prime minister coming fromthe Congress party.

"People are saying thatModi has taken commission in

this deal. For whom would heaccept the commission? Hedoes not have a wife or chil-dren. Is he seeking commissionfor his almost 100-year-oldmother?" he remarked.

The Congress has re-nom-inated party MLA MotilalDevangan from JanjgirChampa and the ruling BJPhas given ticket to formerdeputy speaker ofChhattisgarh AssemblyNarayan Chandel.

At the rally, Singh alsopraised the Centre's ambitiousAyushman Bharat healthscheme.

"When US PresidentBarack Obama introduced thehealthcare insurance scheme,the whole world was surprised.But why not so much praise forour healthcare scheme wherewe are providing cover of up toRs five lakh per person," heobserved.

��0��3��%��#��#�9!��#

6 �� 1��,�� ,�� $��47)�� ,'��)� !� ��! �

�� '�&+C'

Former ChiefMinister Aj it

Jogi on Wednesdayhit back at UnionHome MinisterRajnath Singh, say-ing if the BJP leaderis truly his friendthen why is he cam-paigning inMarwahi assemblyseat where he islocked in a three-way fight against theBJP and theCongress.

Jogi had desert-ed Congress in 2016and floated his ownparty Janta CongressChhattisgarh (J) tomake the 90-mem-ber state assemblypolls in the mineral-rich state a triangu-lar contest.

Jogi’s party hast ied up withMayawati’s BSP inthis election.

While campaign-ing in Jogi’s hometurf Marwahi in Bilaspur dis-tr ic t , Rajnath Singh onWednesday asked voters tosecure victory for the BJP

candidate but he termedJogi’a friend who is in trou-ble’.

Reacting to the com-

ment , Jog i said “ i f he(Rajnath) is a friend of minethen why was he addressinga public meeting in Marwahi

against me’’. Jog i a l soresponded to his ‘trouble’jibe and added, “the entirenation is watching who is in

trouble.’’Rajnath Singh had also

termed Jogi’s party, a B-teamof Congress.

�� 8��+ ��*��$��,�� )

9��,�,�� ,�� $��, �� ,�,'�� ,��,��,��,�� $��47)� !� ��! �

�� '�&+C'

Chief Electoral Officer(CEO), Chhattisgarh,

Subrat Sahoo on Wednesdayreviewed the poll prepara-

tions at Jashpur for the secondphase polling scheduled onNovember 20.

Sahoo also appealed thevoters to must cast theirvotes. Later he participated

in a pledge programme‘Jan-Pran’ signature move-ment.

Rain Das, a ‘Divyang’who is disabled by handstook pledge of casting his

vote by making a signature onthis occasion with toe of hisfeet. Das also appealed thecitizens to exercise their fran-chise and contribute in nationbuilding.

�'(��#��)��$��

�� C8.�

A35-year-old villager wasseriously injured when a

pressure improvised bomb,laid by Naxals, went off inChhattisgarh’s Sukma districton Wednesday, police said.

The incident took place inChintagufa police station areawhen the victim identified asSodi Rahul was working in hisfield, Sukma Superintendent ofPolice Abhishek Meena toldreporters.

As per the preliminaryinformation, Rahul, a native ofSarpanch Para in Chintagufavillage located around 500 kmsfrom capital Raipur, came in

contact with the pressure IED(improvised explosive device)planted near his field.

"Rahul sustained seriousinjuries on his leg," Meena said.

Soon after being alerted, apolice team was sent to the spotand the injured was shifted toa local hospital where he wasbeing treated.

Naxals often plant IEDs ondirt tracks adjoining fields totarget security forces duringtheir operations in the Naxal-affected forested areas.

On November 12, a villagerwas killed in a pressure IEDblast while he was working inhis field in Timmapuram vil-lage in Sukma district.

��#��(��"�,��

�� '�&+C'

The assets of re-contesting69 sitting MLAs across all

political parties has recordedincrease of 2590 percent as perthe affidavits submitted beforethe Election Commission forcontesting the two-phasedpolls for the 90-member StateLegislative Assembly.

A detailed analysis car-r ie d out j oint ly byChhattisgarh Election Watchand Ass o c iat ion forDemocratic Reforms (ADR)released here which con-firmed a massive jump inassets of 69 MLAs.

Individual candidate-wisedata analysis confirmed thatDilip Lahariya of Congressfrom Masturi seat, recorded2590 percent increase in assetsfrom Rs 5.23 lakh (2013) to Rs1.40,86,116 crore in 2018,thus recording a whoppingincrease of Rs 1.39 crore sum.

Amar Agrawal, MinisterCommercial Tax, UrbanDevelopment, Commerce andIndustries, who is seeking re-election from Bilaspur record-ed 840 percent hike in assets.His assets was Rs 2.53 crore inyear 2013 which rose to Rs23.85 crore in 2018 thusrecording increase of Rs 21.31crore.

Chintamani Maharaj ofCongress from Lundra seatrecorded increase in assets by427 percent from Rs 37.15lakh to Rs 1.95 crores, DeepakKumar Baij of Congress frominsurgency-riddled Chitrakotseat also rose by 384 percentfrom Rs 10.53 lakh to Rs51.00 lakh, the assets of ParasNath Rajwade of Congressfrom Bhatgaon seat, alsorecorded increase by 368 per-cent from Rs 9.46 lakh to Rs44.26 lakh, Bhaiyalal Rajwadeof BJP from Baikuntpur seat,income registered a rise of 254percent from Rs 62.98 lakhs toRs 2.22 crore and LakeshwarBaghel of Congress recordincrease by 243 percent fromRs 1.79 crore to Rs 6.15 crore.

Similarly, Congress can-didate Mohanlal Markamfrom Kondagaon seat, regis-tered increase in his income of

235 percent with assetsclimbed to 11.58 crore in2018 from Rs 3.46 crore in2013.

Minister for Agricultureand Water ResourcesBrijmohan Agrawal recordedincrease of assets by 232 per-cent (Rs 7.08 crore) from Rs3.05 crore while another min-ister in BJP government AjayChandrakar recorded hike inassets by 68 percent from Rs8.17 crores (2013) to Rs 13.74crores.

The report states that theaverage assets of re-contestingMLAs is Rs 12.29 crore amongthe 69 contesting inChhattisgarh assembly elec-tions 2018 while compared toyear 2013 which was Rs 10.92crore. The average growth inassets of re-contesting MLAsfrom 2013 to 2018, is Rs 1.37crore.

��(�� )�*)� +",-".% *"��+�*)��**�/�"+��0)�"� "�**�)* *� ��'�(��D��(��

�� %�& �!��+�,�!��&- +��#.�/%��012�3405

�� -6 '�-C"

The students of slum school,‘the Pen India’ located in

Sapera basti Bhaniyawala tookout a rally on Wednesday andappeal people to exercise theirfranchise in the upcomingurban local bodies elections .Holding placards like ‘ DearUncle and Aunty Please Vote’and ‘ Vote to eradicate illitera-cy’ the students impressed thepassersby’s. The students alsoorganised a programme onthe occasion of Children’s dayin their school. Offering floraltributes to first Prime MinisterJawahar Lal Nehru on his birthanniversary, the patron of theschool Prakash Keshaviah saidthat it is necessary that every-one should vote for develop-ment and strengtheningdemocracy. He said that theschool offers free education to

poor students. The programmewas also attended by Anup

Rawat, Santosh Budakoti andteachers of the slum school.

��:�6� ��

�� "�&"&��2

After initial hearing on theanticipatory bail applica-

tion of Pankaj Pandey, the sus-pended IAS officer accused inthe national highway 74 scam,the court of district and ses-sions judge and special judge(PCA) Narendra Datt set thenext date of hearing onNovember 28.

Till then, as per the state-ment submitted earlier by thestate government in the highcourt, the accused officer can-not be arrested. It will berecalled that as the arbitratorfor land compensation, Pandeyis accused of facilitating morethan the valid amount in com-pensation to farmers in the NH74 scam.

He has already been pro-vided with the chargesheet andis currently under suspension.Earlier, he had filed an appli-cation for anticipatory bail inthe high court of Uttarakhand.However, the high court haddirected him to file the appli-cation in the lower court.

+�� "�#��4:

�� "-&!�'

Punjab and Haryana togeth-er have so far procured

over 215.65 lakh tonne ofpaddy this kharif season, foodand supplies officials said onWednesday.

Punjab alone has procuredover 150.37 lakh tonne ofpaddy till Tuesday evening, aPunjab government spokesmansaid.

Out of this 149.44 lakhtonne has been procured bygovernment agencies while92,854 tonne has been pro-cured by private millers.

Payment of nearly �23,000crore has already been releasedby the Punjab government toarhtiyas (commission agents)and farmers.

In neighbouring Haryana,over 65.28 lakh tonne of paddyhas procured this Kharif sea-son. Out of this, governmentagencies have procured over57.31 lakh tonne, privatemillers have procured over7.97 lakh tonne. Haryana iswell known for Basmati riceproduction, especially inKarnal district.

'Green Revolution' statePunjab contributes nearly 50per cent of food grains (wheatand paddy) to the nationalkitty.

The Punjab governmenthas made arrangements for abumper procurement of 200lakh tonne of paddy this sea-son.

In 2017-18, a total of179.34 lakh tonne of paddy wasprocured. Paddy procurementstarted in the agrarian state onOctober 1, but the bulk of thestocks started coming afterOctober 10.

The Centre sanctioned aCash Credit Limit (CCL)amount of �29,695.40 crore forprocurement of paddy in thekharif marketing season 2018-19. The Punjab governmenthad demanded �40,300 crore.

�� "-&!�'

In an apparent attempt to woothe specialist doctors, Punjab

Health Department has decid-ed to give them posting at thehospital and dispensary near-by their home.

For the same purpose, thestate Health and FamilyWelfare Minister BrahmMohindra asked the DirectorHealth Services (DHS) to pre-pare the list of the newly-appointed doctors clearly indi-cating their home addresses.

“All the doctors will beposted at the hospital and dis-pensary nearby their home. I donot want that doctors have tomeet political bigwigs and putpressure on them for transfers.That’s why I have ordered theDHS to post doctors near theirhomes so as to ensure the effi-ciency and quality work,” saidMohindra on the sidelines of afunction to handover appoint-ment letters to MBBS doctors.

Appointment letters to asmany 306 newly-recruitedMBBS doctors were handedover by the Minister in a sim-ple but impressive functionorganised at the Auditorium ofPunjab Health SystemCorporation, SAS NagarMohali.

Visually ecstatic BrahmMohindra congratulated thenewly-appointed doctors andsaid that he was quite relievedtoday as this new batch of 306doctors has become the fami-ly of Punjab HealthDepartment.

“When I joined the

Ministry on March 16, 2017, Iwas shocked to see that HealthDepartment was totally inshambles. There was acuteshortage of specialist doctors,Medical officers, ANMs andparamedical staff,” he said.

He said that he set his pri-ority to fill the vacant posts ofdoctors and paramedical staff,and today, he was satisfied tosee that a large batch of med-ical officers was joining theHealth Department.

Mohindra exhorted thedoctors to be ready to serve thecommunity with missionaryzeal and to wipe off the tearsand agonies of the poor anddowntrodden by adoptingsympathetic approach.

The Health Minister saidthat the doctors were earlierreluctant to join the govern-ment service as they had to per-form the service at basic salaryduring the probation period.He said he himself was aghastat this decision of the previousgovernment as no doctor waswilling to join the governmentservice at this paltry basicsalary.

He said that he immedi-ately brought this issue to thenotice of Chief Minister andhad series of meetings with theFinance Minister and got theapproval to recruit doctors onfull salary.

