˘ ˇ ˆˆ˙ - dailypioneer.com · to a question, he said nei-ther the bjp nor the congress was...

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Due to NMDC’s avowed stand that thefirst beneficiary of its success ought to bethe community in whose midst itundertakes its mining activity, CorporateSocial Responsibility has been a way of lifeat NMDC, ingrained in its very DNA, andone which it has been consistently carrying

out diligently in letter and spirit since itsinception.

NMDC complements the stateadministration’s efforts towards develop-ment, making it a winning proposition forthe local population. But, more than any-thing what matters most to us is the smileon the face of a healthy villager in a schooland the glint of determination in the eyes.

Literacy & EducationRecognizing that education is an

integral component for humandevelopment, NMDC has been contribut-ing in different ways to improve not onlythe literacy levels, but also the quality ofeducation in the areas of its operations.

In this endeavour, the focus isconstantly on improving educationalinfrastructure and providing necessaryfacilities for students with a view to provideconducive environment to continue studiesand enhance overall learning.

Shiksha Sahayog YojanaShiksha Sahayog Yojana is a one of its

kind initiative in the Country, whichNMDC has been implementing since2008-09, wherein upto 18,000 SC/ST

students who are natives of the BastarDivision (which is presently divided intoseven Districts) in Chhattisgarh State andresidents of 8 peripheral villages aroundDonimalai Project in Bellary District,Karnataka State and whose family incomeis less than `6,000/- per month are

provided educational scholarships perannum. This initiative was introduced inthe backdrop of a

high dropout rate among Studentshailing from the local tribal communities,despite the efforts of the Government’s

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan. This wasprimarily due to the inadequateeducational facilities for Students near theirimmediate neighbourhood, whichdiscouraged Students from continuingtheir education beyond 8th class andparents also had no incentive to send ahelping hand, who was supplementing theirefforts in agriculture or other avocations.

NMDC has adopted the process ofdirect crediting of Scholarships into theBank/Post Office accounts of thebeneficiary Students. It would not be out ofplace to mention that this was a pioneeringpractice introduced by NMDC’s CSRProgramme way back in 2009-10.

The scheme has been enriched withinnovative activities like debate competi-tions, sports events, study tours, scienceexhibitions etc. to give opportunity for over-all personality development of the students.

Balika Shiksha YojanaBalika Shiksha Yojana is a novel CSR

initiative having a triple purpose ofassisting girls from socio-economicallydisadvantage sections of society to pursueprofessional education, contribute toempowerment of women and also help inaddressing the situation of acute shortageof Medical & Paramedical Staff inBastar Division. This program was initiatedby NMDC in the year 2011-12. Initially, 25

girl students from socio-economicallydisadvantaged background were sponsoredby NMDC for B. Sc (Nursing) and GNMCourses at Apollo Institute of Nursing atHyderabad, the education arm of ApolloHospitals. The success of the program ledto the enhancement of the number ofstudents sponsored from 25 to 40. As ondate 32 students are being sponsored forthe 3 year GNM course and 08 students arebeing sponsored for the four year long B.ScNursing program.

Till date 298 students have beensponsored under the scheme.

This scheme has been framed directly inresponse to the needs of the Communitiessurrounding NMDC Projects. The needwas assessed based on interaction with thelocal district administrations who hadvoiced their concerns about lack ofadequate trained Nursing Professionals inthe local Hospitals/Public Health Centres,where only 33% of the requisite NursingStaff was available to render medicalservices to the local communities.

Added to this was the concern about theinability of local Tribal girls to pursue theprofessional courses in Nursing, etc. due tosocio-economic constraints.

All the students of the first two batcheswho have passed out have been gainfullyemployed.

Mid Day Meal ProgrammeMid day meal is a unique programme of

the Govt. of India which aims at addressingthe dual problem of malnutrition as well asthe issue of absenteeism and drop outamong school children.

NMDC has been supporting the midday meal programme in surrounding areasof the Donimalai Project in Karnataka inpartnership with Akshaya PatraFoundation since 2008-09 by providingmonetary support to the mid day mealscheme to provide nutritious andwholesome meal during the school hourswhich includes items like chapatti, eggs etc.In the menu and has also contributed twodedicated vehicles for meal distribution. Asmany as 8,000 school children in 38 schoolsof Sandur taluk in Bellary dist. in a radiousof 25 km from NMDC operations aregetting benefitted from the scheme.

NMDC’s CSR scripting growthsaga in rural hinterland

F Shiksha Sahayog Yojana: Scholarship scheme for tribal students to encourageeducation beyond 8th standard -benefit to 18,000 students.

F Balika Shiksha Yojana: Sponsoring 40 tribal girls to Nursing courses.F Education Hub: partnered with Govt. of Chhattisgarh for creation of Education Hub,

a concentrated facility of educational institutions to provide world classinfrastructure in the midst of backward Dantewada District.

F Construction and operation of polytechnic (Dantewada District) and ITIs atNagarnar and Bhansi for promoting technical education among the youth of BastarDivision.

F Residential school at Nagarnar for tribal children many of whom are 1st generationschool goers.

F Supporting mid-day meal scheme to provide nutritious and wholesome meal toschool students in Bellary District.

F Facilitating educational infrastructure creation through construction of schoolbuildings and hostels.

Key highlights:

2RAIPUR | SATURDAY | OCTOBER 26, 2019

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The BJP joined hands withJannayak Janata Party (JJP)

led by Dushyant Chautala onFriday night to form a “stable”coalition Government inHaryana conceding to the JJP’sdemand for the post of DeputyChief Minister.

The BJP’s decision to winover Chautala underlines itsquest to placate Jats, a domi-nant community in the Statewho are believed to have votedmostly against the saffron partyin the recent polls, to ensure asmooth run of its Government.

After a long meeting withChautala, who called on theHome Minister, BJP presidentAmit Shah announced that theChief Minister will be from hisparty and the Deputy ChiefMinister from the JJP.

The meeting came after theJJP leader during the day main-tained that neither the BJP orthe Congress was an “untouch-able” and he would stress forthe acceptance of a commonminimum programme for gov-ernance.

However, Chautala latersaid, “It was important for theBJP and JJP to come togetherto give a stable Government toHaryana. I would like to thankAmit Shah ji and Nadda ji.”

On his part, Shah said,“Accepting the mandate by thepeople of Haryana, leaders ofboth parties (BJP-JJP) havedecided to form the Govttogether in Haryana. CM willbe from the BJP & Deputy CM

will be from the JJP.” Chautala, who emerged as

a kingmaker after a fracturedmandate in the HaryanaAssembly elections, was onelected floor leader of the JJPwith 10 MLAs on Friday. Heis likely to be Deputy CM.

Addressing the media onthe occasion, he said his partywould offer support to whoso-ever commits support to JJP’spoll plank of reserving 75 percent jobs to “Haryanavis”,ensures old age pension in theState and agrees to a commonminimum programme.

To a question, he said nei-ther the BJP nor the Congresswas untouchable for him andhe would be ready to work with

anyone to install a StableGovernment in the State. Thiswas seen as a clear hint that hewould be ready to embrace thesaffron camp sooner than later.Five hours later, he was at theresidence of the BJP chief.

Chautala met his fatherAjay Chautala, who is cur-

rently lodged in Tihar Jail,before taking a final decisionon the future course of action.

Earlier in the day, fiveIndependent legislators —Dharampal Gondan, NayanpalRawat, Sombir Sangwan,Rakesh Daulatabad andRandheer Golan — met BJP

working president Nadda andextended their support to thesaffron party, BJP leaderJawahar Yadav said.

“These Independent MLAsreached JP Nadda’s house withan intention to extend supportto the BJP to form aGovernment,” he said.

After meeting Nadda,showing his letter of support tothe BJP, Sangwan said he hadextended his unconditionalsupport to the saffron party.

Besides these fiveIndependent MLAs, RanjeetChautala also extended hissupport to the BJP. He met bothKhattar and Nadda.

BJP leaders are confidentthat seven Independent MLAsand INLD leader AbhayChautala will back the party’sclaim to form Government.Besides, Haryana Lokhit Party’sGopal Kanda has also extend-ed “unconditional support” tothe BJP.

Khattar is likely to be elect-ed the BJP legislative partyleader in a meeting on Saturdayand will then stake claim beforethe governor to form theGovernment.

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Emboldened by the feelers ofsupport received from the

Opposition Congress and NCP,the Shiv Sena on Fridaystrengthened its bargainingposition ahead of its power-sharing negotiations with theBJP, through a calibrated attackon its senior saffron ally in aSena mouth-piece editorialwith effective use of a tellingcartoon.

On a day whenMaharashtra Congress presi-dent Balasaheb Thorat went totown saying that his partywould consider seriously anyproposal received from theShiv Sena for the formation ofa new Government in the State,the Sena — in an editorial pub-lished in Saamana — indirect-ly distanced itself from theBJP’s “arrogance of power” andthe manner in which it “brokethe NCP” through poaching ofits leaders.

In the same editorial, theSena heaped praise on theNCP for the manner in whichit bounced back and reapedmaximum electoral benefit inMaharashtra, by winning morethan 50 seats in the StateAssembly polls. The Sena alsoindirectly complimented theCongress for winning 44 seatseven without a leader.

Interestingly, the Senadubbed the Assembly results as“Janadesh” (mandate) and not“Maha Janadesh” (grand man-date), an indirect dig at ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnaviswho had taken out a Statewide“Maha Janadesh Yatra” aheadof the polls, in which thestrength of the BJP had fallenfrom the 2014 figure of 122 to105 (not 102 as mentioned inthe editorial) and the Sena’s fig-ures had down from 63 to 54.

“In effect, the poll outcomehas shown that political partiescan ill-afford to be over-smartand do unbecoming thingsusing power. Using arroganceof power, you cannot finishanyone permanently in poli-tics,” the Saamana editorialsaid, taking a dig at the BJP.

A maverick that he is, ShivSena MP and spokespersonSanjay Raut took to twitter togive a new spin to the politicalsituation in the State. On histwitter handle, he posted a car-toon that showed a tiger (as theShiv Sena is known) wearing aclock locket (NCP’s party sym-bol) and sniffing a lotus (BJP’sparty symbol) from its handwith a terse comment: “This iscartoonist’s marvel. “Bura namaano Diwali hai”.

Though he claimed that hehad posted the cartoon in jest,Raut indirectly sent a message

across to the BJP that it indeedhad more suitors than its long-term ally.

Through digs at the BJPand efforts to cosy up to boththe NCP and the Congress inits editorial and the telling car-toon, the Sena made it clear tothe BJP that it would not set-tle down for breadcrumbs asit did after the 2014 Assemblypolls. This time around itwanted its pound of flesh inthe form of 50:50 power-shar-ing arrangement.

Though it has so far notmade it clear in public what is50:50 power sharing arrange-ment, the Sena is seeking theChief Minister’s post on a

rotational basis and it is seek-ing plum portfolios likeHome, Revenue and PWDwhich the BJP had kept withitself during the last five years.Incidentally, when the Sena-BJP alliance ruled the Statebetween 1995 and 1999, lateBJP leader Gopinath Mundewas the State Home Minister,while the Shiv Sena’s ManoharJoshi and (briefly) NarayanRane were the ChiefMinisters.

In a related development,Shiv Sena president UddhavThackeray has called a meet-ing of newly elected MLAs athis Matoshri residence onSaturday at noon.

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As Delhi recorded season’sworst air quality with Air

Quality Index (AQI) 315 μgm-3 on Friday, the SupremeCourt-mandated EnvironmentPollution Control Authority(EPCA) said constructionactivities in Delhi and NCRwill be banned between 6 pmand 6 am from October 26 toOctober 30.

System of Air Quality andWeather Forecasting AndResearch (SAFAR) said air

may deteriorate further withvalues -688 μgm-3 (PM10)and 382 (PM 2.5) μgm-3 onSunday.

In a letter to ChiefSecretaries of Delhi, Haryana,and Uttar Pradesh, EPCAchairman Bhure Lal also issueddirections to close down coal-based industries, barringpower plants, in satellite townsof Faridabad, Gurugram,Ghaziabad, Noida, GreaterNoida, Sonepat andBahadurgarh during the peri-od.

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Ahmedabad-based firmHCP Design, Planning

and Management PrivateLimited has won the contractfor consultancy and designingof the Parliament building,common Central Secretariatbuilding and the Central Vista— a three-kilometre stretchfrom India Gate to Rajpath.

The same architect firmdesigned BJP’s new head-quarters in the nationalCapital, IIM campus inAhmedabad, the SabarmatiRiverfront DevelopmentProject, State Secretariat andCentral Vista in Gandhinagar,and executed the redevelop-ment of temple complex inVaranasi.

Housing and UrbanAffairs Minister HardeepSingh Puri has made it clearthat the iconic buildings —President House (RashtrapatiBhawan), South Block, NorthBlock and the Parliamentbuilding will not be pulleddown but will be redesigned.

