Rare 'super blue blood moon' not seen for more than 150 yearsAs well as a supermoon, the spectacle is a blue moon, defined as the second full moon in a calendarmonth. UK astronomy enthusiasts looking to see the blue moon at its top-most point will have tobrave the cold and windy weather. Pictured is a plane flying in front of the moon in London.

February, 20182MIDNIGHT REPORTER

IAS IPS

Public Sector

Babudom

The 1980 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, AshokLavasa has been appointed as Election Commissioner inElection Commission of India.

The 2008 batch IAS officer of Nagaland cadre, AnoopKhinchi has been appointed as Private Secretary to theMinister of State for Water Resources, River Develop-ment and Ganga Rejuvenation, Sh. Arjun Ram Meghwalat the level of Deputy Secretary.

Bijay Kumar Tripathi IAS officer Jharkhand 1983 batch,who is presently posted as Member Secretary, NCR Plan-ning Board in Ministry of Urban Development Govern-ment of India,is likely to be appointed Chief SecretaryGovernment of Jharkhand.

If sources are to be believed, Deepak Kumar IASofficer Bihar 1984 batch, who is presently posted as Chair-man, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)Ministryof Road, Transport and Highways Government of India,isviewed as the most prospective successor to Bihar ChiefSecretary Anjani Kumar Singh IAS who is scheduled toretire in February 2018.

The 1982 batch IAS officer of Karnatak cadre,Shobhana K. Pattanayak, Secretary in the Dept of Agri-culture, cooperation & Farmers welfare has been givenadditional charge as Secretary in the Dept of Animal Hus-bandry, Dairying and Fisheries with immediate effect.

The 2001 batch IAS officer of JK cadre, Dr. MandeepKumar Bhandari has been appointed as Private Secre-tary to the Minister for Human Resource Development,Prakash Javadekar in the Dept of Higher Education atthe level of Director.

The 1985 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre,Mohan Pyare, Additional Chief Secretary has been namedas the new Vigilance Commissioner in Tamil Nadu.

The 1990 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, Ms.Sumita Misra has been appointed as Joint Secretary inthe PMs Economic Advisory Council will be joining cen-tral deputation for the first time.

The 1983 batch IPS officer of UP cadre, O. P. Singhhas been given premature repatriation to his parentcadre in order to join as new DGP of Uttar Pradesh.

The 1984 batch IPS officer of Telangana cadre,Sudeep Lakhtakia,Special DG, CRPF has been ap-pointed as Director General, National Security Guard(NSG) in Apex Scale.

P.K. Choudhary, Inspector General, CRPF has beenempanelled for promotion to the grade of AdditionalDirector General in CRPF.

The 1994 IPS officer of AGMUT cadre, AnuragKumar has been appointed to the post of Minister (Per-sonnel & Community Affairs), Embassy of India, Wash-ington DC under the Ministry of External Affairs.

The 1985 bacth IPS officer of AGMUT cadre,Prabhat Singh who is recently appointed as ADG, BSF,Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India, has joined asADG FHQ, BSF, Ministry of Home Affairs, Govern-ment of India.

6 offciers appointed as Jt.Director,CBIThe 1992 batch IPS officer of MP cadre, Pankaj

Kumar Srivastava ,1989 batch of Jharkhand cadre,Ajay Bhatnagar, IG. CRPF , 1988 batch IPS officer ofGujarat cadre, Praveen Sinha, Additional Secretary in, 1997 batch IPS officer of UK cadre, V. Murugesan,DIG, CBI , 1997 batch IPS officer of UP cadre, GajendraKumar Goswami, DIG, CBI and 1997 batch IPS officerof AGMUT cadre, Sharad Aggarwal, currently postedas DIG, CBI has been appointed as Joint Director,Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI).

4 IPS empanelled to IG rankAs many as four IPS officers of 2000 batch have

been empanelled for promotion to the rank of InspectorGeneral of Police in Andhra Pradesh. The officers are:K V V Gopal Rao; Manish Kumar Sinha; B V RamanaKumar & P. Hari Kumar.

Ranjan Kumar Srivastava, Executive Director,Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd(PGCIL) has beenappointed as Director(Finance), Power System Op-eration Corporation Ltd(POSOCO).

Ram Prakash Srivastava, Executive DirectorRashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd(RINL) has been appointedto the post of Director(Personnel& IR) Coal India Ltd.

Sumendra Kumar Barua, Director(Finance),Numaligarh Refinery Ltd(NRL) has been appointed asManaging Director, NRL.