He said that now in thenext phase specialist doctorswould be recruited, the processfor the selection is underwayand hopefully these specialistdoctors will soon join theHealth Department.

�� "-&!�'

Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal on

Wednesday directed the partyMLAs and other senior leadersto ensure presence of largenumber of people at the pro-posed rally of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on November19 in Haryana.

PM Modi would inaugu-rate Kundli-Manesar-PalwalExpressway and BallabhgarhMetro Link and lay foundationstone of Haryana VishwakarmaSkill University, Dudhola,Palwal on November 19. Onthis day, the Prime Ministerwill also address a public meet-ing near Farukhnagar crossingwhere he would dedicate var-ious projects to the state.

The 135 kilometer longKundli Manesar Palwalexpressway would cover fivedistricts of Haryana namelySonepat, Jhajjar, Gurugram,Mewat and Palwal.

Presiding over the partylegislative meeting, ChiefMinister Manohar Lal onWednesday directed the MLAsto invite general public for therally to witness the historicmoment.

He emphasized to ensurepresence of large number of peo-ple from the areas of Faridabad,Gurugram, Sonepat, RohtakLok Sabha constituencies tomake the rally successful.

Manohar Lal also said thatrecently Haryana CSR Summitwas held in Gurugram wherethe companies were urged toenhance their annual contri-bution under the CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR)) to�1000 crore.

An advisory committeewill be constituted for imple-mentation of developmentworks in cities and villagesunder CSR fund, he added.

�� "-&!�'

In a bid to provide the bene-fit of over 400 Government

to Citizen (G2C) schemes andservices of 35 departmentsonline to the citizens at district,sub division and tehsil level,Haryana Government hasdecided to launch 34 newAntyodaya Kendra, SARALKendra and Antyodaya SaralKendra on the occasion ofGood Governance Day onDecember 25.

A decision to this effectwas taken in the meeting ofAntyodaya SARAL platformheld under the chairmanship ofChief Minister Manohar Lalhere on Wednesday. TheCabinet Ministers, chairman ofBoards and Corporations andMLAs were present in themeeting.

With the launch of thesecentres, the total number ofAntyodaya Kendra, SARALKendra and Antyodaya SaralKendra would increase to 115.As many as 81 such centres arealready functional in the state.

The Antyodaya Kendra atthe district level provides all theschemes and Saral Kendrasprovides all the services. TheAntyodaya SAral kendra estab-lished at sub-division and tehsillevel provides for the deliveryof both schemes and services.

During the meeting,Manohar Lal said that to realisethe vision of minimum gov-ernment maximum gover-nance as envisaged by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,Haryana Government hadstarted e-registration in thestate on December 25, 2014.

He directed to make allnecessary arrangements ofinfrastructure and staff in the34 new centres well before

their launching.The Chief Minister said

that a state level function wouldbe organised for the launch ofthese Kendras whereas MLAs,chairman and members of zilaparishads and panchayat sami-tis would remain present at thekendras in their respectiveareas.

He asked the MLAs andMinisters to personally visitalready functional 81 centres intheir respective areas to reviewtheir functioning and apprisethe people about these centresso that people at the grass rootlevel could avail the benefit ofvarious government schemesand services online.

He said that besides thegovernment staff and promi-nent citizens of the area,Garvhit volunteers should alsobe roped in this work to reachmaximum beneficiaries.

The Chief Minister appre-ciated NIC Haryana and all the35 departments for creating theAntyodaya SARAL portal inrecord 15 months. He has also

appreciated the performance ofKurukshetra, Mahendergarh,Jhajjar and Charkhi Dadri dis-trict for a good service deliveryscore. He instructed districtadministration to improve theservice delivery in Faridabad.

During the meeting, it wasinformed that the ChiefMinister has inaugurated theAntyodaya Kendra for sevendistricts namely Kaithal,Kurukshetra, Faridabad,Yamunanagar, Gurugram, Jindand Karnal. Seven departmentsin these districts namely SocialJustice and Empowerment,Public Health and Engineering,Welfare of Scheduled Castesand Backward Classes, Sportsand Youth Affairs Department,Public Relations, Housing andSainik and Ardhasainik Welfarehave already stopped enter-taining hard copies of applica-tion for availing the benefit ofgovernment schemes and ser-vices.

It was also informed that atoll free Antyodaya SARALhelpline number (1800-2000-023) has been started to addressthe queries and complaints ofapplicants regarding theschemes and services. Morethan 40,000 calls have so beenanswered on this helplinenumber since July 2018.

Apart from this, help deskhave been set up at all 81 cen-tres to assist the citizens regard-ing the eligibility for schemesand services, documentationand processing. SMS alert arealso being sent to the applicantsregarding the status of theirapplications.

It was also highlighted thatHaryana is the first state tocarry out transformation in cit-izen service delivery at thisscale and the project has alsowon multiple awards till now.

�� "-&!�'

Outrightly rejecting theinquiry ordered by Punjab

Education Minister OP Soni tofix responsibility for the mis-takes in Punjab SchoolEducation Board’s Class XIIhistory books to be conductedby the education secretary, theShiormani Akali Dal (SAD) onWednesday dubbed it as “amajor cover-up” and “farce” asaccusing fingers are raised atthe Minister himself.

Former minister and SAD’ssenior vice-president DaljeetSingh Cheema questionedSoni’s rationale of ordering anenquiry while he himself isaccused by none other than thechairman of the OversightCommittee appointed by ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh.

“Instead of holding inquiryby a secretary at the orders ofthe concerned Minister, theChief Minister should haveordered inquiry which shouldhave been held by a retiredjudge of the Punjab andHaryana High Court with aclear frame of reference, therole of the concerned Ministerto be probed in the largerinterest of justice,” saidCheema.

Moreover, how could asubordinate officer, that isdepartment’s secretary underSoni, could be objective,impartial and fair in conduct-ing inquiry while his own bossis in the dock, he added.

Cheema pointed out thatchairman of the “OversightCommittee”, Dr. Kirpal Singh,has revealed that he had point-ed out the errors or distortionsin each chapter in detail inclearly typed pages but thesechapters were uploaded onPSEB website without carryingthe suggested correctionsunder pressure from theMinister.

��*��$��$��

��.��.2�� +..��

1�"2�/)")�"�3 ��"45 �0" )��"!� ��* ��-��(��

��<�� #��

��&��'��

+��(�� #��49E��

��()��!� �� !)**)��+!��,)�� )�-))��"� *

��. (.��/0�* #-� )0(1()#�� )

� �#-! �/� *� �)*��!�)#

� #��0� )#) ��)()!(.2�� )�3�)��!�)#!4� �#-� *�� #(!(�� #/ #�� !(��!�+)#)/#)!)�� )

-))��"

��&8,�9&%��FA5��#��4G5�� "-+�� #�� ,��$�)�� <�� F$EF4�� 9G$FA@�� 4:$@A;�� (��#��4449�� A$E��(��H�� +��-��$ �� -!+�)�� 0�� '�(��+��(��$ ��

;8<��!�2*<��0��)��4��

�(5�! #.�� --��))+�00�3)�� !��1�)(

* #��-/0)-)�� *()5)0 /-)��+ #,!

�897�� A tusker was reportedlyelectrocuted after coming incontact with an 11-KV liveelectric wire near Hemamiravillage under the HandapaForest Range in Angul districton Tuesday night.

The age of the dead ele-phant was stated to be 10 to 11years. The pachyderm report-edly strayed into the village insearch of food and came incontact with the live wireinstalled around a farmland forkeeping boars away from crops.

On being informed, ForestDepartment officials reachedthe spot and started investiga-tion. The elephant’s carcasswould undergo autopsy soon,sources said.

Notably, as many as sevenelephants were electrocutedafter coming in contact with alive wire at Kamalanga villageunder the Sadar Forest Rangein Dhenkanal district onOctober 26. PNS

�� ) C)�"6�/�'

Union Minister of Womenand Child Development

and animal rights activistManeka Gandhi has urgedChief Minister Naveen Patnaikto take urgent measures tocurb elephant deaths in Odisha.

“The recent electrocutionof seven tuskers in Dhenkanal,which is the highest such deathtoll in a single incident, hascaused furore throughout thenation about the reprehensiblestate of elephant protection inOdisha,” stated Gandhi.

“It comes at the back of dis-mal statistics wherein 124 or awhopping 28 per cent casual-ties have taken place due to

accidents and electrocution. Itis tragic to note that a dozenmagnificent pachyderms aredying every year due to mis-management and in-coordi-nation between Governmentagencies,” she added.

Citing reports, she allegedthat distribution companiesare being given a free hand inelephant corridors without nec-essary oversight.

In the letter, the UnionMinister also mentioned thatthe National Green Tribunal(NGT) has imposed a fine �1crore on Cesu while a probehas been launched into theDhenkanal incident.

Expressing her disap-pointment on the elephants’death, the Union Minister saidthat even after laying guidelinesunder the AK Biswal committee by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the alarming trend ofelephant deaths has continuedunabated.

“I also urge you to takenecessary action against theofficials who failed to put theAK Biswal Committee recom-mendations into practice in theState,” Gandhi wrote.

Terming the elephants ofOdisha as ‘the pride of India’,she wrote, “We owe a debt toour future generations for theirwelfare and safety.”

+��&��,�#��

��

�� )'� .�+C'

The two-day Ganjam DistrictYouth Festival, 2018 organ-

ised by the Sports and YouthServices Department and heldat the Brahmapur Stadium con-cluded recently.

On the first day, BrahmapurMP Siddhanta Mahapatra,Brahmapur MLA Dr RameshChandra Chayu Patnaik,Ganjam Athletic Associationworking president Dr NCPadhy, Ganjam Collector VijayAmruta Kulange, ZP ChairmanSubash Behera and BrahmapurDeveleopment Authority (BDA)Chairman Subash Moharanaattended as guests.

On the occasion, dancerRadhashyam Tarai, singerRamesh Patro and Odissi Sangeet Parishad memberNupur were felicitated for theircontributions by the guests. Onthe concluding day, formerUnion Minister Chandra SekharSahu, BJD leader Bikram Panda,senior lawyer Prafulla JagannathPadhy, former SBI officerPrafulla Patnaik, Kedar

Chaudhury, District SportsOfficer Prasant Kumar Sahu,DEO Sanatan Panda and DistrictCulture Officer Sukru Swain

attended as guests. The guests felicitated the

winners of 15 different compe-titions like folk music, folk dance,

flute playing, Hindustani Vocal,tabla, Karnataki Vocal, harmo-nium, guitar, Bharatanatyam,Mrudanga, solo play and others.

41��%��8�� , �,��

"��'��,�� ,��

�� "��'�� , �,�� !� ��

+ #0(��6�& �!��+�,�!��&- +��#.�/%��012�3405

Dhaka: Bangladesh onWednesday was preparing togo ahead with the plannedrepatriation of hundreds ofthousands of Rohingyarefugees who last year fled aviolent military crackdown inMyanmar, despite concernsover their safety.

The plans to send Rohingyarefugees back to Myanmargathered momentum, withreports of Bangladesh armedforces gathering in the Cox’sBazar camps and allegationsthat refugees were assaulted bythe authorities for refusing tocooperate, according to a reportin the Guardian.

The first phase of theRohingya’s return to Myanmarwill begin on Thursday, accord-ing to an agreement signedbetween the two countries onNovember 23, 2017.

“We have seen their con-cerns, but so far the decisionhas not been changed,” RefugeeRelief and RepatriationCommissioner Abul Kalamtold Efe news.