The firm, which will be

paid �229.75 crore for con-sultancy services, much belowthe estimated �448 crore, willprepare the master plan of theproject, including designs, costestimation, landscape and traf-fic integration plans, and park-ing facilities among others, ofredevelopment of theParliament building, commonCentral Secretariat andCentral Vista. In other words,HCP Design is the projectmanagement consultant of themega project.

“The final awarded price is40 per cent below what we hadexpected,” Puri added.

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Railways has decided to con-vert 200 saloons into 10

luxury tourist trains to be runby the IRCTC in a bid to reg-ulate the use of the colonial era-style carriages and generateadditional revenue for thenational transporter, sourcessaid on Friday.

Conceived initially asinspection cars to be exclusivelyused by railway officials tovisit far-flung areas, thesesaloons comprise two bed-rooms, a lounge, a pantry, a toi-let and a kitchen which are builtto facilitate stay for up to fivedays.

“While a designated num-ber of saloons will be kept foruse of railway officials forinspection, 200 of them will beturned over to IRCTC andwill be operated as touristtrains. Upon conversion,around ten such trains can beput into service for public use,”the source said.

Last year, amid concernsover misuse of these saloons byofficials, Railway ministerPiyush Goyal had given up theuse of his own personal ones,calling them “trappings of a

colonial mindset”. He had alsourged zones to give up saloonsfor public use.

Sources said the RailwayBoard has prepared a set ofinstructions for its zones to“strictly regulate” the numberand use of such saloons.

It also said that theseshould be used primarily forinspection purposes with focuson safety. Besides, the saloonsand observation car for zonalgeneral managers, each zonewill have two additional car-riages for inspection purposesonly, the Board is learnt to havedecided.

Each railway division will

have a self-propelled inspectioncar with windows at both ends.

As per the instructions,the remaining should be usedfor “premium tourist traffic” toearn “additional revenue” forthe railways.

Railways has a total of 336saloon cars across railwayzones, among which manyhave already been condemned.Around 62 are air-conditioned.

IRCTC ran the first pri-vately-occupied saloon coach,complete with air-conditionedrooms, valet service andattached bathroom in Marchlast year. The cost of charteringthe saloon was around �2 lakh.

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As the offer of support bycontroversial politician

Gopal Kanda, who is facingnine criminal cases, includinga case of abetment to suicide,triggered widespread criticismfrom the Opposition and with-in the saffron party, the BJP onFriday distanced itself fromKanda.

Before the BJP and theDushyant Chautala-led JJPinked a deal to form a coalitionGovernment in Haryana,Kanda had emerged as a pos-sible kingmaker for the BJP.However, the BJP-JJP’s dealappears to have made his“unconditional support” offerreduntant.

The BJP won only 40 seatsin the 90-member HaryanaAssembly, short of at least sixlegislators to form the nextGovernment.

The businessman-turned-politician and the lone electedMLA from his Haryana LokhitParty Kanda, who played a keyrole in the formation ofBhupinder Singh Hooda-ledCongress Government inHaryana in 2009, on Thursdayevening extended his support

to the BJP after a meetingwith the party leadership inNew Delhi.

Reports that the BJP haddeputed its Sirsa MP SunitaDuggal to escort Kanda toDelhi on Thursday for talkstriggered an outrage with manyaccusing the party of“hypocrisy”.

Apparently on the defen-sive, senior BJP leaders onFriday ensured that they werenot seen with Kanda even asother Independent MLAs wereseen moving in and out ofNadda's residence afterannouncing their support tothe saffron party.

Kanda has won from theSirsa Assembly constituencydefeating Independent candi-date Gokul Setia, while hisbrother Govind was defeatedby INLD chief Om PrakashChautala’s estranged brotherRanjit Singh.

Kanda’s statement ofextending support to the BJPalong with other sevenIndependents attracted sharpreactions on Friday with theleaders from BJP itself,Congress, Shiv Sena and otherparties criticising the saffronparty to join hands with atainted figure.

Kanda’s controversial pastincludes allegations that a carowned by him was used incommitting a rape, that hissecurity guards beat up a national-level cricketer and that he harasseda young woman to the point ofsuicide.

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Expenditure Secretary GirishChandra Murmu, who

served Narendra Modi as hisSecretary when he was GujaratChief Minister, and formerDefence Secretary RK Mathurhave been appointed as the newLt Governors of Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh respec-tively.

The Centre on Fridaytransferred current J&KGovernor Satyapal Malik toGoa and appointed Kerala BJPpresident PS Sreedharan Pillaias Governor of Mizoram.Former chief of IntelligenceBureau and interlocutor ofJ&K Dineshwar Sharma hasbeen appointed LakshadweepAdministrator.

While Murmu, a 1985-

batch Gujarat cadre officer, isserving as the ExpenditureSecretary in the Union FinanceMinistry, Mathur, a 1977-batchofficer, has served as theDefence Secretary and is a for-mer Chief InformationCommissioner (CIC).

Murmu is scheduled toretire from service onNovember 21. Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh, the twoUnion Territories will come into existence on October31, 2019.

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The Vedanta Ltd, Jharsuguda signed aMemorandum of

Understanding (MoU)with the SRL Limited forthe upcoming state-of-the-art Vedanta PathologyLaboratory andDiagnostic Centre atJharsuguda.

Vedanta CEO CNSingh and SRL LimitedWest Bengal and OdishaCluster Head Rajasi Dassigned the MoU on behalfof the respective organi-sations in presence ofHealth Minister NabaKishore Das and senior members of bothcompanies.

Das said, “This is a historic day for

Jharsuguda as with this MoU signingbetween Vedanta and SRL, the district willget the first of its kind pathology and diag-

nostic centre, which will cater to the entireregion and will be of much help to the peo-ple of western Odisha.”

“This is in continuation of the StateGovernment’s commitment towards thesame, for which Chief Minister Naveen

Patnaik had laidthe foundationstone earlier. Thiseffort by Vedantais appreciable,” headded.

Singh said,“The state-of-the-art laboratory andcentre is ourhumble token ofgratitude andappreciation ded-icated to betteringthe lives of therural masses of

Jharsuguda and western Odisha, in linewith our Chairman, Anil Agarwal’s visionfor the greater good.”

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Patients and their attendantsfaced problems in the

Community Health Centre(CHC) campus here due to

waterlogging caused by inces-sant rains for the last two days.

Locals have alleged that the

inundation is occurring due toa low quality road work andheld the contractor and con-cerned Government officialsresponsible.

Though there is good drainsystem, stillwater is notflowing to itbecause offaulty work,t h e yalleged.

T h e yh a v edemandedthat higherauthoritiestake actionagainst thee r r a n t

contractor and officials andresolve the problem at the earliest.

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The Paradip Port Trust(PPT) has renewed its

Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)for another three years onWednesday at the CDMOoffice in Jagatsinghpur.

On behalf of PPT and theState Government, the CMOand the CDMO had signed anagreement in 2015. On theoccasion of renewal process,CMO PPT Prahallad ChandraPanda and CDMO GCMahanta, district programmemanager and other the officialswere present.

JSY scheme is a safe moth-erhood intervention under theNational Health Mission. It isbeing implemented with the

objective of reducing maternaland neonatal mortality by pro-moting institutional deliveryamong poor pregnant women.

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Acustomer outreach ini-tiative was organised by

20 banks here under the aegisof UCO Bank, the lead bankof the district, on Thursday.

Inaugurating the eventUCO Bank general managerC K Majumdar said the ini-tiative is yet another proactivestep by the banks to connectwith their valuable customerswhich have also created aplatform for them to knowabout banking services and toavail a host of loans as pertheir requirements.

Moreover, during the ini-tiative, banks also educated

the customers with financialinclusion schemes and digi-tal payments to encouragethem to practice digital trans-actions, Majumdar informed.

District Collector SKMohapatra said that this ispart of the systematic bankreform process with envi-s ioned taking banks todoorsteps and increasing easeof customer access and deliv-ery of services.

He appealed the Stateowned banks and several pri-vate sector financial entitiesto gear up the customer out-reach initiative across the district.

Total 100 in principal

sanction letters of variousloans including Governmentsponsored schemes were pro-vided to the beneficiaries byseveral banks on the occa-sion. Moreover as many as 2,500 loans amounting �65crore were sanctioned to ben-eficiaries in three days,informed lead bank managerSK Patra.

The programme wasaddressed by AGM StateBank of India AnandaBikram, DGM NABARDRama Chandra Sahoo, UCOBank GM PK Biswas andbranch managers of severalbanks and financial institu-tions.

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In the incessant rain in Puriover last two days, a

Kumbhakar (potter) servitor ofthe Jagannath Temple diedwhen a wall suddenly col-lapsed over him on Fridaymorning.

The diseased was identifiedas Rasananda Bisoi, a residentof Kumbharapada in the city.Besides, Bisoi was also the sec-retary of the Kumbakar Nijog(potter’s outfit) of the temple.

The incident occurred in apottery of Kumbarapada dur-

ing heavy rains whenRasananda was making Kuduas

(pots) and other clay utensilsfor the temple.

Locals rushed to the pot-tery and recovered him fromdebris in a serious conditionand sent to him to the DistrictHeadquarters Hospital. But thedoctor declared him broughtdead.

In a statement, KumbharaNijog president Janaredan Dasdemanded compensation toRasananda’s family. OdishaKunal Sangha president SarojBehera condoled the untimelydeath of Bisoi.

The Nijog also chargedthat due to negligence of theadministration towards thebroken potteries, the deathhappened.

The release also chargedthat the administration hasnot yet given financial assis-tance for repair of the potter-ies which had been damaged inthe Fani cyclone.

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Chandigarh: The electors inHar yana have sent 84

crorepatis to the 90-memberState Assembly, results for

which were declared onThursday.

“Out of the 90 newly elect-ed MLAs in Haryana, 84 ofthem (93%) are crorepatis”stated an analytical report bythe Haryana Election Watchand Association forDemocratic Reforms (ADR).

In 2014, 75 out of 90MLAs were crorepatis in theState Assembly. The averageassets per MLA in the newState Assembly `18.29 crores.Among political parties thecrorepati legislators included

37 (93%) out of 40 MLAs fromBJP, 29 out of 31 MLAs fromCongress, 10 out of 10 elect-ed MLAs from Jannayak JantaParty, 6 out of 7 IndependentMLAs and 1 (100%) eachMLAs from INLD andHaryana Lokhit Party, havingdeclared assets valued morethan ` 1 crore.

Independent legislatorBalraj Kundu from Meham inRohtak district is richest leg-islator elected to State

Assembly. With assets worth`141 crore, Balraj is followedby Congress’ Kuldeep Bishnoi,Adampur MLA with totalassets worth `105 cr andHaryana Lokhit Party’s GopalKanda, Sirsa MLA with `95crore assets. As far as crimi-nal cases are concerned,12(13%) MLAs have declaredcriminal cases against them-selves. Five of them havedeclared serious criminalcases against themselves.

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RAIPUR | SATURDAY | OCTOBER 26, 2019chhattisgarh 05

Newly elected MLA from Chitrakot Rajman Venjam was administered oath as member by Chhattisgarh State Assembly SpeakerDr Charandas Mahant on Friday, in state assembly premises. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Parliamentary works MinisterRavindra Choubey, cabinet ministers and others were also present.

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

The Supreme Court hasinstructed Chhattisgarh

government to abstain fromrecording phone calls ofsuspended Director GeneralMukesh Gupta.

Responding to the petitionfiled by Gupta, the SupremeCourt in its order stated, “Letthe phone tapping be stoppedforthwith.”

Senior counsel appearingfor the respondent (s) assuredthere would be no furtherphone tapping.

“Interim order shallcontinue to operate untilfurther orders and the

petitioner is not to be harassedunduly. He shall not bearrested also,” the apex courtsaid.

Notably, Gupta who hasbeen suspended by the stategovernment on the charges ofillegal phone tapping alongwith others had filed a petitionwith the SC that the stategovernment was tapping hisand his family members’ phonecalls illegally.

“The court had instructednot to tap the phone calls aswell as not to arrest MukeshGupta and we will follow theinstructions” AdvocateGeneral Satish Chandra Vermaconfirmed.

SC bars state govt to recordphone calls of Mukesh Gupta


Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghelwrote a letter to Prime Minister

Narendra Modi urging him to hikeminimum support price of paddy forKharif year 2019-20 to `2500.

In case the hike is not possiblethen allow the Chhattisgarh govern-ment to procure paddy on `2500 MSPunder Decentralized Food-grainProcurement Scheme, he demanded.

He also demanded of the PM toinstruct concerned officials forprocurement of 32 metric ton rice byFood Corporation of India (FCI).

Citing that the state governmentwas ready to commence procurementof paddy from state farmers for thisKharif season from November 15,Baghel in the letter urged the PM thatin case he was unable to hike the MSPof paddy then the state must bepermitted to procure the paddy on thesaid price under Decentralized

Food-grain Procurement Scheme.He also demanded of the PM that

keeping in view the interest of farmersof the state the clause 1 in the MoUshould be relaxed and the additionalprocurement should be allowed forthe central pool.

Baghel writesto PM for hikein paddy MSP

Chhath Poojaspecial trainson Oct 30-31BILASPUR: South East Central Railwayis providing a special train to ply to andfro between Durg and Patna on theoccasion of Chhath pooja.