The 1996 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre,Shyamal Misra, Joint Secretary, Department of Com-merce has been entrusted with the additional charge ofthe post of Deputy Chairman, Tea Board for a period ofsix months w.e.f. 11.08.2017.

Vijay Anand has been given extension asDirector(Projects), Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd(RVNL) for theperiod wef 9 April 2018 to 31 July 2019.

M V Subba Rao, Director(Commercial) inKudremukh Iron Core Company Ltd has been ap-pointed as CMD, KIOCL.

S. N. Pandey, Executive Director in Indian Oil Cor-poration Ltd(IOCL) has been appointed to the post ofManaging Director, Chennai Petroleum CorporationLtd(CPCL).

Malikharjuna Prasad Polavarapu, Executive Direc-tor, National Thermal Power Cooperation(NTPC) hasbeen appointed to the post of Director(technical), North-ern Coalfields Ltd(NCL) under the Ministry of Coal.

S. Gopu, Director(HR), Indian Telephone IndustryLtd(ITI) has been appointed to the post of Chairman &Managing Director in ITI Ltd

S. K. Roy, Executive Director(ED), National Ther-mal Power Corporation(NTPC) Ltd has been appointedas Director(Project), NTPC Ltd.

The 1997 batch IAS officer of Jammu & Kashmircadre, Manoj Dwivedi, Joint Secretary, Department ofCommerce has been given additional charge of thepost of Executive Director(JS level), Tobacco Board atGuntur (Andhra Pradesh) under the Department ofCommerce for a period of three months.

*Somesh Kumar, IAS (89), Principal Secretary to Government, Rev-enue (CT & Ex) Department, is placed in FAC of the post of Commis-sioner, Prohibition and Excise.

*Sandeep Kumar Sultania, IAS (98), Secretary to Government (IF),Finance Department, is transferred and posted as Secretary to Gov-ernment, AHDD&F Department.

*R.V.Chandravadan, IAS (93), Commissioner, Prohibition and Excise,is transferred and posted as Commissioner and EO Secretary, Rev-enue (Disaster Management) Department.

*M.Dana Kishore, IAS (96), MD, HMWS&SB, is placed in FAC to thepost of Secretary to Government, MW Department.

*Dr.Christina Z.Chongthu, IAS (2001), Managing Director, Telangana

State Tourism Development Corporation, Hyderabad, is transferred andposted as Commissioner, Tribal Welfare.

*Smt.Anita Rajendra, IAS (98), Secretary to Government, Home De-partment, is transferred and posted as Commissioner, BC Welfare andSecretary, BC Commission.

*Syed Omal Jaleel, IAS (98), Secretary to Government, MinoritiesWelfare Department, is transferred and posted as Collector and DistrictMagistrate, Vikarabad.

*Dr.Jyoti Budha Prakash, IAS (2002), who is waiting for posting, isposted as Secretary to Government, SC Development Department.

*Smt.Vakati Karuna, IAS (2004), Director, Public Health and FW, is trans-ferred and posted as Director, Land Administration, O/o.CCLA and alsoplaced in FAC of the post of Director, Public Health and FW.

*Dr.K.Ilambarithi, IAS (2005), who is waiting for posting, is posted asSecretary, State Information Commission.

*A. Sri Devasena has assumed charge as Collector of Peddapalli dis-trict. Devasena worked in integrated Karimnagar district as Joint Col-lector for a brief stint of four months before being promoted as Collectorand posted to Jangoan.

New Postings

Sudeep New Boss of NSGSenior IPS officer Sudeep Lakhtakia has

been appointed the new Director-General (DG)of the 'black cats' commando force NSG.

An order appointing the 1984-batch IndianPolice Service (IPS) officer of the Telanganacadre was today issued by the AppointmentsCommittee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed byPrime Minister Narendra Modi. The officer iscurrently serving as a Special DG in the Cen-tral Reserve Police Force (CRPF) headquar-ters here. He will take over from incumbent SP Singh who will retire from the post of NSGDG on January 31. Lakhtakia will be at the top post of the elite counter-terror force till July next year, which is also his scheduled retirement.

The National Security Guard (NSG) was raised as the federal con-tingency force to counter terrorists and hijack-like incidents in 1984.

The commandos of the force are based in five hubs across thecountry, apart from their main garrison in Gurgaon’s Manesar, and theyalso render personal security to some of the most high-profile VVIPslike Home Minister Rajnath Singh and some chief ministers.

UPA govts spokespersonNeelam appointed SAI DG

Senior-most Indian Informa-tion Service officer NeelamKapoor, who had served as UPAgovernments spokesperson,was today appointed directorgeneral of Sports Authority ofIndia (SAI). The 1982 batch IISofficer is at present the PrincipalDirector General of the Direc-torate of Field Publicity (DFP).