The two governmentsagreed to repatriate 2,251 ofsome 723,000 Rohingyarefugees living in camps inCox’s Bazaar of Bangladesh.

The Army, police and para-military troops moved into sev-eral of the camps in Bangladesh,where over 7,00,000 Rohingyahave been living after fleeing acampaign of violence, describedas genocide by a UN fact-find-ing mission.

According to the Guardian,there have been reports ofBangladesh camp officialsassaulting Rohingya refugeeswho refused to cooperate, in asign that the repatriations maynot be voluntary, despite mul-tiple assurances by Bangladeshthat it would not force anyRohingya to go back.

Meanwhile, UN HighCommissioner for Human Rights MichelleBachelet on Tuesday urgedBangladesh to halt the plan,warning that the repatriationwould violate international lawand put the lives of the refugeesat serious risk.

Rohingya leaders echoedthose concerns, saying it was too soon to start therepatriation.

“This repatriation is notgoing to be sustainable,” AbdurRahim, a leader of ArakanRohingya Society for Peace andHuman Rights, said. IANS

Peshawar/Islamabad: A toppolice officer of Pakistan’sPeshawar city has been founddead in Afghanistan, 18 daysafter he was abducted to thewar-torn country by unidenti-fied militants, authorities saidon Wednesday.

Superintendent of Police(Peshawar) Tahir Khan Dawarleft his residence in Islamabadfor an evening walk on October27 but did not return home.

His mobile phone’s last

location was traced somewherein Jhelum city of Punjabprovince.

After being contacted, hesaid that he was fine and therewas no threat to his life.

The Islamabad police hadconstituted various teams totrace him. Peshawar city policein a statement said that the offi-cer had been on a short leaveto Islamabad to meet his fam-ily. His abductors released apicture of him along with a let-

ter of the Tehrik-e-TalibanPakistan’s Khurasani groupclaiming responsibility for thekidnapping and the killing.Information Minister ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa ShaukatYusafzai said that Dawar wasruthlessly killed by the abduc-tors in Afghanistan. He was incaptivity for 18 days.

The Afghan ForeignMinistry has confirmed therecovery of a body with the ser-vice card of Dawar. PTI

London: The UK is “signifi-cantly closer” to delivering onthe result of the Brexit vote,Theresa May has told MPs.

The PM was speakingbefore a crunch cabinet meet-ing where she is seeking hersenior ministers’ backing forthe UK and EU’s draft agree-ment. She told the Commons itwould give the UK control ofborders, laws and money - andalso protect business and jobs.But Jeremy Corbyn said the UKwould be stuck in an “indefinitehalf-way house without anyreal say” over the rules.

Speaking at PM’sQuestions, the Labour leadersaid May was putting a “falsechoice” before Parliamentbetween her “botched deal andno deal”. Agencies

Singapore: Myanmar’s leaderAung San Suu Kyi has rebuffedcriticism over her government’streatment of its ethnicRohingya Muslims.

US Vice-President MikePence told Suu Kyi onWednesday that the violence,which led more than 7,00,000of the country’s Rohingyaminority to flee for Bangladeshsince August 2017, was “with-out excuse.”

Pence also said Myanmar’sarrests and convictions of two

Reuters journalists was “deeplytroubling” to millions ofAmericans.

Pence and Suu Kyi met onthe sidelines of the annualsummit of the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations inSingapore. Pence said the meet-ing was at Suu Kyi’s request.

Suu Kyi said only Myanmarwas in a position to explainwhat happened and how it sawthings, just as Americans couldbest understand what is hap-pening there. AP

��69��#��

��#��0��

��9�#��0��#��0��3%��#��=��9

��*�98�:�;&8)�<;�(*�%)(,��=�%�89�%�>�)1*&<*�&<

#��,,��!�� $�� 9��

��$��-��$��./��$��

Jerusalem: Israeli DefenceMinister Avigdor Liebermanresigned on Wednesday andcalled for early elections, accus-ing Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu of “capitulating toterror” and surrendering beforethe Islamist group Hamas overa Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Over 460 rockets and mor-tar shells were fired at southernIsrael in 25 hours on Mondayand Tuesday, according to theIsraeli army. The Iron Domemissile defence system inter-cepted over 100 of them. Mostof the rest landed in openfields, but dozens landed insideIsraeli cities and towns, killingone person, injuring dozensmore, and causing significantproperty damage.

In response, the Israeli mil-itary targeted approximately 160sites in the Gaza Strip connect-ed to Hamas and PalestinianIslamic Jihad terror groups,including four facilities that thearmy designated as “key strate-gic assets”. As news of a cease-fire between the Israeli govern-ment and Hamas — which con-trols the Gaza Strip —broke,Liberman’s office put out a state-ment saying any claim that hehad backed ending Israel’s offen-sive was “fake news”. PTI

�� (8,(8%�� &��0�� C8�� #�#�� $

� �� ?�89�)��(�� #��/�� #��H��#��$��'�� C��6��<��)��(�� +.4$E�� A@G�� D�H��#��D��#��$�

� �� ! �@-�� &8�%&8;�*;(�?��/�� #�� #��#��I9��$��#��4;��#��?��$

A�� (8,(8��#��,�� ,��#�� .��/�� 6�� !��$�-��H�� ,��#�� #�� ,��&�� 2��C8$

� � � �� (%'�� #�� $

Reinhold Niebuhr, a famousAmerican academician oncesaid, “Man’s capacity for justicemakes democracy possible, butman’s inclination to injustice

makes democracy necessary.” This is agreat quote for two reason: First, becauseit talks about our humanity and how itcraves for justice and equality, which arethe foundations of any democracy, and sec-ond, because it reminds us of our morebase tendencies that can only be kept incheck through a democratic system ofGovernment. For a democracy to thrive,there are a few pillars that are at play simul-taneously and constantly. These pillarsinclude the judiciary, the executive, the leg-islature and the Press. Contrary to whatthis Government would like to assume, amodern democratic society cannot bemerely whittled down to the legislature,which makes the laws of the country andare the elected to power. But it alsorequires the judiciary, the Press, and thebureaucracy to play their important roles.I think someone forgot to tell that to thecurrent Government in power.

While there has been an uneasy con-sistency with which the Government hastargeted these other pillars of democra-cy, the first real shot was fired by theFinance Minister, who while speakingabout the Supreme Court’s decision tostrike down the National JudicialAppointments Commission (NJAC) saidthat Indian democracy cannot be atyranny of the unelected and comment-ed how if the elected are undermined,democracy itself would be in danger. I amafraid that Arun Jaitley has missed thepoint here because a democracy is not theblind and blank mandate of only theelected but instead, in order to functionwell, it requires a fine balance betweenthe elected and the unelected.

In this week’s column, I will examinehow the current Government has tried tominimise the influence of these unelect-ed pillars like the judiciary, the bureaucra-cy and the Press and demonstrated a tyran-nical approach to governance.

For a democracy to prevent its descentto anarchy, it is imperative for citizens tohave respect for the rule of law. The pri-mary role of the judiciary is to interpretthe law of the land and to state the law asit is. The Supreme Court, as the final inter-preter of law in our country, recently ruledthat no woman can be restricted fromentering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.The Supreme Court came to its decisionbased on the principles of equality thathave been laid down in our Constitution.Since the judgement was borne out of areligiously charged issue, it is the respon-sibility of the party in power to ensure thatthe situation on the ground is not furtherinflamed resulting in greater violence.

Instead, the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP), in clear abdicationof its responsibilities stokedtensions further. Commentsfrom the BJP president reflecta clear disregard for the judi-ciary, which is an essential pil-lar of a successful democracyand only serves to underminean important part of the State.

The BJP has been brazenin its attempts to exercise con-trol over the bureaucracy aswell. The bizarre episode withthe CBI director beingreplaced in the wee hours ofthe morning and the CBI raid-ing its own officers, was justthe latest indicator of howthis Government has sought tomaintain a stranglehold oninstruments of the state andhas lost control of these insti-tutions. While the electeddrafts the laws of the country,this Government will do wellto recognise that the actualimplementation of the laws ofour country is through thebureaucracy.

The bureaucracy has aduty to implement the lawsdrafted by the legislature with-out any interference. However,there is clear disregard of thistenet by the Government andwas further evidenced by thechanges that were proposedwith respect to the appoint-ment of civil servants to theirrespective services.

The most recent exampleof an attack on the institutionsand how the Government actslike a spoilt child if things are

not going its way, is the currentstand-off between the ReserveBank of India and theGovernment. The widemingrift between the Reserve Bankof India (RBI) and theGovernment concerns ademand for funds from theRBI that have been collectedover decades. The Governmentwould set a dangerous prece-dence by invoking Section 7 ofthe RBI Act that would allowthe Government to dictatefinancial policy. This is becausethrough the past four and ahalf years, this Governmenthas shown how inept it is athanding the economy. Fromdemonetisation to the imple-mentation of Goods andServices Tax (GST), our coun-try has had to suffer a greatdeal because of Modinomics.Also, with fuel prices higherthan ever and the rupee lowerthan ever, questioning thefinancial prudence of the RBIby forcing the Central Bankinto submission, is anotherway to substitute the expertiseof the unelected with the arro-gance of the elected. Indiamust avoid such this scenario.

An independent Press isthe primary medium to speakthe truth to powers that maybebut this pillar has been bad-gered by this Government intosomething unrecognisable. Ihave written in this newspaperbefore, while discussing free-dom of Press, that there is anenvironment of fear and trep-idation in the entire country-

where we are unable to raisequestions about theGovernment without attackson our patriotism. Of theseattacks, perhaps the resigna-tion of Punya Prasun Bajpaifrom ABP News, a few monthsago under circumstances thatare frighteningly Orwellian,was perhaps the most discon-certing. These attacks cou-pled with the approach of thisGovernment to shroud itself insecrecy and a Prime Ministerwho refuses to take unscript-ed and uncomfortable ques-tions indicate that theGovernment does not believethat in order for a country tobe stronger going forward, itmust be able to question itsGovernment.

An examination of theexamples I have detailed aboveshows how this Government hastried to diminish checks on anyreckless exercise of its power bywhatever means necessary. It isobvious that the Governmentviews any such checks as tyran-nical while in reality, it is mere-ly democracy at work thatrequires the unelected, too, toplay an important role. Theelected, however, have chosen toadopt a hammer and tongsapproach to governance andignore this basic tenet. Theproblem, with such an approach,is that if you have a hammer inyour hand, everything lookslike a nail — even good sense.

(The writer is JharkhandPCC president, former MP andIPS officer. Views are personal)

)�� (

��(��(�� *��+��,��-��(��(��)�� &��#�� -��

��.��(��,��*�� )��/��*�� (��0�� )�� 1��$��.��(��*��+��/�� #2��3*#��*��1��.��.��,��-�� &��

,��1�� .��,��-��#��

/��(��(�� +��*$,��#��

�� 4�� &�� #��&�� 5�� $��*��6�� 78 �� /��&��$��*��9$��,��%��(�� &�� :;� ��(

�� &�� (��(��<8�� /��

,��&��"�� =)�� >�� +�� (��(�� (�� ?�� (��0��(��4��>��2�� *��(�� ,��$�� (��(��(��(��(��(��1�� (��/�� &�� (�� (�� :@771��+��(��(��?��)��A��+��$��*�� (��B��#��:@C<�� $*��(��+��+�� +�� /��

?�� )��(� ��/�� :@;D�� (�� 1�� (��(��/�� /��E��&��(�� .��/��(��)�� (�� #��F��&�GH��+��.��"��/��I��E��&� ��1�� (��/�� #��(��&��

)�#��9��0��+$��$��$��$��0�1��

1��4��0��2$��#��#��-��3��4�

��$��$�#��$��

��

Sir — The demise of T NSrinivasan, a distinguished Indianeconomist marks the end of ajourney. He was in some ways amulti-talented personality. Apartfrom Economics as his majorinterest, he was efficient inMathematics as well asHumanities. Srinivasan was astrong votary of free trade andmultilaterism.