On October 30 the special train willleave from Durg and on October 31 fromPatna.

According to SECR, Bilaspur thetrain number 08295 will commencejourney from Durg on October 30 whiletrain number 08296 will start from Patnaon October 31.

Additional to it, train number 08793will commence the special trip fromDurg on October 31 and return asPatna-Durg Chhath pooja special fromPatna on November 3.

The special train will have 18coaches-- two SLR/SLRDs, 8 general, 5sleepers, one AC-III, two AC-II cumAC-I coaches.

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Ahead of Dipawali, thecapital city is busy fight-

ing the vagary of nature asincessant rain for the last 72hours has dampened the fes-tive spirits in the state, espe-cially in Raipur.

The downpour has notonly slowed down the pace ofthe preparation for the festi-val of lights but has also putspanner on shopping spree,which is one of the mostimportant aspects of theDipawali.

People of the city areunable to come out of theirhouses due the constant rainas has been evident from rela-tively empty shops.

“Till this time in pastyears, shops of the city used to

be filled with customers, butthis year we have not receivedsuch crowd till now. This yearthe business has not kicked offthat well due to Lord Indra”,said Rajesh Gupta, owner of

an electronic shop in KutcheriChowk, who is also an officesecretary of the BJP’s StateBusiness Cell. “We pray andhope that the rain stops, sothat we can earn some profit

in this Dipawali,” he said.“Luckily, by the grace of

God the rainfall had more orless stopped on Dhanteras onFriday and the people havecome out to purchase orna-

ments and jewels” said AshokPagaria of Pagaria Jewelers,who was pinning hope ofgood sale this festive season.

Meanwhile, duringDipawali shopping becomes a

sort of culture. Excitementcan be seen on the faces ofpeople, especially the chil-dren. But, this year thepatience of this excitement isbeing checked by nature aspeople are unable to come outof their homes on even holi-days due to rain.

It has not only dampenedthe excitement of people buthas also put at stake the worksof thousands of artisans whoprepared clay idols and earth-en lamps. The worst affectedwas the firecracker marketwhere there are no takers oftheir goods.

If the weather remainsthe same, it may play havoc inthis Dipawali. The rain stormhas come due to the cyclonethat occurred in the Bay ofBengal.

Downpour dampens festive spirit


On the occasion of Dhanterason Friday, Chief Minister

Bhupesh Baghel performedbhumi-pujan of Rajbhavan, CMHouse, Vidhan Sabha Speaker'sresidence, Ministers' residences,and residential premises of seniorofficials, to be constructed at thecost of Rs 591.75 crore in Sector-24 of Nava Raipur Atal Nagar.

Chhattisgarh LegislativeAssembly Speaker Dr CharandasMahant, Cabinet Ministers andspecial guests were present.

Addressing the gathering,Chief Minister said foundation ofnew capital city was laid by SoniaGandhi in 2001, since thenthousands of crores have beeninvested. Roads were built,electricity and water supply wereprovided, but till date the city iswaiting for its citizens.

He said that manynewly-developed capital cities ofvarious states in the country are

facing the same problem.Keeping this in view, decision torelocate Chief Minister's resi-dence, Vidhan Sabha Speaker's

residence, Cabinet Ministers'residences, and residences ofsenior officials to Nava Raipurhas been taken. Gradually, other

employees will also be relocatedto the new capital city and propermarketplace and hospitals will bedeveloped there.

Baghel extended heartywishes of Dhanteras festival topeople of the state on theoccasion.

Vidhan Sabha Speaker DrCharandas Mahant said, “We aremaking collective efforts to liveup to Chief Minister's pledge of'Gadbo Nava Chhattisgarh'. Wewould transform the entire statefor better, right from villages tonew capital city.”

He said that even after 19years of state formation, newcapital city has not been fullydeveloped despite the investmentof crores of rupees.

PWD Minister TamradhwajSahu said that a team of officialshas been constituted for timelycompletion of this project whileadhering to the quality standards.

Additional Chief SecretaryAmitabh Jain gave detailed

information about thisresidential project.

Presently, Mantralaya,Secretariat and state-level officesof various departments areoperating in Nava Raipur.Rajbhavan (Governor House)will be developed in 12.60 acresof land, including Durbar Halland Secretariat building. ChiefMinister's residence and officewill be built in 7.50 acres of land.For residence and office ofVidhan Sabha Speaker, 3.19 acresof land has been allotted.Similarly, residences-offices ofministers and leader ofopposition will be built on 1.50acres of land. 13 such residenceswould be constructed. Likewise,85 houses will be built for seniorofficials, each on 0.45 acres ofland. Total 222 acres of land, 158in Sector-24 and 64 in Sector-18,has been allotted for theseconstruction works andtime-limit of 24 months has beenset for completion.

Residences of CM, ministers may attractpeople to settle in Nava Raipur: Baghel

STAFF REPORTER nKANKER

Security forces busted aMaoist camp following a

gun fight with guerrillas in aforested patch of insur-gency-hit Kanker district,police said here on Friday.

“BSF’s 175, 157, and82nd battalions along withdistrict police had launcheda massive combing opera-tion in four police stationlimits including- Badgaon,Durgkondal, Partappur andSiksod. On Thursdayafternoon team of 175thbattalion BSF had a face-offwith Maoist team in theforest Markachua andUrpanjur which resulted inintense gun battle,”Additional Superintendentof Police (ASP) KankerKirtan Rathor informed.

Soon Maoist lost their

ground and slipped intojungle, the ASP said whileadding during the searchingof area police found two

cooker IEDs weighing 2 kgand 3 kg each, wire bundles,detonators, remote control,calculator, axe, knives,

camera pen, radio, umbrella,backpacks, medicines andother items of daily use inhuge quantity.

Maoist camp busted in Kanker

STAFF REPORTER nBILASPUR

Responding to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s

call for shunning single useplastic, a youth from Bilaspurdistrict has come up withunique ways to encourage peo-ple to avoid single use plastic.

“We have been stagingseries of programmes, includ-ing dance forms like Kathakand Chhattigarhi dance formsto appeal people not to use sin-gle use plastic,” informedNitesh Kumar Sahu a part ofNehru Yuva Kendra (NYK)Sangathan Bilaspur.

Sahu was recently awardedwith ‘National Youth Award’ byunion youth affairs and sportsminister Kiran Rijiju in a pro-gramme held in New Delhi.

A graduate of GuruGhasidas Central University,Sahu has been constantlyworking in social servicesector and has formed a‘Sangwari’ club, which isworking towards waterconservation and hygiene.

“We conduct variousactivities ranging from streetplays to cleanliness campaignfor making people understandthe importance of water con-servation and hygiene,” Sahusaid.

According to Sahu, whohas also served as a nationalyouth volunteer from 2017 to2019 in NYK SangathanBilaspur, his Sangwari club wasat first position at district levelin 2018 and 19 among variousgroups working in theBilaspur.

Bilaspur youth creates awarenessagainst single-use plastic


Chhattisgarh has created a recordof sort by becoming the lone state

where no re-polling was held since the2018 assembly elections.

This year’s Lok Sabha electionand subsequent two by-polls ofDantewada and Chiktrakot—generally known for Naxalincidents during polls—also heldpeacefully without any re-poll,setting an example.

This feat could be achievedbecause of various initiatives takenby the office of the chief electoralofficer. Electoral awarenessprogrammes, security arrangement,E.T.P.B.S and postal ballot

arrangements for service voters,providing assistance and wheel chairsfor differently abled voters, drinkingwater, primary medical services,innovative modes for distribution ofpolling materials for holding free, fairand incident free polling were someof the initiatives.

As per office of the CEO,Chhattisgarh became the lone statewhere no complaint about electoralroll was received, no looting of EVM,bare minimum replacement of EVMs(one during polling due to technicalreasons), no Naxal incident werereported during polling andmaximum polling was reported inNaxal infested areas.

C’garh ‘creates record’as re-poll free state

There is an open shadow-boxing ofa considerable bitterness that isensuing between New Delhi andAnkara as each seeks to hit theother where it hurts. While

Turkey has always had fraternal relationswith Pakistan — the former has stood by thelatter during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakwars — the sheer distance and limited strate-gic overlap between New Delhi and Ankaraensured a modicum of agnosticism in thebilateral relationship between themselves.The advent of Turkey’s autocratic strongmanRecep Tayyip Erdogan in 2003 has revivedthe nationalistic impulse and ambitions thatare instinctively revisionist and reimaginingthe lost glory of the Ottoman Empire.

Today Erdogan’s imperious grandstand-ing in the international affairs is in stark con-trast to that of other Middle Eastern pow-ers. Turkey does not shy away from break-ing ranks with its ostensible allies like theUS to assert its own voice and relevance inglobal geopolitics. Recognising the desper-ation and isolation of the Pakistani diplo-matic fate, with most members of theOrganisation of Islamic (OIC) embarrass-ingly distancing themselves from thePakistani position on Kashmir, Afghanistanand terror — Erdogan (along withIslamabad’s “all-weather-friend” China) hasstepped in to fill the void and supportIslamabad in most multilateral forums.

While Turkey “fully supported” thePakistani position on the recent Kashmir-related concerns, India hit back deliberate-ly, visibly and cuttingly by cosying up to thethree nations that are known to have anti-Turkey stands ie, Greece, Armenia andCyprus. India further retaliated by freezingthe export of dual-usage materials like explo-sives and detonators to Turkey as also byputting the $2.3 billion deal to construct sup-port vessels for the Indian Navy in aTurkish shipyard on the backburner.

The Turkish outreach to endear itself tothe Pakistanis has been a project in the mak-ing with it incredulously withdrawing itsenvoy from Bangladesh in 2016 after Dhakahad executed the head of Jamaat-e-Islami,Motiur Rahman Nizami. That Nizami washeld responsible for at least 480 deaths in thePakistani pogrom preceding the indepen-dence of Bangladesh mattered little. Turkey’sposition on the 1971 war trials has beendecidedly pro-Pakistani and it noted thatNizami had not committed any “earthly sins.”

Today, this ensures that despite incon-trovertible evidence to prove Pakistan’scomplicity in the terror industry, Turkey hasprovided yeoman service to it by routinelybailing it out from getting “black-listed” bythe Financial Action Task Force (FATF).Pursuant to such reciprocal gratification,Pakistan offered the rare succour to Turkeyin its offensive in northern Syria against theKurdish forces, with Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan unequivocally telling Erdogan:“Pakistan stands in full support and solidar-

ity with Turkey.” India noted thatit was “deeply concerned” overthe “unilateral military offen-sive” by Turkey. In many ways,the Turkish and Pakistani nar-rative are eerily similar withtheir restive, uneasy and inter-dependent moorings with theUS. The “nationalistic” leadersin both Ankara and Islamabadare not wary of flexing their cir-cumstantial muscle to extracttheir respective pounds of flesh.

While Imran Khan hascried himself hoarse with the“nuclear” threat in the Indo-Pakimbroglio, the Turks are mud-dying the waters with the pres-ence of 50 B61 nuclear gravitybombs at Incirlik airbase, whichcomplicates the situation for theUS as it plays out as a utility-lever for Erdogan.

Turkey is too committed inits path to retract from thedefinitive track in the Indo-Pakdimension. The recent moveswill only strengthen the “divide”between New Delhi and Ankara.Pakistan’s ability to unilaterallyappropriate, invoke and posturethe historical Khilafat move-ment as an exclusive Pakistaniinitiative has also helped feed theromance associated with the col-lapse of the Ottoman Empireand its powerful sense of hurt inmodern Turkey.

The Turkish bid to reclaimthe times of the Caliph hasnecessitated that it is seen to beespousing the cause of the

Ummah (even if it does notapply to co-religionist Kurds)across the world and postureitself as the leader of the Islamicworld. Turkey has tied up withPakistan and Malaysia (who,too, is toeing the Turkish line onPakistan) to jointly start aEnglish language channel “ded-icated to confronting the chal-lenges posed by Islamophobiaand setting the record straight on our great religion —Islam.”

Erdogan’s quest for carvingout an important role for itselfin the global sweepstakes hasseen it do reckless realpolitik,even if it amounts to renegingon previously-held positions orquestioning its own commit-ment and sincerity in furtheringthe cause of the Ummah.

Erdogan, who had earliercalled the Chinese treatment ofits beleaguered Uighurs a “greatembarrassment for humanity”,did a quick flip-flop and thenstated that “Turkey firmly sup-ports the ‘One China’ policy. It’sa fact that residents of all ethnic-ities in China’s Xinjiang are liv-ing happily amid China’s devel-opment and prosperity.”

Both Turkey and Pakistanhave been routinely called outfor their strong-arm, illiberaland unilateral actions — with“nationalistic” leaders in bothcountries short-selling and way-laying the dreams of theirfounding fathers — the secular

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk andMohammed Ali Jinnah. Thehurry to stich its aspired destinyhas led Turkey to convenientalliances with communist Chinaor even Russia’s Vladimir Putinto spite the US.