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has ap-proved her appointment to the post till her superannua-tion, i.e. July 31, 2019, by upgrading the post to apexlevel, according to an order by the personnel ministry.

Kapoor was appointed the Principal Director Generalof the Press Information Bureau by the then UPA govern-ment in 2009. As PIB chief, she was in-charge of informa-tion officers attached to every central government minis-try. When the NDA came into power, Kapoor was re-placed by her batchmate Frank Naronha and was shiftedto the DFP.

Postmen to wear khadiuniform

The government today unveiled a new uniform forthe Department of Posts personnel, including postmenand multi-tasking staff, which is made of khadi.

“Our Prime Minister has been promoting khadi. Westarted the process around 25 days back and decided tocome up with this khadi uniform in khaki colour.

“There is immense potential for Khadi (Khadi and Vil-lage Industries Commission) and Department of Posts,”Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said while launch-ing the uniform.

Sinha said the National Institute of Fashion Technol-ogy (NIFT) presented the design to the government andthe postal department decided to accept it.

The new uniform also replaces the “Gandhi topi” witha p-cap.

The colour of the uniform for postmen and postwomenwill remain the same. The new dress carries the logo of‘India Post’ on the pocket and the cap, along with redstripes on shoulders and shoulder blade.

February, 20183MIDNIGHT REPORTER

Joshi - The ChiefThe senior officer SK.Joshi has taken over as the new Chief Secretary of Telangana

State.Very soft and a humble babu, who is known for his simplicity in the powercorridors.Vast experience and sweet communication.In fact S.P.Singh's term exten-sion for next three month was in news, but finally it didn't happened and from theeleven chief secretaries the state the government has picked the name of Joshi for theesteemed CS post. Congratulations.

Superb InitiativeA comprehensive survey of geo-tag criminals in State, titled ‘Sakala Nerasthula

Samagra Survey’ is a superb initiative from the DGP M.Mahendar Reddy.This drive willhelp out to keep the track of criminals and also to curb criminal activities in the state.Bringing new trends and adopting new techniques for the smooth policing is the firstpriority of police chief and that’s the reason T police has succeeded to set its image asa best policing state in the entire country.And in coming days the state police willsurely stand as a model for other states.In Mr.Reddy regime things are moving aheadrapidly.

Santi Kumari Making RoundsThe lady officer A.Santi Kumari is playing a vital role since she posted to Indus-

tries department. Recently another crucial post is added to her portfolio.The hardcorelady officer who is holding the post as Secretary to CM and CEO, Industry ChasingCell will also be looking Health Medical & Family Welfare Dept too.This is called ‘sonepey suhaga’ and this is all because of her working style and dedication & that’s thereason government has decided to post her on another crucial posting.Best wishesto the officer.

Arvind Back With A BangThe happening officer Arvind Kumar is back with a bang to the power corridors,

who was serving as a Resident Commissioner, Telangana Bhavan, New Delhi has nowtook over as Principal Secretary to Government, MA&UD Department and also placed

Happenings Time For FIREServices

Things are pretty cool and happening at fire services !In the regime of Fire Chief Rajiv Ratan (DG, Fire Services),lots of modifications and new beginnings took place andthanks to the present time new technology, which boostedthe department on the second level from which routinepractices became more easy, comfortable and result ori-ented from all the edges and the corners.The continuoussharp monitoring and serious involvement of Mr.Ratanbrought the happening time at Fire services.

Chandra Sekhar is in TALKSo the things are pretty cool and moving smoothly at

Secunderabad Cantonment Board.The SCB,CEOSVR.Chandra Sekhar is on the toes from the day one hetook over the task and now his works are in talk in theofficers fraternity.Yes the young officer bagged the excel-lence award for a water supply project. Where the watersupply will dispense with pumping, with that board issaving money and energy.It’s a success story, where thesupply is being done by gravity.More over the officer gotthe appreciations for best public services.Many more tocome !

Tiwari In Lead RoleThe senior officer Rajeshwar Tiwari is kept continued on the lead role as earlier.After

serving as Spl. Chief Secretary for Health Medical & Family Welfare Dept for an exten-sive period, the officer now took over as Spl. Chief Secretary for Revenue and R&S.Asper the khabrilal the officer has proved himself by giving the best performance in theHM&FW Dept.Many schemes were implemented and lakhs of people benefited fromthe same.Now at Revenue department soon many new things will add on.

in full additional charge of the post of Commissioner,I&PR.This is called the act of ‘nehley pey dehla’, it is to benoted that the officer has done tremendous work duringhis term at Industries department and certainly the thingswill now turn up at MA&UD & I&PR Dept. which are consid-ered to be the very important roles as well.Keep the fingerscrossed to see many more from his dairies. Best wishes tothe officer.