He was a rather unassumingperson and spent his life teachingin the United States till the veryend. Srinivasan devoted his entirelife in pursuit of knowledge andteaching.

Devendra Khurana Bhopal

��

Sir— The Congress and theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) inthe Kerala State fighting againstallowing young women to enterSabarimala has become moreaggressive in the light of theSupreme Court agreeing to hearthe review pleas on January 22.

It seems that they have for-gotten all about gender discrim-

ination in the Sabarimala issueand they are still working handin glove with the traditionalistsof the temple though clear-cutSupreme Court verdict in favourof young women was pro-nounced.

What is their stand in termsof the verdict? Their stand is aflagrant violation of the verdictof the apex court. But whileexpressing their stand, they

make it as complicated and com-plex as ever leaving the peoplemuddle-headed.

They also make a mountainout of molehill on the issue to theadvantage of their respectivepolitical parties.

People cannot see the truthas long as they are not educatedby these parties.

TK NandananKochi

��

Sir — This refers to the report“Voters defy Naxals in theirbastion” (November 13). Over 70per cent voter turnout in the firstphase of Assembly polls inChhattisgarh is a befitting snubto the Maoists by the people ofNaxal heartland.

Maoists believe in violence

and claim to be fighting for therights of the people. However,they tried to deprive the peopleof exercising their primary rightof ballot for electing aGovernment.

They called for boycott ofpolls, reportedly threatened tochop off hands of those on whohad polling ink on their fingersand set off improvised explosivedevices.

Defying poll boycott call ofthe Maoists and ignoring thethreats, people came out on thestreet in record numbers andthronged the polling booths. In4,336 polling booths of 18 con-stituencies, across eight Naxal-hit districts, 31.80 lakh votersexercised their voting right toelect their representatives fromamongst 190 contestants.

Which political party winsthe election is immaterial.Democracy has already comeout a winner. The ElectionCommission, security forces andabove all, the voters, deserveaccolades for the success of thedemocratic process.

MC JoshiLucknow

� 4 � - � � + ( 1 � � � 4 � � ( ' )

�� $�,'�� :��))�%*)(B�(8��%C9D&��6;(D

000�� $��J��K L��-��+��K �� $��J��J

/�� & �!��+�,�!��&- �#.�/%��012�3405

�7

��$

6�7 '��

?��#�� #��H��#��,��

&��(�� &�#�� #��&��#��$�

�%�D��8�*)�%M"��.��

/�� #��&��$�)��#�� N

��%�*�,�8)M-��

/��#��#�� =�� $�

�;)(%M>��!��

��#��*��"�� $�

�(89%�**��&,�%M��!��

� � � � � � � � �

� � � � � � � � � � ��

��

��D��D��$�+�� <�� $

�� ,��#��#�� #��$��C"6��1��#�� /��+��-��#��"�#��4;;4$�&��#�� $�&�� 0�� <�� $�+��#��$��

&�� =�� &��#��&�� &�� $�

��(�� 0�� $�� #�� #��$�� 0�� $

�&8&B&)��&)��

�1"�'�'>��1/ �� &�

!136'".6"�/1C2-�2&86��1

��C.6��.1-6'"

-6.1�'��&��1�&6�>��""1��)6.6'62>�/ &��26-

-1/"��1�� 626!&�2��C'6�

/ &� �.�86�� 62�/��1?�� 6

�1C"�'>$�&��2�1'6OC&'6�� 6*C-&�&�'>�� 6+'6��"-�� 6

)C'6�C�'��>��1+2�>�� 6&'

&.+1'��"��'126�

There is certainly something seri-ously going wrong with our freshwater bodies, not only in India

but also across the world. Is it globalwarming, or climate change, or failingrains? Or a combination of all these?The scientific and the environmentalexperts are getting hard pressed to findthe exact reason and hopefully thesolution for the same. In the mean-while, the once flourishing rivers inparts of the world are rapidly turninginto dry river beds comprising of noth-ing but sand and quickly falling preyto land sharks and real estate mafia.

In India, the 1990s saw a flurryof hydel projects being approved andbuilt of various capacities; these pro-jects successfully dammed the riversemanating from the Himalayas at var-

ious points, leading to electricitygeneration no doubt, but eventuallycausing the rivers downstream toquickly dry up and adversely affect-ed millions of people and agriculture,which was dependent on the natur-al flow of the river.

Is this a India-specific phenome-na? Apparently not. It would be of inter-est to note that of all places, Europe is,as we speak, flummoxed by drying upof their rivers. Water levels in WesternEurope and Germany’s most importantriver, the Rhine, is at record low levelscurrently. More shockingly the waterlevels in this river is fast approachingzero at several spots. This occurrenceis due to a recent drought, which isbeing blamed on climate change.Needless to say that the developmenthas affected freight supplies, as the riveris one of the most important transportroutes in the region.

German media reports quotedGermany’s Federal Waterways andShipping Administration as saying thatabout half of Germany’s river ferrieshad stopped running, and river cruiseships were having to transport their

passengers by bus for parts of theirjourney. The reports also noted thatthousands of fish in the Swiss sectionof the river had died because of the heatand low oxygen levels. The mostimportant effect of this has been onsupplies of freight. Roughly 80 per centof the 223 million tonnes of cargo istransported by ship in Germany eachyear travels the Rhine, which links thecountry’s industrial heartland toBelgium, the Netherlands and theNorth Sea.

As a consequence of the river dry-ing up, petrol stations in the region thatrely on tankers to deliver fuel fromrefineries in the Netherlands have runout of supplies. A number of inlandports are now idle, and millions oftonnes of goods are being transport-ed by rail or road. Media reports havespeculated that drying of the Rhinecould may be due to climate change.The river’s flow relies not just on annu-al rainfall, but also on long-termwater reserves in the Alps. Meltingsnow and glaciers, as well as LakeConstance, the source of the Rhine,feed the upper parts of the river. These

reserves are substantially lower todaydue to climate change. And in morebad news, other major rivers on thecontinent, such as the Danube and theElbe are also drying up in parts.

Similar to the Rhine, the Gangesis an important river of India and isexceedingly suffering the same fate.The Ganges serves as the source ofdrinking water for almost 500 millionpeople. It flows all the way from3,000m above sea level in theHimalayan Mountains to the Bay ofBengal, and is one of the most reveredand sacred water bodies. Despite this,it is also under increasing threat fromclimate change, industrial pollutionand unhygienic rituals and waste dis-posal engendered by its legend. In fact,it was ranked as the fifth most pollut-ed river worldwide.

The Ganges already sustains near-ly half a billion people and accordingto the International Water ResourceManagement Institute (IWRMI), thedemand for fresh drinking water willonly increase. It projects the demandwill rise roughly by one-third in thecoming 15 years, meaning that the

Indians will rely on the river more thanever. However, a recent study survey-ing 925 rivers worldwide found that cli-mate change posed a serious threat tomany of the world’s running watersources. Due to its geographical loca-tion, the Ganges was found to be par-ticularly at risk, along with Africa’sNiger River and the Chinese YellowRiver.

Climate change is poised to affectthe Ganges in another, more direct way.Water pollution in Asia has long beena subject of concern, and the Gangesis one of the harder hit bodies of waterfrom the effects of the industrialboom in the continent. A report fromthe World Bank estimates that around20 per cent of the contaminants in theriver come from industrial emissions,and roughly one billion gallons ofuntreated sewage enters its waterwayson a daily basis. Clearly, the situationis a concerning one. Add to this, thedeeply religious significance of the riverdoes little to help cleanup efforts. TheObserver Research Foundation (ORF),a non-profit NGO from New Delhi,conducted a survey of 500 people and

interviewed 150 more to find out howattitudes to the river affected its clean-liness.

A large number of respondents tothe survey felt that the religious valueof the Ganga was non-negotiable.The respondents to the survey evensuggested that the scale of traditionalrituals such as corpse immersions inthe Ganga were so low that they didnot really upset the ecological balanceor biodiversity of the river and thatimmersion of dead bodies in the riverhad in no way been found to hinderwater management initiatives in theGanga. The mythological idea of theGanga is sadly more valued than theriver itself.

If this trajectory of destructioncontinues, our pious and sacred riverswill be staring at becoming dryriverbeds of tomorrow. Only zero tol-erance policies pertaining to pollutionand climate change can retrieve ourrivers from doom. But do the author-ities have the will to see this through?Only time will tell.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

��$��

�& �!��+�,�!��&- +��#.�/%��012�3405

�� !��1��

��531333�� E�� 6F��

��

� �� ! �� 1�� "��6F��

��$��$��"

On November 3, Army Chief,General Bipin Rawat, while delivering a lecture at a seminarorganised by the Centre for Landand Warfare Studies (CLAWS),

emphatically mentioned that although at pre-sent Punjab is peaceful, but because of foreign linkages, attempts are being made “to revive insurgency in the state.” He also stated that “wehave to be very careful” and we hould take earlyaction, before it is too late. He emphasised thatinternal security is India’s leading problem butit cannot be resolved easily because of foreignassistance to insurgent groups. He also mentioned that foreign powers are trying to revi-talise insurgency in Assam. He rightly asserted that only military cannot curb insur-gency and all Government agencies, civiladministration and police should work incohesion to restore peace.

The Union Government has also informedPunjab Government that the Inter ServicesIntelligence (ISI) is trying hard to reanimateinsurgency in Punjab through Sikhs settledabroad, especially in Canada, Europe, theUnited States, and Australia. On August 12,2018, Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a pro-Khalistanorganisation, promoted the ‘London Declarationon Referendum 2020 for Sikhs’. The so-calledreferendum, which was organised with thefinancial and logistical support of the ISI,demanded an independent Khalistan.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a resident of theUnited States is an important functionary of theSFJ. The organisers collected details, includingpassport copies, college documents, pho-tographs, mobile numbers, email and WhatsAppaddresses of Sikhs from Punjab in the name ofsponsoring them, to attend the referendum. Inthis way they have collected details of large num-ber of young Sikhs who were interested inattending the pro-Khalistan referendum. Thesedetails can be misused by the ISI as well as bypro-Khalistan elements in future. As the ISI isready to finance the referendums, the SFJdeclared that it will organise referendums inother countries as well.

The SFJ is planning to finance the visit of10,000 Sikh pilgrims to Pakistan to celebrate550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. The ISIwould utilise the visit to distribute anti-India andpro- Khalistan literature and might try toinstigate Khalistan sentiments to a large num-ber of Sikhs visiting Pakistan. The Gurdwarascontrolled by pro-Khalistan elements in Canada,the US and the UK have prohibited the entryof Indian diplomats, Indian Members ofParliament, et al. The Indian Governmenturged the Governments of these countries to liftthe ban but they refused to help.

Security forces also unearthed a depravedplan of the ISI under which young persons ofPakistani origin and citizens of Western coun-tries were cultivated and trained in Punjabi andSikh traditions. Later on, they were sent toPunjab and marry Sikh girls and convert theminto pro-Khalistan entities. Hence, the ISI isusing not only young women to honey-trap butalso using young men to allure Sikh women.However, the ulterior motive lies the revival of

insurgency in Punjab. The interrogation reports of Sikh

terrorists, including Jagtar Singh Chiefof Khalistan Tiger Force, clearly indicate that the ISI is fomenting trouble in Punjab and spread concoct-ed reports in Pakistani media. Thesereports are picked up by international media, which are sym-pathetic to the intelligence agency.