If Pakistani dalliances withterror organisations have beenwell documented, questionsabout Erdogan’s dubious com-mitment in taking on the mostdangerous terror organisation inthe world ie, the Islamic State(IS), have raised many eye-brows. On the contrary, theKurds, who have been at theforefront of fighting the IS, aregetting bombed by the Turkishforces. Wikileaks published upto 58,000 mails documentingErdogan’s son-in-law, BeratAlbayrak, buying oil from thecash-strapped IS.

There is a certain com-monality of governance instinctsbetween Pakistan and Turkeythat is amoral, transactionaland churlish. It binds the twonations, who believe they canbluster, blackmail and intimidatetheir way on to the global stage.India needs to recognise theinevitability of the fractiousrelationships with both coun-tries as pacifism is a logicalanathema to the chosen path byAnkara and Islamabad.

(The writer, a military veteran, is a former Lt Governorof Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry)

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Sir — The new policy directionof the Government to reviveBharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd(BSNL) and MahanagarTelephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL)should not come as a surprise.Considering the Government hasgone in for an amalgamated pub-lic telecom, it must be taken as anacid test for the acumen of theGovernment and its bureaucracy.This might set a new tone anddirection in the emancipatedgovernance of public sectorundertakings in future.

The entire exercise forinstalling a model commercialentity, with differing compo-nents of finance, HR and mar-keting, would need a lead min-ister and a capable team toshape a competitive and progres-sive company. This team shouldnot only be able to win back the lost clientele but also leveragechanging technology to attractnew adherents. There has to bean independent and profession-al board at the helm with tech-nology and marketing as itsmain remit.

R Narayanan Mumbai

��

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Wake-up calls” (October26). The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)-Shiv Sena alliance is onthe road to power inMaharashtra while Haryanaemerged a cliffhanger with noclear majority for either the BJP

or the Congress. It looks after giving the BJP

a phenomenal victory in the LokSabha elections, the electoratehas voted differently in theAssembly elections. The under-par performances inMaharashtra and Haryana are awarning sign that the saffronparty must not ignore otherState elections on their way.

There seems to be an under-current against local BJP leaders,going by how the Opposition hasperformed better than what theexit polls were willing to grant it.Meanwhile, the Opposition willhave to work harder to negate theBJP’s advantage in terms ofresources and visibility.

J AkshayBengaluru

��

Sir — This is with respect to therecent move by the Governmentto conduct a preliminary test forindependent directors. The needto address the candidate’s pre-paredness for the role in terms ofexpertise, experience and integri-ty may not be achievable througha one-time preliminary assess-ment. Independent directors aregenerally appointed because ofthe specific expertise they bringin and, thus, add value to theboard. Therefore, the need to holda preliminary assessment test inorder to be recognised as an inde-pendent director appears to be anaive move by the Government.

The Government can insteadplan innovative learning andtraining programmes so thataspirants are accustomed to thenuances of corporate governance,including company laws. Thepreliminary test can be replacedeither with a short term or long-term Board familiarisation pro-gramme.

Varun DambalBengaluru

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One of the most difficult battles thatSabita Sethi had to fight when she decid-ed to stand for ward elections in Odisha’s

Khurda district was getting her husband’s con-sent. But although she won over her husband andemerged victorious in the polls at Balianta block,Sethi had to pay a heavy price for success. Shewas forced to put up the youngest of her threedaughters for adoption after objections wereraised on the number of children she had. If shehad not done so, Sethi would have been disqual-ified for violating the two-child eligibility cri-teria for contesting local Government polls inOdisha.

Sethi is not the only one forced to take suchheartbreaking decisions. The political participa-tion of women, primarily from marginalisedcommunities, has been adversely affected by thetwo-child norm, introduced in India for localGovernment elections or panchayats in 1992.Brought in to “control” the population by pro-hibiting people with more than two childrenfrom holding any post in panchayats and urbanlocal bodies, the policy has violated the repro-ductive and human rights of women. If they arecandidates, they have to abort or give up a childif they want to continue in their post or else theyface disqualification. As spouses, they facedesertion or forced abortion so that their hus-bands can contest. In both situations, it is thewomen who suffer.

With the minimum age for contestingthese elections lowered from 26 to 21 years, manymore women in the reproductive age brackethave been negatively impacted in States likeGujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,Maharashtra and Rajasthan which follow thetwo-child norm.

With the Assam Government announcingthat those having more than two children willnot be considered for Government jobs witheffect from January 1, 2021, women in Assamcan expect to meet a similar fate. Paradoxicallythis has been called the ‘Population and WomenEmpowerment Policy of Assam’ and the exist-ing Government staff also has to follow it.

Does Assam really need to follow this pol-icy? According to Chief Minister SarbanandaSonowal, this was necessary as the State regis-tered a 16.93 per cent population growth in thelast 10 years. A look at the official statistics showsthe official birth rate of Assam came down to22 in 2015 and to 21.7 in 2016. It is slightly high-er than the national birth rate which was 20.4in 2016. The birth rate is defined as the num-ber of live births per 1,000 total population eachyear.

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Assam is2.2 children per woman. TFR indicates the aver-age number of children expected to be born toa woman during her reproductive span of 15-49 years. Interestingly, the State is almost atreplacement level fertility of 2.1, that is the num-ber of children needed to replace the parents,after accounting for fatalities, skewed sex ratio,infant mortality and so on. The population startsfalling below this level.

Fertility has been on the decline in Assam.According to National Family Health Survey 4(NFHS-4), in Assam, fertility decreased by 0.2children in the 10 years between NFHS-3 andNFHS-4. In fact, fertility in urban areas, at 1.4

children per woman, is well below thereplacement level and even in ruralareas it is close to replacement levelsat 2.3 children per woman.

Just like in the rest of the country,in Assam also there is a strong prefer-ence for sons and this has been under-scored by the NFHS-4, which foundthat 18 per cent couples want moresons than daughters and only three tofour per cent of women and men pre-fer to have daughters. In such a sce-nario, once the two-child policy comesinto existence, Assam is most likely togo the Odisha way.

In Odisha, the deeply entrenchedpreference for sons led to increased dis-crimination against the girl child afterthe enforcement of the two-child normon panchayat representatives. Thisreflected in worsening of the alreadydeclining child sex ratio in the State.From 953 girls for 1,000 boys in the agegroup of 0-6 years in the 2001 census,it dropped to 941 in the 2011 census.

The discrimination was evident inSethi’s district Khurda, which inciden-tally has the lowest child sex ratio inOdisha. From 926 girls for 1,000 boysin 2001, it went down to 916 girls inthe 2011 census. Women activistscontend that the two-child norm hasplayed a critical role in this decline.

Instead of implementing a coercivetwo-child policy, Assam should focuson improving its high MaternalMortality Rate (MMR), InfantMortality Rate (IMR) and Under FiveMortality Rate (U5MR). In all thesecrucial areas, Assam fares worse thanthe national average. In 2016, it had thehighest MMR in the country at 237 perlakh live births. The State’s IMR at 44and U5MR at 52 are far higher than the

national average of 33 and 37 respec-tively. It can also focus on evidence thatshows that the proportion of womenwho start bearing children increasessharply to 21 per cent among womenwho are 18 years of age and to 32 percent among women who are 19.Further, research has shown thatwomen, who have had no schooling,are more than eight times as likely tostart a family than women with 12 ormore years of schooling. In otherwords, at the current fertility rates,women with no schooling will have 1.2children more than women who stud-ied till high school or beyond. Thismeans that uneducated women willhave a TFR of 2.9 as compared to a TFRof 1.7 for those who studied till highschool at least.

According to data, the IMR is 63per 1,000 live births for teenage moth-ers. Also, children of uneducatedmothers are more than twice as likelyto die before their first birthday as com-pared to children whose mothers havecompleted 10 or more years of school-ing (NFHS 4).

So then, isn’t reaching out toyoung women and improving theireducational prospects a better way tocontrol the population and empowerwomen, than putting them in a situa-tion where they are forced to give uptheir reproductive rights?

Further, nearly 39 per cent of thebirths in the State occur within threeyears of the previous birth. Studies haveshown that waiting at least three yearsbetween children reduces the risk ofinfant mortality.

But family planning in Assam isnot popular and unplanned pregnan-cies are relatively common. However,

if all women were to have only thenumber of children they wanted, theTFR would be considerably below thereplacement level. It would be at 1.8children per woman, instead of the cur-rent level of 2.2 children per woman.Moreover, by giving women the repro-ductive choice, the State could helpIndia keep its promise as a signatoryto the International Conference onPopulation and Development’sProgramme of Action to enable cou-ples and individuals to decide freelyand responsibly the number and spac-ing of their children.

But the contraceptive prevalencerate among the married women in theState in the age group 15-49 has comedown from 57 per cent (NFHS-3) to 52per cent (NFHS-4). Ironically, theunmet need for family planning hasgone up to 14 per cent in 2015-16(NFHS-4) from 11 per cent in 2005-06(NFHS-3). So women who want toplan their families either don’t haveaccess or the information to do so.

Statistics disaggregated by gender,play an important role in developingpolicies to achieve gender equality andfoster inclusive development. It informspolicies and interventions in areas likehealth, education and participation indecision making, politics and labourforce. Already the national workforceparticipation rate for women is 25.51per cent compared to 53.26 per cent formen. So how can there be women-leddevelopment when there is enough evi-dence to show that the two-childnorm will only benefit and strength-en traditional structures of patriarchythat have always restricted women’sentry into public space?

(The writer is a senior journalist)

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Going by the Constitution, pub-lic health is a State subject,which implies that access to

adequate and affordable health ser-vices is a citizen’s right and hence, theGovernment needs to ensure that.However, the growth of medical carein India has been largely restricted tobig cities where both public and pri-vate healthcare providers are battlingto care for an increasing number ofpatients, many of whom are residentsof smaller cities and villages.

The abysmal State-level doctor-patient ratio remains at 1:1,700, farbelow the international norm of1:1,000 as directed by the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO).

In spite of being the fifth-largesteconomy in the world, India’s health-

care industry has been ranked a poor145th globally in terms of quality andaccessibility. This is because a largeportion of the rural population lacksadequate healthcare due to a shortageof drugs and the prohibitive cost ofprescribed medicines in their areas.

Many specialised, experiencedand newly-qualified doctors in thecountry, especially in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, do not have a platform to pro-vide and share knowledge due to lackof opportunities or enough support interms of financial capabilities to deliv-er their expertise and knowledge.

The significant gap in existinginfrastructure for healthcare in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities is the biggest rea-son why people are forced to come tourban hubs for treatment.

However, most of these people arenot insured, and even if they are, insur-ance does not pay for other necessaryspending such as lodging, transport,and food. It is no wonder that health-care constitutes a large share of theannual out-of-pocket expense Indianshave to bear.

According to a FICCI report

released last month, at 65 per cent,healthcare is the top reason forovernight domestic travel in the coun-try as a whopping 80 per cent of sec-ondary and tertiary care beds are locat-ed in urban areas and there is a needfor nine lakh beds in the next 10 years.

The Herculean task of providinghealth cover to the entire country willcertainly need more than public hos-pitals only. As Ayushman Bharatopens the doors to private medical careproviders and encourages them toserve the people in smaller cities, thehealthcare industry increasingly realis-es the challenges that lie in the modal-ities — developing and managing thefacilities and attracting and retainingtalent being the main areas of concern.

A Public-Private Partnership(PPP) model helps to address many ofthe challenges faced by private health-care providers who want to set up newfacilities — land acquisition, finance,and permits to name a few. WithGovernment support, many of theseissues ease out.

However, that may not be enoughto make operations a win-win for all.

The crux lies in managing financesand optimum use of resources — thecost-per-bed of setting up a privatehospital in a metropolitan city can goas high as a whopping �1.30 crore.

Relocating a reputed specialistfrom a big city to a Tier-2 or Tier-3 cityis another financial and operationalchallenge. Retaining his/her interest isanother. Since most of the smallercities have a miniscule pool of med-ical institutions, the staff that can besourced locally may be less than ade-quate. Filling vacancies puts an addi-tional cost burden, a major cause ofconcern for private medical servicesproviders.

Recently, the MunicipalCorporation of Greater Mumbai(MCGM) introduced two PPP mod-els — private funding and public ser-vices, and private funding-privateservices with public monitoring.

In April 2018, the Government ofHaryana announced its intention toestablish a 500-bed multi-specialityhospital in Gurugram under the PPPmode to provide treatment at a min-imal cost. The new hospital will have

advanced facilities such as electroen-cephalography (EEG), cochlear labo-ratory, dialysis centre, ventilators,advanced Operation Theaters, and CTscan unit, among others, addressingthe enormous unmet need for spe-cialised healthcare at an affordableprice in a metropolitan city area. Itshows that increasingly, StateGovernments are realising that thebest way to deal with these concernsis by enabling a PPP mode where theGovernment and the private operatoract as collaborators.

There is no national frameworkright now that guides the StateGovernments on how to engage pri-vate players in healthcare. Besides,health is a State subject and there is alack of clarity on institutional arrange-ments to implement and managePPP projects. Implementing the ideaof impact bonds, as per the UnitedNations Development Programme(UNDP), may provide a solution.Impact bonds are PPPs that allow pri-vate impact investors to provideupfront capital for public projects thatcan deliver social and environmental

outcomes. For a successful project, theinvestors are repaid by theGovernment through social impactbonds or an aid agency or other phil-anthropic funders through develop-ment impact bonds. For a PPP pro-ject approved to operate independent-ly, the Government must keep an eyeon things, as any such project withoutmonitoring may fail to gain the trustof the people. The fact that theGovernment is watching reassuresthem.

It is heartening to see that the con-tribution of private players in health-care has become dependable. Realisingthe importance of the role of privatepartners in the wellness sector, theNational Health Policy of 2017 empha-sises it can help achieve India’s aim ofuniversal health coverage. TheGovernment intends to attract carefrom private facilities and clinicsstrategically to improve access andaffordability of quality healthcare andPPP can help the country take a majorstep towards achieving that goal.

(The writer is chairman of a digital healthcare platform)

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Gandhinagar: Union HomeMinister Amit Shah on Fridaysaid the country would auto-matically improve if allMembers of Parliament (MPs)focus on their constituencies.

Shah, on a two-day visit ofhis home State Gujarat,attacked the Congress over theissue of poverty eradication andsaid the country's oldest partypaid only lip service and hard-ly did anything to improve thecondition of the poor.

Addressing a gathering inMahatma Mandir here, theBJP president said, "If all MPsfocus on their constituencies,the condition of entire countrywould improve automatically.

"I am lucky...Past MPs ofthis seat (his Lok Sabha seatGandhinagar), be it Atal BihariVajpayee or L K Advani, havealready built a strong founda-tion here. This has made mywork as an MP easier," he said.

He added, "My prioritywill always be Gandhinagarseat and its people. My aim isto make it the best constituen-cy in the country. I will try tomake sure to be with youwhenever you need me," Shahsaid in his address.

Shah was here to lay foun-dation stones and inauguratevarious projects worth over�400 crore, including a shelterhome, an integrated commandand control facility, three newlydeveloped gardens as well aswater supply and road widen-

ing schemes.At the event, Shah also

handed over keys of houses tothe beneficiaries ofMukhyamantri Awas Yojna inGandhinagar, besides handingout Ayushman Bharat healthscheme cards.Heaping praiseon Prime Minister NarendraModi, he said only a leader likehim could think of a healthcarescheme (like AyushmanBharat) which benefits 50 crorecitizens.

"Under Ayushman Bharat,around 50 crore people will getfree treatment up to �5 lakh.Only someone who took birthin a poor family can think ofstarting such a scheme.Narendra Modiji always thinksabout the poor as he belongedto a poor family," said Shah.

Taking a swipe at theCongress, the BJP chief said,"For many years, the Congressonly did lip service by saying'garibi hatao (remove poverty).But they only removed thepoor. If they had really donesomething, we may not havebeen launching these schemestoday." PTI

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Lucknow: The decision byOpposition parties to go solo inthe Uttar Pradesh bypollshelped expose the BJP’s “dark-er side” and effectively con-veyed message of their “failure”,Samajwadi Party presidentAkhilesh Yadav said.

Fresh from the SP's victo-ry in bypolls, Yadav also saidthat he will revamp the partysoon.

The SP turned out to be amajor gainer in the UPAssembly bypolls for 11 seats,wresting a seat each from theruling BJP and the BSP, whilethe NDA got eight, one lessthan it held.

Hitting out at the BJP,Yadav said the people votedagainst the saffron party andthe politics of hatred, casteismand corruption.

"The BJP used to shielditself from its failure on issuesrelated to the common man bymaking allegations wheneverwe formed an alliance to take

on the saffron party jointly."They used to say that all

political parties have ganged upagainst the BJP and the mes-sage of their failure could notbe properly conveyed," Yadavtold PTI in his first interviewafter the bypoll outcome.

"Now the same thing isbeing said by opposition par-ties separately and people havegot to know the darker side ofthe BJP as it could not counterthe opposition onslaught. Themore people know the reality

of the BJP, the more they willget disenchanted with it," hesaid.

About the SP's role in thefuture, Yadav said, "The mes-sage is clear. Those who workon the ground will gain andemerge victorious. We willcontinue to raise issues of peo-ple's interest and will stand withthem."

Yadav charged that in thepresent BJP regime, corruptionis at its peak and 'sarkarigoondagardi' (hooliganism ofthe Government) is ruling theroost.

The party's victory inRampur, he said, is enough togauge the anger of peopleagainst the administration,which has lodged a number of"fake" cases including goat andbuffalo theft charges againstsenior SP leader and Lok Sabhamember Azam Khan.

Terming the victory ofSamajwadi Party candidates inUttar Pradesh and Maharashtra

as people's mandate to savedemocracy, he said it was anindication of people's angeragainst the faulty, "anti-peoplepolicies" of the BJP.

About possibility of the SPforming an alliance in thefuture, he said, "I have takenpolitical risks. Arithmetic isdone in elections...But all fail in front of those whoremain with the people andraise their voice."

Citing the victory of SPcandidates in Jalalpur andGhosi Assembly seats, he said,"In Jalalpur our candidateSubhash Rai won as he gotvotes of all sections. He did nothave any arithmetic in hisfavour but he won as he wasthere with the people."

"In Ghosi, Sudhakar Singhfought in adverse conditions.He contested as an Independentas he could not get the partysymbol timely while filing nominations. He lost by a narrow margin," he said. PTI

Patna: Terming the victoryAIMIM in the KishanganjAssembly by-poll as "danger-ous" for Bihar, Union ministerGiriraj Singh on Friday accusedAsaduddin Owaisi's party ofadhering to the ideology ofPakistan founder Mohd AliJinnah.

The BJP leader, known forhis hardline stance onHindutva and nationalism, saidthe maiden victory of the AllIndia Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen (AIMIM) in Biharcould imperil "social harmony"in the State.

"In the Bihar by-elections,the most dangerous outcome isthe result of Kishanganj.Owaisi's party AIMIM adheresto Jinnah's ideology. They hate(national song) VandeMataram. Bihar's social har-mony faces a threat from them.The people of Bihar must thinkabout their future," Singh wroteon his official Twitter handle.

The AIMIM which hadunsuccessfully tried to find atoehold in Bihar politics in thegeneral elections earlier thisyear and the Assembly pollsfour years ago, pulled off a sur-prise victory in the by-electionnecessitated by sitting CongressMLA Mohd Javed getting elect-ed to the Lok Sabha.

Qamrul Hoda clinched theseat, defeating his nearest BJPrival Sweety Singh by a marginof over 10,000 votes whileJaved's mother Sayeeda Banu,

who made her debut in elec-toral politics at the age of 72 as

a Congress candidate, fin-ished third and lost her deposit.

Chief Minister NitishKumar's JD(U), known not toshare the BJP leader's hardlineviews, reacted with vexation.

"We would like to knowwhat Mr Singh has done to fos-ter harmony in Bihar. If he is soconcerned about the state, whydoesn't he resign from thepost he holds in Delhi and ded-icates himself full-time toimproving the situation inBihar," JD(U) national generalsecretary and State MinisterShyam Rajak remarked sarcas-tically.Congress MLC PremChandra Mishra attacked theUnion minister for his state-ment and accused the BJP ofhaving a "tacit understanding"with AIMIM.

"Giriraj Singh is trying tofool the people. The BJP andthe AIMIM have a tacit under-standing. Both thrive on com-munal polarization and needeach other to sustain them-selves," Mishra said. PTI

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Prime Minister NarendraModi is likely to visit

Kolkata in the first half of nextmonth when he will attendKolkata Press Trust programme, sources said not ruling out a meeting betweenhim and Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee.

Being one among very fewcompanies in the world theKPT is celebratingits 150thyear from October 2019onwards.

Though the PrimeMinister’s Office is yet to giveits confirmation about hisattending the programmesources said in all likelihood hewould come to Kolkata in thefirst week of next month dur-ing when he will also attendsome other programmes.

If his visit materialises thenit will be Modi’s first tour ofKolkata after BJP’s resoundingsuccess parliamentary elec-tions when his partywon 18 outof 42 seats from Bengal.

“As the Chief Minister willalso be invited in the pro-gramme the twoleaders mayhold brief talks during thePrime Minister’s stayinKolkata,” sources in the BJPsaid. The ruling TrinamoolCongressleadership howeverremained non-committal on apossible meetingbetween thetwo leaders saying “it alldepends upon her scheduled

engagements.”Apart from the KPT pro-

gramme the two leaders mayalso get each other to meetinformally at the Eden Gardens—when India playagainstBangladesh cricket team—where Bangla Prime MinisterSK Hasina will come as a spe-cial invitee besides Modi andBanerjee.Known for her bluntcriticism of Modi — whichmakes her one of thestaunchest and most visiblecritics of the Prime Minister inthe country — occasionalmeetings between the two leaders tend to become nation-

al news. Banerjee who hadavoided meeting the PrimeMinister despite repeatedinvites from Delhi for the pastcouple of years suddenly wentto the Capital in September tomeet him reportedly with along list of demands.

Her political opponentslike the Left and the Congresshowever questioned the timingand suddenness of her visit toDelhi saying she had gone toCapital to save former KolkataPolice Commissioner RajivKumar facing CBI investigationfor his role as the chief of theSpecial Investigation Team inSharada and Rose Valley chitfund cases.

“It is nothing new for aChief Minister to meet thePrime Minister. And we hopethe meetings take place inKolkata in the sidelines ofother events so that the peopleof the State get benefited fromsuchparleys,” a senior TMCleader and Minister said “looking forward to the meeting.”

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Patna: Newly elected LokSabha MP from Samastipur—Prince Raj — was on Fridayappointed as the LJP's newchief in Bihar, replacing hisuncle Pashupati Kuma Paras,also a member of Parliament.

The appointment wasmade by Lok Janshakti Partypresident and Union ministerRamvilas Paswan, which party'scentral parliamentary boardchairman and MP— ChiragPaswan— announced at a pressconference here.

Prince Raj, son of RamChandra Paswan, trouncedsenior Bihar Congress leaderAshok Kumar in the by-poll atSamastipur reserved seat, resultof which was declared onThursday. The by-election wasnecessitated due to death ofRam Chandra Paswan.

Chirag Paswan was takingcare of the LJP's Bihar unit afterelection of Paras from family'spocket borough Hajipurreserved parliamentary con-stituency in the general elec-tion.

With a view to strengthenparty's organisational struc-ture keeping in mind the 2020Bihar assembly election, theLJP president has also appoint-ed several others especiallyyouths to head various cells inthe state unit, Chirag Paswantold reporters.

Party MPs- Veena Devi(Vaishali) and Chandan Kumar(Nawada)— will be heading

LJP women's cell and youthwing in Bihar respectively, hesaid.

Party's spokesman AshrafAnsari has been chosen asState minorities' cell chief whileSanjay Paswan will head DalitSena, an organisation floated byPaswan.

Notwithstanding NDA'spoor showing in the by-poll onfive assembly seats which sawonly one JD(U) nominee win-ning, Chirag Paswan, an MPfrom Jamui (SC) Lok Sabhaseat, asserted that the rulingcoalition would win 225 assem-bly seats in the 243-memberBihar assembly in the nextelection.

"The party's organisationwill be strengthened furtherwith youths heading party'svarious frontal organisations inBihar unit. We will prepare forparty's organisational struc-ture keeping in mind the 2020assembly polls.

"We will be able to registervictory in assembly poll just onthe lines of Lok Sabha electionwhen the NDA won 39 out of40 seats. We will be aiming towin more than 225 seats,"Chirag Paswan said. PTI

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!�� ()�2 �� %��%�� &��%�*��%�� Patna: Bihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar has put a braveface on JD(U)'s drubbing in theby-polls, saying his party isreplete with by-election deba-cles followed by spectacularperformance in the state pollsshortly afterwards.

He accepted the mandatesaying voters are "maalik"(masters).In the by-polls on fiveassembly seats in Bihar, JD(U)could win only at Nathnagar. Itheld four of the five seats,before its legislators winninggeneral election and moving toLok Sabha.

Main opposition RJDbagged two assembly seats-Simri Bakhtiarpur and Belhar-Hyderabad MP AsaduddinOwaisi's AIMIM gained a toe-hold in the state clinchingKishanganj, while theDaraundha assembly segmentwent to an Independent.

BJP lost the Kishanganj, theonly seat where it had fieldedits candidate.

The NDA, however, scoredan easy victory in Samastipur(SC) Lok Sabha constituencywhere Union minister RamVilas Paswan's nephew PrinceRaj defeated Ashok Kumar ofthe Congress by over 1 lakhvotes.

The seat had fallen vacantfollowing the death ofPaswan's younger brother andtwo-term MP Ram ChandraPaswan.

"The electorate are our

maalik (masters). What moreshould I say? Moreover, ourhistory is replete with by-polldebacles followed by a spec-tacular performance in assem-bly elections shortly after-wards", Kumar said lateThursday wearing a broadsmile.