As the ISI was funding lavishly,pro- Khalistan elements have createdseveral terrorist outfits namelyKhalistan Commando Force (KCF),Bhindranwala Tigers Force ofKhalistan (BTFK), KhalistanLiberation Force (KLF), BabbarKhalsa International (BKI),International Sikh Youth Federation(ISYF), Khalistan Zindabad Force(KZF), Khalistan Liberation Army, AllIndia Sikh Students Federation(AISSF), Khalistan Armed Force akaDashmesh Regiment, Shaheed KhalsaForce, Khalistan Guerilla Force,Khalistan Security Force, et al.

However, these forces lack masssupport and, hence, sometimes theyput few pro-Khalistan posters orcarry out terrorist activities. In 2015,three Sikh terrorists killed a superin-tendent of police, three home guardsand three civilians in Dina Nagarpolice station (Gurdaspur), and ShivSena and Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS) leaders were also assas-sinated. Analysts claim that theseincidents happen when the ISI refus-es to release funds unless their agentscarry out some terrorist activities.

The ISI has given shelter to a fewSikh leaders, including KCF chiefParamjit Singh Panjwar, BKI chief

Wadhawa Singh Babbar, ISYF chiefLakhbir Singh Rode and KZF chiefRanjit Singh Neeta in Pakistan. Theseleaders propagate Khalistani ideolo-gies to the Sikhs residing abroad. TheISI also uses them to spread anti-Indiaand pro-Khalistan views to IndianSikh jathas (group of pilgrims) when-ever they visit Pakistan.

At present due to close family rela-tionship between Sikhs and Hindus,Sikhs understand that Khalistan is notpracticable. However, the ISI persis-tently sends its agents to Punjab inorder to instigate Sikhs.

The ISI has also smuggled drugsin Punjab and at present youth havebecome drug-addicts. The ISI usesthem as support agents to spreadhatred towards Hindus. As there is noideological basis for Khalistan, the ISIcirculates news about perceived atroc-ities and statements of anti-establish-ment political leaders who denounceIndian system with ulterior motives.

Analysts also claim that the econ-omy of Pakistan is ruined and it is inon verge of loan default. PrimeMinister Imran Khan returned emptyhanded from China. The InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) has put strin-gent conditions to grant loan and,hence, the Pakistan Government israising the Khalistan issue to sidetrackthe attention of poor and illiteratemasses.

India must safeguard its interests.The analysts claim that not only ISIbut several intelligence agencies sup-port various terrorist outfits. Hence,Indian security forces must analyse thereason why European countries,Canada and the US never help Indian

security agencies against Khalistanielements.

Pro-Khalistan Sikhs should beblacklisted and they should not beallowed to enter India. At present, theKhalistan movement is dormant inIndia but it is not dead and it canrevive with foreign assistance. A vastmajority of Sikhs are aware of the futil-ity of the movement but a few disen-chanted members of the communitymay be tempted to play with fire fortheir selfish interests.

Sikhs settled abroad may alsorender ideological and financial assis-tance to the perceived discriminationand atrocities. Hence, Central as wellas State Government should try to sortout simmering issues, including pun-ishment to the executioners of 1984anti-Sikh riots, Sutlej-Yamuna LinkCanal issue, among others. The sep-aratists’ allegation that Hindus wantto submerge Sikh religion must becountered.

In view of the above, Indian pol-icy planners must be careful andchalk out a comprehensive plan underwhich the genuine problems of Punjabwill be redressed. On the other hand,anti-national elements must be dealtwith stringently and those who raisepro-Khalistan slogans should be putbehind bars. The Government and thenationalist elements should also for-mulate a plan to counter the misinfor-mation campaign launched byKhalistan supporters in India as wellas abroad.

(The writer is a member of UnitedServices Institute of India and Institutefor Defence Studies and Analysis.Views expressed are personal)

!��#��

"�#��5-54��#�#��*��%��$��$��$��%6$��$��$��

��

��+'6�6"�� 6�8 �2&��".136.6"��&�-1'.�"��&"

&"-&��)C��&��&�"1��-6�-��"-�&�

��"�'63&36/&� �?1'6&!"��&��"�6$��3��.�*1'&�>1?��&8 ��'6�/�'6��)1C�

� 6�?C�&2&�>�1?� 6�8 �2&��"

.136.6"��)C��?6/

-&�6"� �"�6-.6.)6'��1?

� 6��1..C"&�>.�>�)6��6.+�6-

�1�+2�>�/&� ?&'6�?1'�� 6&'

�62?&� &"�6'6��

.��.��/��5��6�� ::�:@:J�#��(��1��K��!��F��

��:@:DH�/�� F��:@:7H��9��,��F��:@:DH��%�� ()�� #�� /��

�� (��;8��<8��F��H��@�D�� (��#��(�� (�� 9��,��#�"��=.��(��G.��/��&��G

/��5��6#�-�� :@:@��$��$��+��#�� 2�� (�� 9�� "��/�� 9��,��&�� (��.��.�� $��$��I��#�-�� &��(��(��#��"��(�� (��"�� :7�1��(�� (�� /��A��:@LC��4��+��:@LD�.��(��>��+��:@L8��,��+��.��:@LC��:@L@�

#�-��&�� .��.��//��77��<:��<7��M��(��M�� .��.��//��)�� 4��#��,��9��"��/��(�� 9,��,��9�� +��.��(��.��.�� (��(��$��.��(.��//��>��2��/��$��/��+��/��(��"��/��1��!��.��.��/��/��1��#�� (��:;��:L��*��A��A��?��>�� I��/�� 1��(�� *��

/�� D;�:JD��D8�888��#��/��2��+�� 1�� 5�� 6��5�� 6#��*��K�I��>��>��,��>��-��,��%��,�� >��!��1��,��+��,��%��,��>��#��/��K��!� ��K� ��+��!� ��K��-�� /��-��!� �)��,��*��,�+�.��A,+,��!� ��.��%��!� �� :@ ��4�� <<�:@:@��(��:8%��:;�� )�� K� ��+�� 5�� 61��"�� /��&�� 1��/��.��*��%�� 1��

��

0.!�! �8� � � � � � � � � � �

��+�)� +"3 �� "*��*

1$� �. 7 '��'��

!��

��&��/��/��&��

6! ��

��&�

��2�� ,��#��#��#�� #�� #�� $��

��

000��

�& �!��+�,�!��&- +��#.�/%��012�3405 �� 9

�� *�..C

Security was beefed up allalong Jammu-Pathankot

National Highway, dotted withvital Army installations, afterfour suspected 'miscreants'hijacked a passenger taxi, hiredfrom Jammu railway station,near Madhopur in Punjab, lateTuesday night.

The incident came to lightin the wee hours ofWednesday after driver of thepassenger Taxi, Raj Kumar,raised an alarm soon after hemanaged to escape after abrief scuff le with the miscreants.

The miscreants hadthreatened to kill him anddump his dead body in thenearby canal.

After the a larm wasraised, Punjab and J&Kpolice, alerted security checkpoints on possible escaperoutes to track down the hijackers and prevent possible terror strike in theclose vicinity of Pathankot

air base.Jammu Railway Station

Taxi Operator's Union, Vice-President, Rajvender Singhtold reporters in Jammu, "a

group of four people hadbooked a Taxi from Jammurailway station for dropping atPathankot late Tuesdayevening".

��

T h i r u v a n a n t h a p u r a m :Woman activist Trupti Desaion Wednesday waded intothe Sabarimala issue whenshe asked for complete policeprotection during her visit tothe temple starting Friday.But temple activist RahulEashwar promised to fighther tooth-and-nail to preventher entry.

Desai wrote to KeralaChief Minister PinarayiVijayan to order police pro-tection for her group whenthey visit Sabarimala onNovember 17 when the templewill open for the two-monthlong pilgrimage.

The temple town has wit-nessed protests by Hindugroups and temple tantri andoff icials ever since theSupreme Court verdict onSeptember 28, allowed womenof all ages to pray at LordAyyappa temple that hithertobanned girls and women agedbetween 10 and 50.

Desai wrote to Vijayan onWednesday that she alongwith six other women wouldbe arriving in Kerala onFriday for a visit at the tem-ple on Saturday. She soughtpolice protection right fromthe time she lands in Keralatill they leave the State, saying"we will visit the temple what-ever be the resistance".

While Eashwar said heand his officials along withLord Ayyappa's true devoteeswould ensure that none wereable to break the tradition ofthe temple.

"We will lie down beforethe women who come tobreak the temple's tradition."

The temple will open onFriday evening for theMandala Mahotsavam andshe has asked to be escortedright from the airport to theirrooms in Kottayam, wherethey would rest for the day.

The police must then pro-vide protection when theyhead for the hilltop temple onSaturday.

Speaking to a MalayalamTV channel, Desai said shehas written to the ChiefMinister, Kerala Police chiefLoknath Behra and also PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

"I have written but have notdone any online booking forthe darshan. The SupremeCourt order is now very clearand hence we will be there andwe will visit the temple what-ever be the resistance," said Desai.

The temple will be openfor 66 days till January 20,with a small break in between.Promising an even biggerresistance, Sabarimala Tantrifamily's Rahul Eashwar alongwith activists and devoteestold the media here, that Desai would know thepower of the faith of Ayyappadevotees when she and hergroup reaches the temple town.

Eashwar was put in jail inOctober during the firstmonth's protest after the topcourt's ruling came into existence. "Come, what may,we will ensure that our protestwill be in the true Gandhianway and none will be able tobreak the tradit ion of the temple.

"We will lie down beforethe women who come tobreak the temple traditionand if they have to move for-ward, they will have to walkon our bodies and once thathappens, the police will haveto arrest such people," said Eashwar. IANS

1�� $��%��#��=�%��

+'1.&�&"!��"�636"�)&!!6''6�&��"�6��)�'&.�2��"�'&�?�.&2>=��'� C26�� /�'��21"!�/&� ��&3&��"-�-631�66��12-�� 6�.6-&�� 6'6�� -6��&�/1C2-�8"1/�� 6+1/6'�1?�� 6�?�&� �1?�>>�++��-631�66��/ 6"� 6��"-� 6'�!'1C+

'6�� 6�� 6��6.+26��1/"

�� "6/�-62 &�

Union Culture MinisterMahesh Sharma called for

a "holistic approach" to beadopted on the Sabarimalatemple issue on Wednesday sothat the sentiments of the peo-ple were not hurt, observingthat the Centre would inter-vene in the matter at the "righttime" if required.

The Supreme Court onTuesday agreed to review its ver-dict allowing the entry of womenof all ages into the hilltop shrinein Kerala, which had sparkedviolent protests in the southernState, but refused to grant a stay.

Asked if an ordinance wasrequired to deal with the situ-ation, Sharma said the KeralaGovernment had to decide onthe matter, adding that theCentre would intervene at theright time if required.

"The State Governmenthas to take a call on that (ordi-nance) and the CentralGovernment, if required, willdefinitely intervene at the right

time," he told reporters here.Asked if the contention

that the entry of menstruatingwomen would make the tem-ple impure, Sharma said, "Well,I am a doctor, I will not makeany comment because the mat-ter is sub-judice, but we have totake a holistic call on it."

The two-month-longMandala Makaravillakku pil-grimage season that commenceson November 17 attracts mil-lions of devotees from all overthe country to Sabarimala.