His terse comment camewhen he was approached by agroup of journalists seeking hisreaction on the by-poll results.

On Friday, the JD(U) cameup with the comment that itsuspected faulty selection ofcandidates and complacence onpart of the cadre was respon-sible for the partys debacle inthe by-elections, results ofwhich were announced on theprevious day.

JDs Bihar unit chiefVashishtha Narayan Singh saidhere that a report has beensought on the partys perfor-mance in the by-election,which saw the JD(U) losingthree of its four sitting seats andwinning one by a slender mar-gin.

He asserted that "actionwill be taken" on the basis ofthe inputs.Singh echoedKumar's view while asserting"our track record has beensuch that we have bouncedback after every by-poll deba-cle. So we see no need toworry on account of what happened yesterday thoughthere is no room for complacence. PTI

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India can now boast of havingits own genetic database

which can be used in a number of areas including predictive and preventive medicine with faster and efficient diagnosis of raregenetic diseases such as thalassemia, sickle cell anemia and cancer.

For the first time, theCouncil of Scientific andIndustrial Research (CSIR) hascollected genome sequence of1,008 Indians, representingover 55 different ethnic popu-lations and age groups, creat-ing a bank of genetic data.Genome sequencing is theprocess of figuring out theorder of DNA nucleotides, orbases, in a genome.

Globally, many countrieslike the US, China, Japan haveundertaken genome sequenc-ing of a sample of their citizens

to determine unique genetictraits, susceptibility (andresilience) to disease. This is thefirst time that a database ofIndians have been compiled,representating the country'spopulation diversity, saidUnion Minister for Science &Technology, Dr HarshVardhan, giving details of theIndiGen Genome project.

He said that the wholegenome data will be importantfor building the knowhow,

baseline data and indigenouscapacity in the emerging areaof precision medicine.

"The outcomes of theIndiGen will have applicationsin a number of areas includingpredictive and preventive med-icine with faster and efficientdiagnosis of rare genetic dis-eases," he added.

The IndiGen initiative wasundertaken by the CSIR inApril this year and was imple-mented by the CSIR-Institute ofGenomics and IntegrativeBiology (IGIB), Delhi andCSIR-Centre for Cellular andMolecular Biology (CCMB),Hyderabad.

Dr Harsh Vardhan saidthat the benefits of this initia-tive include epidemiology ofgenetic diseases to enable costeffective genetic tests, carrierscreening applications forexpectant couples, enablingefficient diagnosis of heritablecancers and pharmacogenetic

tests to prevent adverse drugreactions.

CSIR Director ShekharMande said the outcomes ofthe IndiGen will be utilisedtowards understanding thegenetic diversity of a population scale, making avail-able genetic variant frequenciesfor clinical applications andenabling genetic epidemiology of the diseases.

He pointed out that thereare millions of people in thecountry with genetic diseasesand this exercise will greatlybenefit in identifying thesedisorders.

The genome bank specificto the Indian population willalso help cut down costs ofgenetic screenings and thera-pies, said Ishaan Khanna, CEOof LifeCell Diagnostics whichis among the seven firms having acquired the licensefor the technology.

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Kolkata: A TMC leader, who isthe chief patron of a club atBarasat in North 24 Parganasdistrict, stepped down from thepost on Friday after it invitedWest Bengal Governor JagdeepDhankhar to inaugurate KaliPuja.

Sunil Mukherjee, who isalso the chairman of BarasatMunicipality, stepped downafter he came to know that theclub officials had invitedDhankhar as the as the chief

guest to inaugurate Kali Pujaorganised by it.

"I should have beeninformed as I am the chiefpatron of the club. I havestrong reservations as I feel thatthe governor is biased againstour state government. So Idecided to step down on myown," Mukherjee said.

A senior club official saidthat according to the club'srules and regulations it is notnecessary to inform the chief

patron about the guest list.Kali Puja will be

celebrated in Bengal onOctober 27 across the State.

Dhankhar, who took oathas the governor of West Bengalon July 30, has been at logger-heads with the StateGovernment over several issues— ranging from his seating atthe Durga Puja carnival tocomments on his security andthe State Government. PTI

Bengaluru: AttackingCongress leader Siddaramaiahand holding him responsiblefor the collapse of the coalitionGovernment in Karnataka,JD(S) leader H DKumaraswamy has asked himto "honestly" respond to ques-tions about "damage" in thealliance between the two par-ties.

Kumaraswamy, who head-ed the coalition then, told hisformer alliance partner that hisparty did not want any truckwith him.

"What kind of support you

(Siddaramaiah) gave duringLok Sabha polls? Who was inthe heart of MLAs who wereresponsible for the collapse ofthe government? Will you hon-estly answer this question"who"?

I'm indebted for yourcooperation and support.Iwon't forget in this life. We toodon't want your company,"Kumaraswamy tweeted.

Asked about once againjoining hands with the JD(S),if the BJP Government fellafter the December 5 bypolls to15 constituencies,

Siddaramaiah on Thursdayhad said, "We have got anexperience from that (joiningwith JD(S)), and instead will gofor polls."

Kumaraswamy in anothertweet asked "who askedSiddaramaiah to join handswith us?

Who had gone to hisdoors?" as he cited commentsreportedly made by theCongress leader raising doubtsabout the longevity of thecoalition government, whilegetting treated at a nature curecentre last year.

A video of Siddaramaiahpurportedly stating that thecoalition Government will notlast long after the Lok Sabhapolls had gone viral a few daysafter the Kumaraswamy-ledgovernment came topower.The Congress and JD(S),considered arch rivals in the oldMysuru region, joined hands toform the government underKumaraswamy's leadership asthe 2018 assembly polls threwup a hung verdict.With its fallin July following rebellion by 17disgruntled MLAs from bothparties, Kumaraswamy and

Siddaramaiah had held eachother responsible for the col-lapse of the alliance adminis-tration.Kumaraswamy's fatherand JD(S) patriarch had alsotargeted Siddaramaiah in thepast for the collapse.Coming toKumaraswamy's defence,Gowda on Friday said what hisson has said, is a "fact."The for-mer Prime Minister saidSiddaramaiah had agreed foralliance and for Kumaraswamyto be Chief Minister followingthe decision from Congresshigh command, "but, at the endpunished us." PTI

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The shock defeats of theparty candidate as well as

the Congress candidate supported by it in the Assemblybypolls at Vikravandi andNaguneri has shocked theDMK leadership. The DMK’sreversal of fortunes come hardly six months after it sweptthe Lok Sabha election deci-mating the AIADMK-led fronthas come as a surprise to the political commentators also.

“This was somethingwhich was waiting to happenafter the decision of the lead-ership to field sons, daughterand grand children of partyveterans. The cadre who havebeen with the party for decadesand senior leaders were ignoredduring the selection of candi-dates for the Lok Sabha elec-tions. The coronation ofUdhayanidhi, son of partypresident M K Stalin, as thesecond in command has not

gone well with party’s leadersand cadre,” said a senior DMKleader who did not want to benamed.

He described it as theCongressisation of the DMK.“Stalin’s appointment as partypresident itself was not a cor-rect decision. It was a coteriesurrounding Stalin whichdecided to appoint him asparty chief. They were reward-ed at the time of Lok Sabhaelections by Stalin who field-ed their sons, daughter andclose relations as candidates,”said the leader who was aclose confidante of formerparty president and former

chief minister MuthuvelKarunanidhi.

Referring to the peoplewielding power in the districtunits of the DMK, he saidmany of them were from theAIADMK who crossed over tothe party after the demise ofJayalalithaa in search of green-er pasture. “There are otherslike KKSSR Ramachandran,Selva Ganapathy who areknown as the AIADMK dias-poras,” he said.

The leader also said theinclusion of the Vaiko-ledMDMK and the VCK led byThirumavalavan too hasboomeranged on the party.“Both Vaiko andThirumavalavan do not fit wellwith the kind of politics practiced by the DMK . WhileVaiko was spitting venom atthe DMK and Stalin some twomonths before his inclusion inthe front, Thirumavaalavanspeaks, breaths and consumescaste. His speeches against oneparticular community has mis-fired and the DMK had to pay

the price,” he said. Vaiko alleged that the

AAIADMK misused the entiregovernment machinery inNanguneri and Vikravandi.“The results of these by-pollsalone cannot considered to bea reflection of the mood inTamil Nadu,” said Vaiko

reacting to the loss of the constituencies to the AIADMK.

Raveendran Doraisamy, akeen observer of the DMK, saidthat the bout was between twolacklustre leaders (Stalin andEdappadi Palaniswami) inwhich the man with powerromped home. “Stalin has beenweakened because of theAIADMK wresting the twoseats. We have to wait for theresults of the election to thelocal bodies before makingany assessment about what thefuture holds for the DMK. Thealliance partners like theCongress, the Lefts and VCKare certain to exert pressure onStalin to part with more seats,”said Doraisamy.

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The Opposition Congressand NCP are working hard

towards isolating the ruling BJPfrom the Shiv Sena and rest ofthe political parties in the State.

A day after former ChiefMinister and senior Congressleader Prithviraj Chavan saidhe foresaw some "interestingpossibilities" about the chang-ing political equations in theduring the next 15 days andNCP leader Chhagan Bhujbalsaid that the "Sena can get CM'spost", Maharashtra PradeshCongress Committee presi-dent Balasaheb Thorat said onFriday that his party wouldseriously consider any propos-al received from the Shiv Senafor the formation of a newGovernment in the State.

Talking to media persons,

Thorat said that the Congresswas not averse to forming agovernment with the Shiv Sena."Our request to the Shiv Senais to make up its mind to forma Government without oursupport. If we receive any pro-posal in this regard, we willconsider it seriously," Thoratsaid.

On Thursday, PrithvirajChavan had set the catamong the pigeons by saying:"The BJP has got lesser num-ber of seats than it hadexpected. They were saying all

things that they would getmore 220/250 seats etc. They(BJP leaders) were even talk-ing about forming the gov-ernment on their ownstrength. If they want to forma Government now, they willhave to give the Shiv Sena itspound of flesh. After the lastelections, the NCP hadoffered unconditional sup-port from the outside. Asresult, the Shiv Sena had nobargaining power at that time.That won't happen now".

"I do not rule out someinteresting possibilities. Waitfor 15 days. You will get now,"he said. "We are talking to ourallies. We know as to what areall the possibilities before us.We all will sit across whether toproceed in the matter or not,"Chavan said, indirectly hintingat the exploring the possibili-

ty of extending support to theShiv Sena from outside.

Another former ChiefMinister Ashok Chavan hadalso said: "The Assembly pollresults have shown that the BJPcan be kept out of power".

It is only NCP presidentSharad Pawar who has not yetcome around to extending sup-port to the Shiv Sena eitherfrom outside and inside toform a new Government in thestate.

"People have asked us to sitin the opposition. The thoughtof trying to get into powerdoesn't even cross our minds.We will work to expand ourbase," Pawar had said.

To another query, Pawarsaid: "We will not go with ShivSena. NCP-Congress and otherallies will decide together, thefuture course of action."

Mumbai: The NCP on Fridayalleged that the ED case againstits supremo Sharad Pawar is aconspiracy of the NarendraModi government to brandopposition leaders as thievesand corrupt, a charge rub-bished by the BJP.

The allegation came in thewake of the EnforcementDirectorate naming Pawar in amoney laundering case andquestioning NCP leader PrafulPatel for alleged business dealswith late Iqbal Mirchi, aDawood Ibrahim aide.

"The ED filed a case againstPawar. It is a conspiracy of theBJP, Modi and (home ministerAmit) Shah to remove opposi-tion leaders by painting themas thieves and corrupt," allegedNCP chief spokespersonNawab Malik.

"They said Patel is linked toDawood and Mirchi to defameus during polls through elec-tronic media," he added.

Malik also called DevendraFadnavis the "most corruptand dishonest Chief Minister"in the Maharashtra's history.

"All MMRDA (MumbaiMetropolitan Region

Development Authority) con-tracts were given at 42 per centexcess rates. Contracts weregiven to cartels.

The Government gave con-tracts to blacklisted compa-nies," he alleged.

The BJP dismissed Malik'stirade, saying he was levellingbaseless allegations to divertattention as the links betweenDawood and the NCP wascoming to light.MaharashtraBJP's chief spokespersonMadhav Bhandari also saidthe documents related to awardof contracts by the FadnavisGovernment were in publicdomain.

"NCP leaders who did notdo anything besides corruptionshould not try to tarnish theclean image of the ChiefMinister," he added. PTI

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Mumbai: BJP leaderUdayanraje Bhosale, who faceda shock defeat in the Satara LokSabha bypoll in Maharashtra,on Friday said he has lost theelection, but is not "finished"yet.

Bhosale, a direct descen-dant of the 17th centuryMaratha king ChhatrapatiShivaji, tasted defeat at thehands of NCP leader ShriniwasPatil in the WesternMaharashtra seat.

"Have lost today, buthaven't stopped. Haven't won,but also not finished," Bhosaletweeted in Marathi.

Bhosale thanked his work-ers and the people who votedfor him in the October 21 elec-tion.

A multiple-time formerMember of Parliament fromthe Sharad Pawar-led NCP,Bhosale secured 5,48,903 votes,while Patil garnered 6,36,620votes.

The bypoll was necessitated after sitting MPBhosale quit the NCP andresigned from the post to jointhe ruling BJP last month. PTI

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Kolkata: Two persons werekilled in rain-related incidents inBankura district of West Bengalas heavy rain continued to lashthe State since Thursday, officialssaid on Friday.

The Met department fore-cast more downpour in the Stateowing to a low pressure area in

south Odisha and West CentralBay of Bengal.

The weatherman, however,held out a ray of hope for goodweather on Kali Puja and Diwalito be celebrated in the weekend,forecasting a clear sky fromSaturday afternoon.

In Indpur block of Bankura

district, an elderly man and awoman died because of drown-ing and wall collapse respectivelyon Thursday, District MagistrateUmashankar S said.The Metdepartment forecast heavy tovery heavy rain in East and WestMidnapore, South 24 Parganasdistricts of Gangetic West

Bengal.Heavy rain is likely at oneor two places over districts ofSub-Himalayan West Bengaland in Howrah, North 24Parganas, Murshidabad, Nadia,Birbhum, Hooghly and EastBurdwan districts of GangeticWest Bengal, the weathermansaid. PTI

Muzaffarnagar (UP):Hundreds of lawyers staged ademonstration outside the dis-trict magistrate's office here onFriday in protest against aspate of killings of lawyers inwestern Uttar Pradesh in thepast two weeks.

Muzaffarnagar district barassociation president NaseerHaider Kazmi and secretaryPradeep Malik told the mediathat they had sent a six-pointmemorandum to Chief Minister YogiAdityanath. PTI

Lucknow: After drawing ablank in the Uttar PradeshAssembly bypolls, the BSPblamed the ruling BJP for itsdebacle, saying it helped theSamajwadi Party win someseats.

In the bypolls to 11 assem-bly segments, the BJP and itsally Apna Dal (S) bagged 8 seatsand the SP three.

The SP, which emerged asthe biggest gainer, wrestedZaidpur seat from the rulingBJP and Jalalpur from the BSP,while retaining Rampur.

"As part of a conspiracy tobring the morale of the BSPmen down before the UPVidhan Sabha elections, theBJP in these bypolls made theSamajwadi Party win someseats and not allow the BSP towin a single seat," BSP president Mayawati tweetedafter the loss in the elections.

"Partymen understand thiswell. They will definitely workwholeheartedly to fail their

conspiracy," she added.The Uttar Pradesh bypoll

results have come as a setbackfor the BSP which had soughtto project itself as the mainopposition party in the State.

It not only failed to retainits Jalalpur seat but also pushedto the fourth spot in six of the11 assembly segments.

BSP's Chaya Verma lost theJalalpur seat to SamajwadiParty's Subhash Rai by a slen-der margin of 790 votes.

Chaya Verma is the daugh-ter of senior BSP leader LaljiVerma and Jalalpur was a BSP

stronghold from where its itscandidate Ritesh Pandey hadwon the Lok Sabha electionsearlier this year.

The party candidates faredbelow Congress nominees andalso lost deposits at many of theseats.

On six seats-Gangoh,Rampur, Lucknow Cantt,Govindnagar, Pratapgarh andZaidpur-its candidates fared apoor fourth.

On three others-Manikpur,Balha and Ghosi-it took thethird spot and on two-Iglas andJalapur-it finished the runnersup.

The party got the lowest2.14 per cent votes in Rampurand the highest 33.96 per centand 31.25 per cent in Iglas andJalalpur, respectively.

The BSP, which was themajor gainer in this year's LokSabha polls, winning 10 seats inalliance with the SamajwadiParty, had decided to contestthe bypolls after almost 12years. PTI

Kolkata: President Ram NathKovind is scheduled to inau-gurate the fifth edition of theIndia International ScienceFestival (IISC) 2019 to be heldin the city from November 5,one of the organisers said onFriday.

Prime Minister NarendraModi will also be present at theinauguration programme, asenior official of the NationalAtlas and Thematic MappingOrganisation (NATMO) said.

"This festival is held since2015 to celebrate Indias scien-tific and technological advance-ments with scientists, studentsand innovators.

"It is an attempt to encour-age young minds towards sci-ence and promote networkingof stakeholders working forpropagation of science," hesaid.

The festival will be inau-gurated at Biswa BanglaConvention Centre, he said.

Around 12,000 participantsfrom the country and abroadare expected to turn up at thefour-day programme.

The theme for this yearsfestival is `Research,Innovation, and ScienceEmpowering the Nation(`RISEN- India), he said.

"Students from theNATMO and other prestigiousinstitutions surrounding thecity are expected to participatein the outreach programme, hesaid.Over 2,500 school stu-dents from different parts of thecountry will be housed at aStudents Science Village, to beset up during the festival.

Events such as conferencefor young scientists, a scienceexpo, a science literature festi-val will also be held.

Special role of women sci-entists and entrepreneurs inshaping the scientific growthinjectors will be highlighted atthe festival, the officer said.PTI

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Kolkata: Thirteen Bangladeshinationals have been arrestedfrom different areas in WestBengal while trying to illegal-ly cross the Indo-Bangla bor-der since Wednesday, a BSFstatement said.

The immigrants wereeither trying to cross overfrom Bangladesh to India orvice versa with the help oftouts, the statement said.

Four Bangladeshis werearrested from Basirhat,Gaighata on Thursday whiletrying to illegally sneak intothe country from Bangladesh,the statement said.

Four others were alsoarrested from Hakimpur areawhile trying to cross the bor-der illegally from India.

On Wednesday night, fiveBangladeshi nationals wereapprehended from Jayantipur,Petrapole, Gaighata andHingalganj while trying tocross the border from the

neighbouring country.So far in 2019, BSF troops

of South Bengal Frontierapprehended 305 Indian and1,364 Bangladeshi nationalsfor trying to illegally cross theinternational boundary. PTI

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Telecom regulator TRAI hasrecommended allocating 5

MHz spectrum in the prime700 MHz band to IndianRailways for its captive use inareas such as passenger infor-mation display system and livefeed of video surveillance andother public safety and securi-ty services needs.

“Spectrum may beassigned to Indian Railways onadministrative basis for captiveuse only and not to offer anycommercial services such asWiFi onboard,” TelecomRegulatory Authority of India(TRAI) said in a statement out-lining its latest recommenda-tions on the issue.

TRAI suggested that spec-trum charges be levied on for-mula basis as prescribed by

Telecom Department forRoyalty Charges and LicenceFee for captive use.

“Out of the 35 MHz(paired) spectrum available in700 MHz band, 5 MHz(paired) spectrum may be allo-cated to Indian Railways forimplementing ...MC PTT(Mission Critical Push ToTalk), Voice, Internet of Thingsbased asset monitoring ser-vices, passenger informationdisplay system and live feed ofVideo Surveillance of fewcoaches at a time,” TRAI said.

The remaining 30 MHz in700 MHz band may be put upfor bidding in the forthcomingauction, TRAI said.

Releasing its recommen-dations on allotment of spec-trum to Indian Railways forPublic Safety and Security ser-vices, TRAI noted that the

Telecom Department inFebruary 2019 had informedthat Railways has proposed toinstall an Ultra-high-speedLong Term Evolution (LTE)based corridor along their net-work for “train-ground” and

“train-train” communication.Indian Railways had urged

Telecom Department to reserve15 MHz of spectrum in 700MHz band for the purpose, andto start with 10 MHz to be allo-cated free of cost; Railways had

emphasised that the proposalwas devoid of any commercialgain, and instead aimed atenhancing security and pas-senger amenities.

The government thenrequested TRAI to provide itsrecommendations on admin-istrative allotment of spectrumto Indian Railways and thequantum, price, appropriatefrequency band for the same.

“To implement the VideoSurveillance System for allcoaches of the Train (Securityservices), Indian Railways mayexplore other communicationsmeans such as- dumping theVideo Surveillance data to thesystem using high capacityWiFi when the train reaches astation....Using PublicTelecommunication Network(TSPs network) for sendingcontinuous video surveillance

data streams to its control cen-ter,” TRAI said.

The regulator further saidthat efficient and timely uti-lization of spectrum should beensured through a process ofperiodical monitoring. Further,the 1.6 MHz spectrum alreadyassigned to Indian Railways in900 MHz band may be takenback upon migration to LTEbased network, it added.

“As Indian Railways wouldbe using the assigned spectrumalong its railway track net-work and stations only, DoTmay explore the possibility ofassigning the same spectrum inother areas for area-specificlimited use to other entities forcaptive use,” TRAI said addingit should be ensured that thereis no interference to theRailways’ network from such use.

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US market regulator SECwill be seeking coopera-

tion from its Indian counter-part Sebi in its probe intoInfosys, which has been rockedby whistleblower complaints ofseveral alleged irregularities,sources said on Friday.

They said the Indian cap-ital markets watchdog will pro-vide all possible help to the USSecurities and ExchangeCommission (SEC).

Infosys is listed in India aswell as in the US, where a classaction suit has also been filedagainst the Indian IT major torecover what has been termedby the litigants as losses suf-fered by investors there.

Queries sent to the SECwith regard to cooperationsought from Sebi remain unan-swered. The SEC has initiateda probe on whistleblower com-plaints that alleged “unethicalpractices” by top managementof Infosys and Bengaluru-basedIT major has said it will coop-erate with the investigation.

The Securities andExchange Board of India (Sebi)has also sought additional infor-mation from the company,while the National FinancialReporting Authority (NFRA) —which is part of the corporateaffairs ministry — has beenasked to look into the matter.

“The company has been intouch with the SEC regardingthe anonymous whistleblowercomplaints (anonymous com-plaints) and has learnt that theSEC has initiated an investiga-tion into this matter. The com-pany

will cooperate with the

SEC’s investigation,” Infosyssaid on Thursday. Also, Sebirequested additional informa-tion from the company con-cerning the anonymous com-plaints, and Infosys will providethe information as per itsrequest, the company said.

Infosys said it is also “awareof a securities class action law-suit” that has been filed againstthe company in federal court inthe US, based on the gener-alised allegations in the anony-mous complaints. The compa-ny intends to defend itself vig-orously in such a lawsuit.”

US-based Rosen Law Firmhad previously said it waspreparing a class action lawsuitto recover losses suffered byInfosys investors in the US.

Following reports ofwhistleblower allegations onMonday, Infosys had informedstock exchanges of havingreceived anonymous whistle-blower complaints alleging cer-tain unethical practices.

Infosys, which is India’ssecond largest IT services firmafter Tata ConsultancyServices, had said these hadbeen placed before the auditcommittee.

On Tuesday, in a moredetailed statement, InfosysChairman Nandan Nilekanisaid the whistleblower com-plaint dated September 20 aswell as an undated complainthad been received by one of theboard members on September30. These were placed beforethe audit committee onOctober 10, and the company’snon-executive board memberson October 11 (also the daywhen Infosys announced itssecond quarter results).

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Gold prices rallied �220 to�39,240 per 10 gram

in the national capital onDhanteras, according to HDFCSecurities.

The yellow metal hadclosed at �39,020 per 10 gramhere on Thursday.

Silver also witnessed buy-ing as it rose Rs 670 to Rs47,680 per kg from Rs 47,010per kg in the previous trade.

“Spot gold for 24 Karat inDelhi cheered the festival sea-son by gaining Rs 220 on theauspicious day of ‘Dhanteras’,”HDFC Securities, senior ana-lyst — commodities, TapanPatel said.

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Amazon founder and CEOJeff Bezos has lost the title

as the world’s richest man,paving the way for tenaciousBill Gates to grab the top spotafter Amazon’s lacklustre Q3results resulted in Bezos losingnearly $7 billion in stock value.

Amazon shares fell 7 percent in after-hours trading onThursday, leaving Bezos downto $103.9 billion. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is currentlyworth $105.7 billion. Bezosended Gates’ 24-year run as therichest man in 2018 andbecame the first man on earthwith a net worth of $160 billion.

Amazon reported a 26 percent drop in net income in itsthird quarter, its first profitdecline since 2017, reportsForbes.

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The heir to the Samsungempire arrived at court

Friday for a retrial over asprawling corruption scandalthat threatens to disrupt man-agement at the world’s biggestsmartphone and memory chipmaker.

Lee Jae-yong is vice-chair-man of Samsung Electronics —where profits have been fallingfor months — and was jailedfor five years in 2017 forbribery, embezzlement andother offences in connectionwith the scandal that broughtdown South Korean presidentPark Geun-hye.

The 51-year-old wasreleased a year later after anappeals court dismissed most ofhis bribery convictions and gavehim a suspended sentence, butthat decision was set aside by theSupreme Court in August,

which ordered a retrial.Accompanied by his

lawyers, Lee walked stony-faced into the Seoul HighCourt for the new proceedings,only telling reporters: “I’msorry for causing many peopleconcern. I apologise.” The casecentres on millions of dollarsthe Samsung group paid Park’ssecret confidante Choi Soon-sil, allegedly for governmentfavours such as ensuring asmooth transition for Lee tosucceed his ailing father.