On September 28, a five-judge constitution bench of theapex court, headed by thenChief Justice Dipak Misra, in a4:1 verdict, had lifted the cen-turies-old ban on girls andwomen in the 10-50 age groupfrom entering the shrine, sayingit amounted to gender discrim-ination. The review petitionsagainst the verdict were takenup "in-chamber" by a bench ofChief Justice Ranjan Gogoiand justices RF Nariman, AMKhanwilkar, DY Chandrachudand Indu Malhotra.

9 ��,�� ,��'��2��

�!,)(��*�� #(��)+!�#):1�#)(�� ()0�+�� )�!��1�� 4�� #-

!�(�� )�')#0� 5)#-)�� (�� ()��()� �� )�-��)#4((�"�� )��)�#)+ 10(��)#5))�� )#�" ��-)��*�#):1�#)(

��,��,��8�,'��;��+��

�& �!��+�,�!��&- +��#.�/%��012�3405 �� ;

�� !C/� ��&�

Assam’s Leader of theOpposition, Debabrata

Saikia, slammed Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal-ledGovernment in the State forfailing to protect the State’sinterest and address the grow-ing insecurity in the State.

Saikia’s statement came daysafter a top brass of the Assampolice admitted that the resent-ment against the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill, 2016 has ledyoung people in some districtsto join the anti-talk faction ofUnited Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).

“This is nothing short ofa conf irmation of theSarbananda Sonowal-ledGovernment’s failure to pro-tect Assam’s interests and itstendency to betray people,”Saikia said in a statementissued on Wednesday.

Director General (SpecialBranch) of Assam Police and theSuperintendent of Police,Tinsukia and other senior offi-cials of the police administrationhave recently stated that theresentment against the Bill

across the State has been fuellinga fresh spurt in young people ofthe Brahmaputra Valley joiningthe ULFA faction led by its com-mander in chief Paresh Baruah.

“The ULFA’s popularityhad gradually waned duringthe decade-and-a-half whenthe Congress was in power inthe State. But the NarendraModi-led CentralGovernment’s decision totable the controversial Billand the Sarbananda Sonowal-led State Government’s failureto mount a strong oppositionto the proposed legislation areinducing a section of youngboys and girls to take uparms against the State,” Saikia said.

He said that dwindlingemployment opportunitiesand stagnation of develop-ment activit ies l ike theMGNREGA are also creatingfrustration and resentmentamong many youth, who aregravitat ing towards the ULFA faction.

�� 8128��

Afurious Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee

on Wednesday came down heav-ily on the Central Governmentfor “intentionally delaying” theprocess of renaming West Bengalto “Bangla” as proposed andpassed by the State Assembly inSeptember last year.

“I had personally requestedthe Union Government andHome Minister Rajnath Singh tohasten up the matter of renam-ing Bengal into Bangla after theresolution was passed in theState Assembly. But nothinghas been done in this regard.The Centre is ignoring the opin-ion of the majority populationbecause some people who are ina microscopic minority (StateBJP leader) want them to do so.This is amounts to defying thefederal nature of theConstitution,” she said.

“They (the BJPGovernment) are changingthe names of other places butthey are delaying the renam-ing of Bengal when the peopleof the State want it to be doneas was proved by the unani-mous support this cause

received in the StateAssembly,” the Chief Ministersaid wondering “if the name ofBombay, Bangalore, Orissaand Pondicherry changed intoMumbai, Bengaluru, Odishaand Puducherry, then whyWest Bengal cannot bechanged into Bangla.”

The proposal of renamingthe State had been in the airsince the nineties but it wasfinally passed in August 2016when West Bengal wasrenamed into Bengal, Bangal,Bangla in English, Hindi andBengali. The proposal wasturned down by the Centrewhich then asked the State toconsider a new name.

It was then that theAssembly voted in favour ofsingle name Bangla inSeptember . last year.

“They (BJP) are of theopinion that Bangladesh isalso called Bangla so it is notthe proper alternative for WestBengal, but these people fail torealize that there is one Punjabeach in Pakistan and Indiawithout doing any harm toany sentiments,” Mamata said.

Warning the presentGovernment which was “cross-

ing its limits in many ways,”Banerjee reminded “theConstitution has divided thepowers of the State and theCentre and so no one shouldthink itself superior to the other.

“Even the State ChiefMinisters were called PrimeMinister in the British periodbut after the Independencethe States got Chief Ministersand the Centre got a PrimeMinister considering the dif-ferent roles they played,” shesaid adding there was no rea-son to think that the State orthe Centre were superior toeach other.

Instead of upholding thevalues enshrined in theConstitution the Centre wasdisregarding India’s federalstructure she alleged. “It is nota few leaders in Delhi whorun this country. In fact Indiais run by the federal States.”

Reacting to Banerjee’scharges Bengal BJP presidentDilip Ghosh however said that“instead of renaming the Statethe Government should con-centrate on development andrestoring democracy in the State.”

��0�6��0��&��

( !��'�� ,��*��

N a g a p a t t i n a m ( T N ) :Puducherry Chief Minister VNarayanasamy on Wednesdayheld a review meeting with offi-cials of various departments atThirunallar in Karaikal districtand took stock of the prepared-ness as cyclone Gaja is likely tohit the coastal district on Thursday.

Agriculture Minister RKamalakannan, KaraikalDistrict Collector R Kesavan,Senior SP Rahul Alwal andheads of PWD, Health,Electricity, Fisheries, Fire andRescue Services departmentsattended the meeting.

The Chief Minister direct-ed the district authorities tokeep stock of relief materials.Urging officials to ensure sup-ply of protected drinking waterto all areas, Narayanasamy saidif needed he would camp inKaraikal to coordinate theactivities. Three teams of theNational Disaster ResponseForce (NDRF) have arrivedhere to provide emergencyassistance. Meanwhile,Nagapattinam district collectorC Sureshkumar told reportersthat the district administrationhas made all necessary arrange-ments to meet any eventuality.

Twenty two cyclone shel-ters have been kept in readiness

to accommodate people, hesaid adding that a 24 hour-

control room was functioningat the Collectorate. PTI

! �� %�8�

- ).�<��& �!��+�,�!��&- +��#.�/%��012�3405

�� &"!�+1'6

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesday called

for an early conclusion of themulti-nation RegionalComprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) agree-ment that should be modern,comprehensive, balanced andmutually beneficial to the peo-ple of all countries.

He also called on fellowRCEP leaders to give mandateto trade ministers and nego-tiators to take the economicgrouping forward, saidSudhanshu Pandey, addition-al secretary, the commerceministry, during a media brief-ing here.

The RCEP, involving 10ASEAN members (Brunei,Cambodia, Indonesia,Malaysia, Myanmar,Singapore, Thailand, thePhilippines, Laos and

Vietnam) as well as China,Japan, Australia, India, NewZealand and South Korea,would cover about half theworld’s population and a thirdof its GDP.

The RCEP has concludedseven chapters of the total 16.

Prime Minister Modinoted that significant progresshas been made in marketaccess of negotiation for goodsand called on similar efforts onservices sectors.

“We need to make similarefforts to make progress in ser-vices negotiations as they con-stitute more than 50 per centof the GDP of most of theRCEP countries. In future,services are going to be play-ing a very important role,” hesaid at the RCEP meeting.

He also stressed that anysuch multi-lateral agreementwhich has diverse circum-stances and developmentalrequirements should be mod-ern, comprehensive, balanced

and mutually beneficial onlythen people of all countrieswill be benefited by such anagreement.

Responding to questions,Pandey said the PrimeMinister has very clearlyexhibited his support to theRCEP agreement and urgedall leaders to give requiredmandate for “early conclu-sion” which means India isstrongly committed to theRCEP.

Since the developmentalcircumstances of each countryis different, therefore he urgedthat any multilateral agree-ment finalised should be mod-ern, comprehensive, balancedand mutually beneficial.

At the summit, the leadersof the 16 negotiating countriesreviewed the progress that hasbeen made in the negotiationsof the RCEP.

The negotiations amongthe countries in the bloc havebeen ongoing since 2012.

��-��)�))(�� -,)�!�-�0#)** #�!�� -,)/# "#)!!��!)#5��)!)" �� !4!.!��

�� "6/�-62 &

The Government andReserve Bank seem to be

veering around to reach anagreeable solution particu-lary with respect of relax-at ion of the PromptCorrective Action (PCA)framework and easing oflending norms for the MSMEsector ahead of the RBI boardmeeting on November 19,sources said.

If not in this board meet-ing, sources said, the issue ofrelaxation of PCA frameworkwhich the finance ministryhas been pitching for would bereached in the next few weeks.

As a result of relaxation,some banks may come out ofthe PCA framework by the endof the current fiscal.

Of the 21 State-ownedbanks, 11 are under the PCAframework. These areAllahabad Bank, United Bankof India, Corporation Bank,IDBI Bank, UCO Bank, Bankof India, Central Bank of India,Indian Overseas Bank, OrientalBank of Commerce, DenaBank and Bank ofMaharashtra.

The PCA framework kicksin when banks breach any ofthe three key regulatory triggerpoints namely capital to riskweighted assets ratio, Net non-performing assets (NPA) andreturn on assets (RoA).

The RBI is also likely toagree to easing of lendingnorms for the MSME sectorincluding strict rating criteriato improve credit flow to thissector, sources said.

Besides, the central bank isexpected to consider specialdispensation for micro, smalland medium enterprises(MSME) sector and non-bank-

ing financial companies(NBFCs) which have been fac-ing liquidity issues.

The Government feels thatthe MSME sector whichemploys about 12 crore peopleplays a critical role in the econ-omy, and the sector hit bydemonetisation and imple-mentation of Goods andServices Tax (GST) needs sup-port.

However, the central bankhas been averse to Governmentdemand for special dispensa-tions for MSME and NBFCsectors as it consider themvulnerable.

Last week, FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley said thereis a need to minimise NPAs inorder to maintain the strengthof the banking system andenable it to help the economygrow.

It is only a strong bankingsystem that will be able toimprove credit in those sectorswhich really need credit, theFinance Minister had said,adding, “The MSME sectorneeds credit, several other play-ers in the market need credit.NBFCs today need creditbecause a large part of lendingis done by them.”

There are reports of grow-ing tensions between the RBIand the government, with theFinance Ministry initiating dis-cussion under the never-used-before Section 7 of the RBI Actwhich empowers the govern-ment to issue directions to theRBI Governor.

RBI Deputy GovernorViral Acharya had in a speechlast month talked about theindependence of the centralbank, arguing that any com-promise could be “potential-ly catastrophic” for the econ-omy.

')&��!�#��

�� "6/�-62 &

Indian Hotels CompanyLimited (IHCL) announced

its Quarter 2, FY 18-19 resultsrecording a PAT growth of�53 crore with 82% operatingEBITDA growth and 14% salesgrowth for the Quarter.

The company has wit-nessed a good growth momen-tum. The company has alsoadded an addition of 15 newhotels, an inventory of 1825rooms and a 90 percent growthin pipeline over the last oneyear.

$18%"��*� �"+��0)�"��94"��"� :;"��"�7'- �� "6/�-62 &

Low-cost carrier SpiecejetLtd on Wednesday report-

ed a standalone net loss of�389.37 crore in the secondquarter ended September 30,impacted by high fuel costs andrupee depreciation.

The company posted a netprofit of �105.27 crore in thesame quarter last fiscal, Spicejetsaid in a regulatory filing. Netincome from operations duringthe quarter under review stoodat �1,848.28 crore. It was at�1,794.57 crore in thecorre-sponding period of the previousfiscal.

��(��O4��A:5$A@�� '��

�� "-&!�'

With farmers “stopping”repayment of crop loans

because of debt waiver of up to�2 lakh, non-performing assetsunder agriculture loans haverisen to nearly �9,000 crore inPunjab, bankers said.