The scandal highlightedshady links between big busi-ness and politics in SouthKorea, with the ousted presi-dent and her friend accused oftaking bribes from corporatebigwigs in exchange for pref-erential treatment. The twowomen were both convictedand given decades-long jailsentences, and are due to faceseparate retrials of their own.

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Shares of Vodafone Idea fur-ther declined 5 per cent on

Friday after the Supreme Courtallowed the Centre’s plea torecover adjusted gross revenue(AGR) of about �92,000 crorefrom telecom service providers.

Vodafone Idea’s scrip tum-bled 5.08 per cent to close at�4.11 on the BSE. During theday, it plummeted 15.47 percent to �3.66 — its 52-weeklow. The company’s scrip hadplunged 23.36 per cent onThursday after the apex court’sverdict.

Bharti Airtel also fell by2.59 per cent to �362.80 duringthe day but later closed at�375.80, up 0.90 per cent.

In a setback to telecom ser-vice providers, the SupremeCourt on Thursday allowed theCentre’s plea to recover AGR of about �92,000 crorefrom them.

The decision will have a bigimpact on the sector as it isalready in huge financial dis-tress, said Prashant Singhal,Emerging Markets TMTLeader, EY.

Bharti Airtel on Thursdaysaid the Supreme Court’s ver-dict on AGR will weaken via-bility of the telecom sector, andthe government must review itsimpact and find ways to miti-gate financial burden on thealready stressed industry.

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Facing over �21,000 croreliability in interest and

penalty alone after a SupremeCourt ruling on the definitionof telecom revenues, VodafoneIdea on Friday said it willapproach the government forrelief, including a waiver ofinterest and penalties.

Vodafone-Idea, BhartiAirtel and other telecom oper-ators may have to pay the gov-ernment a whopping �1.4lakh crore following theSupreme Court order onThursday that sent shockwaves through an industryalready grappling with bil-lions of dollars in debt and anintense tariff war to retain cus-tomers.

In a filing on Friday,Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) saidthe apex court’s verdict on theAdjusted Gross Revenue case,represents a “significant event”,and has financial implica-tions, which the company isreviewing.

VIL board met onThursday evening to discussthe issue, it said.

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Jewellery stocks came underselling pressure and tum-

bled up to 6.6 per cent onDhanteras. Shares ofTribhovandas Bhimji Zaveridropped 6.65 per cent,Thangamayil Jewellery 4.81per cent, PC Jeweller fell 4.07per cent and Titan Company2.94 per cent on the BSE onFriday. Dhanteras, celebrated innorthern and western parts ofIndia, is considered an auspi-cious day for buying gold, sil-ver and other valuables.

Gold and jewellery saleswere muted till afternoon onthe occasion of Dhanteras aspeople preferred silver coinsand utentils for token buyingamid sluggish consumerspending and high rates of theprecious metal, according toindustry players.

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During the year under review, NMDChas achieved iron ore production and salesof 32.4 million T respectively and ProfitAfter Tax (PAT) of `4,642 crores.

In the year under retrospect, NMDCperformed exceedingly well in most ofthe parameters despite suspension ofoperations at Donimalai mines inKarnataka.

NMDC has emerged as preferredbidder for Gold Deposit at Chigargunta-Bisanatham, Andhra Pradesh throughauction. This is the first lease in whichNMDC is declared as preferred bidder inauction process.

AUGMENTATION OFPRODUCTION CAPACITY

NMDC’s current mining capacity is 43million tonnes. As it stands, NMDC isalready India’s largest Iron Ore producer.Going forward, NMDC is targetingsubstantial increase in mining capacityfrom 43 MT to 67 MT.

MEETING THE DEMAND OFDOMESTIC IRON & STEEL INDUSTRY

NMDC is making all the efforts to fulfilliron ore requirement of domestic iron &Steel sector and taken lot of initiatives like:

Augmenting Evacuation capacity- Toincrease the evacuation capacity fromBailadila sector NMDC has taken updoubling of Kirandul-Jagadalpur Railwayline which will reduce the totalturnaround time for Rakes in-turn willimprove availability of Rakes, also.

NMDC is also constructing a slurrypipeline from Bailadila to Jagadalpur andfurther to Vishakhapatnam (with acapacity of 15 Million T per annum).

To meet the growing demand of spongeiron industries in Bailadila sector(Chhattisgarh) sale of new product (Sizedlump ore 10-20 mm) started in the monthof March’19, which is a direct feedmaterial for sponge iron plants and have agood demand.

Use of low-grade ore (Slime): NMDChas started production of Pellets from its1.2 MTPA Pellet plant in Donimalai sectorby utilizing iron ore slimes and sold about1.15 Lakh T of Pellets during FY 18-19.

Expanding Customer base: In order tobroaden customer base, NMDC inductednew customers while retaining theexisting ones. Further in addition to saleto LT customers, e-auctions are also beingconducted regularly in Bailadila sector tocater to the needs of Non-LT customers.

Development of intermediatestockpile: NMDC is developingintermediate stockpile toaccommodate about 5.0 Lakh T of ironore cargo at Kumarmaranga(Chhattisgarh), which is likely tocommence in current financial year.Intermediate stockpile will facilitate toenhance evacuation capacity and totake care of disruptions caused byheavy rains during monsoon seasonand night movement restriction etc.

All these efforts have resulted in strong

fundamental growth for NMDC duringFY 2018-19 and the above initiatives willhelp NMDC to achieve future targets.

Expanding Customer base: In order tobroaden customer base, NMDC inductednew customers while retaining theexisting ones. Further in addition to saleto LT customers, e-auctions are also beingconducted regularly in Bailadila sector tocater to the needs of Non-LT customers.

Development of intermediatestockpile: NMDC is developingintermediate stockpile to accommodateabout 5.0 Lakh T of iron ore cargo atKumarmaranga (Chhattisgarh), which islikely to commence in current financialyear. Intermediate stockpile will facilitateto enhance evacuation capacity and totake care of disruptions caused by heavyrains during monsoon season and nightmovement restriction etc.

All these efforts have resulted in strongfundamental growth for NMDC duringFY 2018-19 and the above initiatives willhelp NMDC to achieve future targets.

NMDC achieved record production & sales in FY-19

(c) Projects/Schemes to enhance evacuation capacityTo augment the evacuation capacity from

Bailadila sector, many expansion projects & schemesare taken up such as doubling of existing KK rail line,Rowghat-Jagdalpur new rail line, Slurry pipe line etc.Including upgradation of crushing, screening andloading capacities.

During FY 2018-19, 9.2 kms line betweenSilkajhori and Kumharsodra (Section-III) wascompleted and opened to traffic. Works are inprogress in other reaches of both Section-II &Section-III and are scheduled to be completed byFY 2020-21.

Further, Doubling of KK line between Jagdalpurand Ambagaon (25Kms) is also taken up throughCustomer Funding Model agreement.

Kirandul Complex

(a) 3-MTPA Steel Plant at Nagarnar,Bastar, Chhattisgarh

The progress of construction of thesteel plant during the year 2018-19 isnoticeable and various packages are at

construction completion stage. Cold trialof individual equipments under variouspackages are in progress.

The steel plant is scheduled to becommissioned in three phases and is

expected to be operational by third quarterof FY 2020-21. Operational power supplyline is already energized and power wasmade available to various units of steel plant.

Rail connectivity to the plant premises

for initial traffic movement of material isin place. At present, overall site progressof civil works, structural erection andequipment erection are respectively at95%, 92% and 78%.

NMDC’s ON-GOING PROJECTS

(b) Projects/Schemes for capacity expansionFor capacity expansion of loading plant in Donimalai sector,

additional stacking & loading facility of 7 MTPA capacity isenvisaged. Further, remodelling of existing Ranjitpura Railway yardis planned for augmentation of rail despatches.

Donimalai Complex

RAIPUR | SATURDAY | OCTOBER 26, 2019 11

NMDC, India’s single largestiron ore producer, is committedto meet the growing requirementof iron ore by the Indian SteelIndustry and the company hasmade plans to increase itsproduction capacity to 67 milliontonnes per annum.

NMDC, which was establishedon 15th November 1958 as aPublic Sector Undertaking toexplore, develop and exploitmineral resources other than fueloil and atomic minerals, isrewriting history with recordproduction each passing year.

NMDC owes its genesis to thevision of independent India’sfounding fathers who believedthat true and meaningfulindependence was possible onlywith economic self-sufficiency.

NMDC’s strategy focuses ongrowth largely through brownfield expansion of existing minesand improving evacuation alongwith it. Development ofgreen- field mine (Deposit 13)which has been planned throughJoint Venture with theChhattisgarh State MineralDevelopment Corporation, forwhich MDO has already beenappointed, will add a capacity of10 MTPA in next 4-5 years.

For further expansion ofcapacity, NMDC is pursuingallocation of new iron ore depositsboth through participation inauction and government dispensa-tion route. NMDC is also partici-pating in auction for new leases.

In acknowledgement of itssubstantial contribution to thedomestic mineral sector duringthe last five decades it has beenaccorded the status of a Schedule-A public sector company.

In recognition of thecompany’s consistent perform-ance, the Company was alsocategorized as a Navratna PublicSector Enterprise in 2008. The

company is diversifying into steelmaking and has undertakenseveral capital intensive projectsto modernize and increasecapacities to retain its domesticleadership and has also forayedoverseas successfully.

A band of over 5500 dedicatedemployees make NMDC what itis - a world class mining organi-sation. These are professionalswho delve into the bowels of theearth to bring her riches beforethe world. NMDC is proud of itswork culture and the positiveattitude of its employees whohave earned several laurels for thecompany and continue to workceaselessly to take it ever forward.

NMDC’s five mines received5 Star Rating

NMDC’s highly mechanizedfive iron ore mines received 5Star Rating from Ministry ofMines at the 3rd NationalConclave on Mines and Mineralsat New Delhi. Two mines from

Bacheli Complex, two minesfrom Kirandul Complex(Chhattisgarh) and one minefrom Donimalai (Karnataka)received the 5 star rating given byIndian Bureau of Mines (IBM),Ministry of Mines, Governmentof India.

The 5-star rating certificateswere given by Shri NarendraSingh Tomar, Union Minister ofMines and Shri HaribhaiParathibhai Chaudhary, Hon’bleUnion Minister of State, Ministryof Mines and Ministry of Coal inpresence of Shri Arun Kumar,Secretary (Mines); Shri AnilMukim, Secretary Designate,Ministry of Mines at a functionheld at New Delhi on 20.03.2018.

Shri P.K. Satpathy, Director(Production) along with ShriA.K. Shukla, Executive Director,Bacheli Complex; Shri B. Sahoo,General Manager, Donimalai;Shri M. Mahadevan, GeneralManager; Head Office; Shri

A.K.Prajapathi, GeneralManager, Kirandul Complexreceived the certifications onbehalf of NMDC.

The star ratings are awarded tothe mining leases for their effortsand initiatives taken for imple-mentation of the SustainableDevelopment Framework (SDF).The best performing leases aregiven 5 star ratings. The evalua-tion and assessment is based onthe SDF implementation onparameters like: Management ofimpact by carrying out scientificand efficient mining; Addressingsocial impacts of resettlementand rehabilitation requirementsfor taking up mining activities;Local community engagementsand welfare programmes; Stepstaken for progressive and finalmine enclosure; Adoption ofinternational standards.

Shri N. Baijendra Kumar, IAS,CMD, said that NMDC sinceinception has been in the

forefront in encouraging andimplementing best sustainablemining practices and adoptingscientific mining, mineral con-servation and beneficiation tech-niques. This recognition will helpNMDC to reach greater heightsof excellence in mining and keepup the spirit of being the Nations’true Eco-friendly miner.

NMDC firmly believes that itsvision “to emerge as a globalenvironment friendly miningorganization” can be achieved bydeveloping and integrating prac-tices that reduce the environmen-tal impact of mining operations.

NMDC ensures implementingeco-friendly practices such asminimizing land disturbance,minimizing waste production,preventing soil erosion, air andwater pollution and optimizewater and energy consumption.

In the FY 2017-18 and 2018-19, a total amount of `73 Cr wasspent towards EnvironmentalImprovement works which hasresulted in laying of Geo-textileup to 53,150 square meters forprevention of soil erosion, con-struction of garland drains up to1,520 meters for arresting siltladen rainwater, construction ofretaining wall up to 36,542 squaremeters, construction, repair anddesilting of check dams.

A total of 1.2 Lakh saplingshave been planted in and aroundNMDC projects. Five mines ofNMDC received 5-star ratingaccorded by IBM, Ministry ofMines, Government of India.

Since 2016, NMDC hascontributed `55 Cr towardsChhattisgarh Government’sflagship programme “HariyarChhattisgarh”. Apart from this,between year 2011 and 2016,NMDC has contributed `34.37Cr to Chhattisgarh Governmenttowards road side plantation.

NMDC committed to cater India’sgrowing iron ore demand

12RAIPUR | SATURDAY | OCTOBER 26, 2019

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