“Due to debt waiver forsmall and marginal farmers upto �2 lakh, farmers in the stateof Punjab have stopped makingrepayment of their crop loansand the recovery scenario isbeing adversely affected,” accord-ing to the State Level BankersCommittee report which wasreleased on Wednesday.

Notably, under the schemerelief, up to �2 lakh would beprovided to marginal and smallfarmers who have crop loansfrom cooperative institutions,public sector banks and othercommercial banks as on March31, 2017.

A bank official said sever-al farmers were reluctant inrepaying their crop loans andit has become one of the rea-sons in the rise in NPA levelunder farm sector. Asper SLBC report, the NPAunder agriculture sector was tothe tune of �8,952 crore as onSeptember 30, 2018 as against�633 crore in correspondingperiod of last year.

The NPA amount of �8,952crore was 11.20 per cent of out-standing agriculture advancesas against 7.19 per cent in cor-responding period of last year.

The NPA level as percent-age of total advances also rosefrom 2.60 per cent inSeptember 2017 to 3.47 per centin 2018. The total outstandingagriculture advances in Punjabwere to the tune of �79,963crore as on September 30, 2018,as against �88,122 crore in cor-responding period of last year.

<� �*="�� *"3 ��"�� *��*�")�"�-!"��

�� &��"�!�'

The Arunachal Pradesh gov-ernment Wednesday

signed MoUs with 17 privateinvestors for projects worth�1,200 crore during the fifthedition of North EastConnectivity Scheme atTawang, an official release said.

The MoUs with privateinvestors across sectors liketourism and hospitality, oiland gas, retail, power, equip-ment manufacturing and sportshas potential to create over8000 gainful employmentopportunities in the state, itsaid.

The Polo Towers Group, apioneering hospitality grouphas identified 11 investableprojects in Arunachal worth Rs419 crore and will generate1850 employment opportuni-ties.

Jungle Travels India Pvt Ltdexchanged MoU to invest in 20rooms Jungle Lodge in or nearPakke Tiger Reserve andWildlife Sanctuary in EastKameng district with invest-

ment of �10 crore and gener-ate employment for 60 people.

Sterlite Power signed MoUto invest in detailed study ofpower system for Arunachaland take upgrade and updateproject on annuity basis, itsaid.

They are also interested insupply and installation ofOPWG network on entiretransmission system.

The project shall garnerinvestment of �325 crore.

Alinz Portable PetrolPump Pvt Ltd exchanged MoUto setup portable petrol pumpsin Arunachal and in Northeast,which will be executed in PPPwith an investment of �500crore providing employment to5000 people, the release said.

Archit Electricals Pvt Ltdintends to setup a unit of man-ufacturing and repairing ofelectrical items like oil cool andair cool transformers of varioustype with investment of Rs 10crore and employing about100 people.

Mobisoft Technologyexchanged MoU intending tosetup IT hub with investmentof �10 crore.

Headkicks exchangedMoU intending to organizefootball themed festivals withinvestment of �0.25 crore.

Hindustan Aeronatics Ltdexchanged MoU intending todeploy HAL-Dornier-228Commuter Aircraft and ALHDhruv helicopter for interand intra state air connectiv-ity in Arunachal, the releaseadded.

��$��&�7��$��#��*��$��.899�� #)�) 5)#�9��"�*10)-/0 .-)� // #�1��)!�� )��)

�& �!��+�,�!��&- +��#.�/%��012�3405 !/ #��<<

�� 21"-1"

Roger Federer staved off eliminationfrom the ATP Finals as the six-timechampion eased to a 6-2, 6-3 win over

Dominic Thiem on Tuesday.After losing his opening match at

London's O2 Arena against Kei Nishikori,Federer would have crashed out if he hadbeen beaten by Thiem.

Only once before has Federer failed toqualify from his group for the knockoutrounds in his 15 previous appearances at theprestigious season-ending event.

That lone flop came 10 years ago whenthe Finals were held in Shanghai andFederer is still in with a chance of avoidingthat ignominious fate thanks to his com-fortable 66-minute dismissal of Thiem.

Bidding for a record seventh ATPFinals crown and a first in the tournamentsince 2011 — which would be the 100th sin-gles title of his glittering career — worldnumber three Federer must beat SouthAfrica's Kevin Anderson in his last groupmatch to make the semi-finals.

"It feels good. I am very happy that Ishowed a reaction after the last match,"Federer said.

"Against Kei, instead of seeing thingspositively, I thought negatively. It was dis-appointing but it happens.

"Today I was more positive and happyon the court. I love playing in London andI had to remind myself what a privilege itis. I hope I showed it."

Since winning his 20th Grand Slam titleat the Australian Open in January, Federer

has been stuck in a prolonged slump by hissky-high standards.

A quarter-final exit at Wimbledon,blowing a two-set lead against Anderson,was followed by a stunning US Open last 16defeat to Australian journeyman John

Millman.The 37-

y e a r - o l d ' sdefeat in his

opening Finals match against Nishikori onSunday marked the first time Federer hadlost in straight sets in 46 group stage match-es.

He responded to that setback by can-celling his practice session on Monday,sparking fears he was seriously hampered

by a hand injury that has troubled him sincethe grass-court season in June and July.

Having cut a grumpy figure during hiserror-strewn loss to Nishikori, Federer's spir-its were lifted by this solid show, aided by

Thiem's 34 unforced errors.After missing a break

point in the opening game,Federer started to find hisrhythm and he landed thefirst break for a 2-1 leadwhen the world numbereight sent a forehand long.

Another break followedin the seventh game as

Thiem netted a tame volley as Federer wonthe first set with ease.

While it wasn't vintage Federer, he wasdoing enough to take advantage of Thiem'ssloppy display as the French Open finalistdouble-faulted to gift a break in the open-ing game of the second set.

That was all the encouragement Federerneeded as he cruised to the finish line.

G! � !�� Novak Djokovic moved closer to a place

in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals as theworld number one dispatched AlexanderZverev 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday.

Djokovic is chasing a sixth ATP Finalstitle and his first in the prestigious season-

ending event at London's O2 Arena since2015.

In his 11th appearance at the Finals, theSerb will be guaranteed to reach the last fourfor the eighth time if John Isner beats MarinCilic or if Cilic defeats Isner in three sets lateron Wednesday.

Djokovic, who beat Isner in his open-ing group-stage match, has enjoyed aremarkable renaissance in the second halfof 2018 and lifting the trophy on the banksof the River Thames would be the perfectway to finish his year.

Djokovic faces Cilic in his last groupmatch on Friday, while Zverev, who defeat-ed Cilic to kick off his Finals campaign, takeson Isner.

The 31-year-old was assailed by claimshe had lost his hunger for success and waspast his best after injury and personal issuesthreatened to derail his career in 2017.

But Djokovic has banished his demonsin spectacular style, winning the Wimbledonand US Open titles, returning to world num-ber one and becoming the first player to winall nine Masters 1,000 tournaments.

"I found it more difficult than in the firstmatch against John Isner. I played well mid-way through the second set and started toswing through the ball," said Djokovic, whohas suffered only two defeats in the Finalssince 2012.

�� 81/211"�

Olympic Silver medallist P VSindhu and Sameer

Verma notched up con-trasting wins onWednesday to progress tothe second round of the

H o n gKong OpenWorld TourSuper 500tournament,

here.Sindhu, seeded third, con-

tinued her consistent run as sherecovered from a mid-game

slump to surpass Thailand'sNitchaon Jindapol 21-15 13-21

21-17 in the opening roundwhich lasted a little over an

hour.It was Sindhu's fourth

win over the Thai player.Sindhu, who won

three major Silver medalsthis season — CommonwealthGames, World Championshipand Asian Games — will take onKorea's Sung Ji Hyun next.

The 23-year-old fromHyderabad has a superior 8-5head-to-head record against theKorean.

In the men's singles, Sameer,who clinched the Swiss Open andHyderabad Open this year, sawoff another Thai SuppanyuAvihingsanon 21-17 21-14 to setup a clash with China's Olympicchampion Chen Long.

However, former SingaporeOpen champion B Sai Praneethwas stunned by KhositPhetpradab of Thailand in a 62-minute opener.

Praneeth had a 3-0 recordagainst Khosit ahead of the matchbut it didn't matter as he wentdown fighting 21-16, 11-21, 15-21 to bow out of the tournament.

��E�� Colombo: ?�� 2�� -�� /�� (�� .��'�(�� =�� #�� #�� 0�� +��$� -�� F4��'�(��=��0��2��+��=��+��P�2++Q$��2�� 2++�� 8��$�-�� +��8��2++��$�'�(�� +�� .�� 1�� '��/�� $��/�� <�� '�(�� #�� /��$

�� London: ?�� &�� #��'�� /�� #��*��#�� 6� ��=�� +�� 2�� $� *��#�� ?��6� ��=�� .��4;9:��E;0��0�� +�� 2�� $� �� 94� ��?��(��#��94� ��$�*��#�� +�� 2�� $� '�� 2�� +�� 2�� 4;9G�� ?��2� ��9��"�� $� �� 9;� ��=� �� ?�� #�� $

�� New Delhi: +�� 9:0��0�� &�� #�� =�� *�� "�� &�� R�� <��R$� �� C�� +�� (�� #�#��$� R/�� #�� <�� $� �� <�� &�� R� ��&-�� !�� "�� 8�� $� �� #�� ,��$

�� Madrid: �� C6?�� "�� 2�� <�� $�� 2��6��<�� 40A��6� �� "��2�� $� �� #�� G0;��$� ��

��

�� .C.)�&

Chief national badmintoncoach Pullela Gopichand

termed the year gone by as a"tough" one, but expressedsatisfaction that the target todo well in major events wasachieved.

"Overall it's been a toughyear for us. We hardly had anytime for preparation. Overallwe had the CommonwealthGames, the Asian Games andWorld Championships- thebig events," Gopichand toldreporters on Wednesday.

"And whatever time wehad was not enough to reallywork end-to-end on the mis-take. But having said that westill have (Kidambi) Srikanthranked high, (P V) Sindhuranked high.

"We have had medals atthe major events, whether it'sthe Asian Games, CWG orWorld Championships. So Iam happy with the perfor-mances (of the shuttlers) andlooking forward to the com-ing year," the chief nationalcoach explained.

Srikanth is currently

ranked ninth among men inthe world, while Rio OlympicsSilver medalist Sindhu isranked second among thewomen.

"In this year, we had themajor events- CommonwealthGames, Asian Games andWorld Championships- andwe have been successful (inthose) and that was our targetfor this year. And I'm happythat at the end of the year they(players) are able to maintaintheir rankings," added

Gopichand.Another top shuttler Saina

Nehwal won the CWG Goldin April defeating compatriotSindhu in the final.

The Indian team alsoclinched the Gold medal inthe team championship atCWG held in Gold Coast,Australia.

Gopichand also stressedthat extra effort was needed tobe done in all the areas.

"Every area needs work. Ifyou look at the way Sriknath

has played, he has lost to acouple of them (players) quitefrequently, whether it is(Kento) Momoto (Japan) orChou Tien Chen (ChineseTaipei). There have been a fewlosses there which have beenconsistent, but if you have towin the big ones, you have tobeat them and you have toprepare for them, he said.

"And unfortunately wehad back-to-back (tourna-ments), we had a week afterthe Asian Games, came backafter two tournaments. Wehad another week now, so thisis not enough time for thepreparation and I would liketo see a little longer stint," theformer All England championsaid.

Asked whether it wasimportant for top shuttlers topick and choose events,Gopichand replied, "This yearwas a tough one, with theCommonwealth and AsianGames. It was tough to pick.And also players in the top 15have to play a mandatorynumber of event. So thatmakes it even more tough. It'seasier said than done."

�� "6/�-62 &�

Celebrated boxer M C Mary Kom willaim for a historic sixth Gold at the

AIBA Women' World Championships,the build up of which has been marredby a row over lone Kosovan boxer's par-ticipation and poor quality air in thenational capital.

The 10th edition of the champi-onships, set to be the biggest ever withmore than 300 participants from 72 coun-tries, is being held in the backdrop of box-ing's uncertain Olympic future in theaftermath of controversial Uzbek busi-nessman Gafur Rakhimov's election asPresident.

Commensurate with its status as glob-al power in women's boxing with the thirdmost number of medals in the history ofthe event, India is hosting the champi-onships forthe secondtime after2006 when

the country topped the table with eightmedals (4 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze).

The 10-member Indian team, whichis a mix of seasoned and young boxers,is unlikely to repeat the 2006 feat but isexpecting at least three medals, includinga Gold.

The 35-year-old Mary Kom, who isIndia's biggest hope, is tied with KatieTaylor on five Gold medals and one morewill make her the most successful womanboxer in history since the Irish pugilist hasturned a Pro.

The 'Magnificent Mary', who willfight in the 48 kg, will also look to winher second Gold in front of the homecrowd.

She has enjoyed a stellar year so far,claiming Gold medals at theCommonwealth Games, the inauguralIndia Open and the InternationalTournament in Poland.

However, the 2012 Olympics Bronzemedallist is aware that the road to Goldwill not be easy.

"There are boxers who are still play-ing in my category since 2001. I knowthem very well. The new boxers aretougher and smarter, they are faster. I willuse my experience. The past boxers aremore or less the same, I know them,"

Mary Kom said.Another veteran who will be seeking

her second Gold at the championships willbe Mary Kom's Manipur statemate LSarita Devi who will feature in 60kg. Shehas five Asian titles besides winning Goldin 2006 here.

The other eight in the team are PinkyJangra (51 Kg), Manisha Maun (54 Kg),Sonia (57 Kg), Simranjit Kaur (64 Kg),Lovlina Borgohain (69 Kg), SaweetyBoora (75 Kg), Bhagyabati Kachari (81Kg) and Seema Poonia (+81 Kg).

The 10-day championships, whichrun till November 24, will feature a hostof Olympic and World Championshipmedallists.

�� !C>�"��

Eyeing a semi-finals berth, overwhelm-ing favourites India will have to guard

against complacency when they playIreland in their third Group B match of theICC Women's World T20 here onThursday.

India are on a roll having convincinglywon their first two matches, includingagainst arch-rivals Pakistan two days ago.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur declaredopen the tournament with her blazinghundred against New Zealand at theProvidence, the same venue where Indiawill face Ireland.

Ireland, on the other hand, have lostto both Australia and Pakistan.

India will enter the game against theIrish as overwhelming favourites butKaur is aware that her team cannot affordto take things for granted in this mega-event.

Ireland cricket is known for itsfighting abilities and taking themlightly will not be the way to gofor India, with qualification to thelast-four knocking on their doors.

Having eased past Pakistan acouple of days after the big winagainst the New Zealanders, Indiawill nevertheless fancytheir chances at theProvidence.

If Kaur was the star ofthe opening win, theteam's most experiencedcampaigner, Mithali Raj, showed the wayin the seven-wicket win over Pakistan.

While Jemimah Rodrigues startedher T20 career with a fine half-century, thelikes of Smriti Mandhana and VedaKrishnamurthy will look to score someruns against Ireland.

In bowling, off-break bowler DyalanHemalatha and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav

shone with 10 wickets amongthem so far, and the seamers willlook to get going in the cominggames.

H��India: Harmanpreet Kaur(capt), Smriti Mandhana,

Mithali Raj, JemimahRodrigues, VedaKrishnamurthy, DeeptiSharma, Taniya Bhatia,Poonam Yadav, RadhaYadav, Anuja Patil, Ekta

Bisht, Dayalan Hemalatha, Mansi Joshi,Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati ReddyIreland: Laura Delany (capt), KimGarth, Cecelia Joyce, Isobel Joyce,Shauna Kavanagh, Amy Kenealy, GabyLewis, Lara Maritz, Ciara Metcalfe, LucyOReilly, Celeste Raack, EimearRichardson, Clare Shillington, RebeccaStokell, Mary Waldron.

��"/* ��*� %�/�"��"'>4?��"$&��').�-��)�>�-��)��

#�� =*"<�@� +"#8%�/�"��"'>??��"$&��14��-�-�1� �>� ��

$ ��"/* $�� %�/�"��"A>4?��"$&��14��'�1�� >� ��

&� ��3"/* &"6"13 %�/�"��"B>4?��"$&��14��'�1��2�>�2��

$-�-�-��$()��$'��?�)'@4A�+()��,0��'� ��#�S�-(��#�� T#��#�

� ��6�� ,�"��<�=��> � ��'��8 ' ��,��,�� ?��

��$��'��,��

��!� �� % �� ! % ��,��

�� #&� ��*��

"��$��$��$��.$C��"� 7"��"&1D��%��&

��=�#�"��+��5#� ��0��

� �� 8��#��,��-��(��=�� &)�/��/��)�,�� #��#�� /��$�� #��#��&�� 8��#��G;� �� $��.��.��8��2��-�#�� #��&��,�� #��,�� #�� $��.��8��PF:� Q��-�#��PG;� Q�� +��'��PE9� Q��PE@� Q��2�#��)�� PG5� Q��)��P@E� Q��+��PU:9� Q$.��PEF� Q��8��)� ��P:9� Q��-��T��&��"��"�#��9G��9:��#��$��=��V��>�� U:9� $.��8�� ,��/��$��*�HH��)�� 8��#�$��

�� 1�� -��

�&%<&)�(%�,�D&)�7%�(>�89��*��B*!�� 4;;4�� FE� !�� 4;;E�+�� FG� !�� 4;;G�"��-�� FG� !�� 4;;:�"�� FG� !�� 4;9;�)�� F:� ��#�� 4;;9�� F:�

$ ��"��"*�� *"*��)� "#�� E*"#��"�;?

�& �!��+�,�!��&- +��#.�/%��012�3405 !/ #��<�

�� "6/�-62 &

Indian pace attack has been a revelation thisyear during overseas tours but tougher con-ditions in Australia will make it a very chal-

lenging series for the fast bowlers, reckons for-mer speedster Ashish Nehra.

Nehra, who was a part of the Indian squadthat drew 1-1 during the 2003-04 series inAustralia, felt the current attack "has the abil-ity" to succeed but conditions will be differ-ent than what they got in England and SouthAfrica.

"Australian team is going through a mas-sive restructuring and this is India's bestchance without doubt. We have the bowling

attack to beat them. But we need to be mind-ful that conditions will be much tougherDown Under where the wickets will be flatand weather would be on warmer side," the39-year-old Nehra said.

"In Australia, you will get extrabounce but there will only be lateralmovement till the kookaburra seamdoesn't flatten. It won't be like Englandwhere the ball swings all day. Once youget adjusted to the bounce, batsmencan hit you all day," said Nehra, who

has played 17 Tests and 120 ODIs apartfrom 27 Twenty20 Internationals.

According to Nehra, it will beJasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and onebetween Mohammed Shami and UmeshYadav, who will be starting in Adelaide.

"I don't see Bhuvi starting in the firstTest at least. He can struggle a bit with the

old kookaburra as it will neither swing orseam unlike Dukes or SG Test," Nehra opined.

Nehra said that Umesh Yadav's supremefitness and good skill sets should make himan asset in the Australian conditions.

"I still believe that Umesh is not a finishedproduct after eight years but someone who hasincredible skill sets. He is a strong lad and thefittest among all Indian pacers. A testimonyto that is his performances in Indian condi-tions when he can reverse the 65-70 overs oldball at a good speed. You need both skill andstrength for that. He should feature sometime,"Nehra said.

It will be Bumrah's first Test tour ofAustralia and Nehra is confident thatAustralians will find it difficult to play him.

"Jasprit Bumrah is much more skilful red-ball bowler than what he is perceived to be.

His yorkers will come in very handywith old kookaburra. Any bats-man, who has not played Bumrahbefore can find it difficult to counterthe awkward angle that his deliverycreates.

"And in England, I found outthat he can now get the ball tostraighten consistently after pitching.So Bumrah is not a one-dimension-al bowler," he concluded.

��&:�7-+��35��2533�1'�15""'��33',"'�;(��5,!5�,��'�-4�� , �� "�� 2��,�� $��,��

�� ?��&��#�!�� /��&��3��8��R��R��#��-�#��/��$��=��#��#��-�#��/��)��,�� $R��&��#�� '��3��8��$�&�=�� R�!�� $R&�=�� &��$��R��&��$ �#�� #��6� ��3��8��#� �� $&�� #�0�� -��G$��&��6� ��90F��!�� %�R&��#��6� ��P��Q��#��4;��#��$R!�� #��&��$R)��#��$�.��&��=��R�!�� $� ��

F 3*"0�)��3)"&��)��"#�� "�*��"$ ��" �)"��/� +"!��"��)=

2��@��,��$�� $��

�� &��.��)�� =��,��'��(�� 8��"�#��4;04A$��0��<��#��-��C�� '��(��6��!��$R��,��$�&��=�� )�� R��)��#!�� $)�� '��(�� .��+��$R/�� $�&��=� ��R�!�� $� ��

� �.&�2&862>��1�+2�>?1'�)6"!�2�&"�'�"*&

�� E�� E�� -��#��=��0��-�� #�� +�� )� ��$� �� 0��M 9;G��9@@��-�� 4:9��F�� #�� +�� A@G$�6��-�� +��44A�� 5F� �� $� �� FF� �� 9�� +�� &��P9J9F��E��#��Q$�/��AA4�� #�#�� 0��3��.��3��$�&�� <�� +��#��-�� !��!��PF5��E4��Q�� -��P4E��A4��Q��GF��9;$E��#��$�1��-��!�� "�� '�� PA4Q�� G4� �� $� �� E;� �� P4GQ�� ,�� G@� �� (�'��P49��Q��-��#��A@E$

��E�� %78��=�� #� .�� "��=�� =��#�� EGE��:��P9;9�� Q��9GA��4��6��!��=)=��$ ��+��'��#�� 4F:��EGE��3�.��PAA��Q��.�� P9F��Q��4@� �� $� 2��0�� .�� $� ��.�8��!��P49Q��:;��"��$�.��9E��)�&��(��P4F�� Q��G5�� 0��$

�I�� ###��(%=(%�D� *��8��#�� !��444� �� A�� 6��!�� $�� !�� 8�� P9A;Q� �� FG:J5P��Q�� $�8�� #��0�� 9;G�� 4F� �� $� �� 4F� ��$*��8�� 0�� 4FGJ@�� 0�� $� ?�� *78�� 8�(�� PEAQ� ��0�� 0�� 1�� )�� P4EQ�� &�� PA@Q� ��+��P44Q��#�� $)�� 0�� &�� +�� @��F4$

�� -53��&?'()� '�� '�� 9A;� �� 0�� $?��'�� #�� @A��9:40��$�/��9:0��0�� 0�� $� ��'�� 4E;0��0��4@:J:$�� '��4;;�� $��9F:0��0�� '*��(�� 9@:��AF:��$� ��

english news paper | breaking news | latest today news in ... · committee on parliamentary affairs...

Documents