Now Kachra MahotsavSeveral initiatives of GHMC are on screen and its a

news that most of them were result oriented.Hat's off tothe Baldiya boss Dr.B.Janardhan Reddy, who is taking allthe pains to make the corporation exceptional in the en-tire country.As already the officer has took the Hyderabadcity on the big screen, but ‘dil mangey more’ fanda is mak-ing him to move every second.Now baldiya came with abeautiful campaign called ‘Kachra Mahotsav’, which is awaste management programme.Kuods to the officer forher continues commitment for corporation.

4 February, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

No Not AgainAfter intermission the unfair episode is continuing.In the

recent reshuffle the senior officers, who were working on thehappening posts, were shifted suddenly. B.R.Meena, SpecialChief Secretary to Government (Revenue and R&S), RevenueDepartment is posted to Secretary, Telangana State SC/ST Com-mission and Navin Mittal posted as Commissioner, CollegiateEducation and Technical Education,who was earlier holdingtwo posts as Sec., MAUD & I&PR, Commissioner.

Why ? The discussion is on in the corridors of power andthe officers fraternity is in shock on the stand of thegovernment.Is this the stand of the government or someone ismisguiding the CM.In fact recently the posting of B.P.Acharyafrom planning department to MCR HRD Institution also raisedmany eyebrows. Are these the fruits of sincerity and hard work!? Whatever may be the reason but if the same trend continuesthen the government has to pay for it in coming days.Thistrend is also creating an insecurity in the other senior officers,who are working hard in their crucial posting.

It Was an Amazing OneIt’s all about style and appearance.Talking about Anurag

Sharma the Adviser to Government for Police,Law&Orderand Crime Control who amazed the business leaders withhis own style and speech at JCIs Installation where theboss was the chief guest.Young businessmen came acrosswith the benefits of coordination and also the brief growthgraph of State police.The extended speech was quite ef-fective covering many subjects and messages.In the endthe audience stood up and gave a standing ovation, thiswas the impact ! Amazing Anurag.

New FeatherThe versatile officer Home Secretary Rajiv Trivedi,DGP has add on another feather

to his cap by reaching Mahboobnagar district by cycle ride,the officer and his familycrossed around 120 km all the way in five hours to broadcast the message of childmarriage prevention,Swachh Telangana and Harita Haram.Hats off to the entirefamily for their energy and for their efforts. Inspiring one.

It’s not like that before and dur-ing the rainy time the Haritha HaramProgramme will be on screen, butits fervor is still on and now thethings are moving on at ring roadsand high ways.And also to the dis-trict too.Recently the lady officerPriyanka Varghese,OSD to CM, Incharge for Haritha Haram programmehas been seen at Wanaparthy ,where she applauded to transformthe district into green district.Whileher visit the district collector SwethaMohanty presented her a plant andwelcomed her, this move shows theimpact of the lady of Haritha Haram.Kudos !

Let’s ApplaudCollector A. Sharath, who inspired the

Jagtial district to top in the Secondary SchoolCertificate (SSC) examinations in March 2017, isleaving no stone unturned to repeat the perfor-mance in the 2018 SSC examinations.

Recently,Collector made a surprise inspec-tion to ZPHS in Kalleda village of Jagtial mandaland donned the role of teacher. He interactedwith the students and inquired about their les-sons and learning skills.He also asked themquestions from different subjects and examinedtheir preparedness for the ensuing SSC exami-nations. He directed the teachers to accord pri-ority to the poor and average students by con-ducting special classes. He expressed hope thatthe Jagtial district would repeat its performancein the SSC examination by achieving highestpass percentage.

Chandra Set For New TaskIn the recent reshuffle senior IAS officer Suresh Chanda

Special Chief Secretary to Government,AHDD&F Depart-ment is transferred and posted as Member-Secretary,Telangana State Finance Commission, Hyderabad.The of-ficer was serving at AHDD&F dept. from long time andduring his term many initiatives were declared, which arequite result oriented and beneficial too.Now posting theofficer to Finance Commission is the right choice and theofficer is all set for his next task.

Best WishesMatter of pride and celebration.The lady officer Swati

Lakra received the State Excellence Award on the occasionof Republic Day.These appreciations are like glucon-d, whichgives more energy to do the best.And one has to agree thatafter the success of She teams initiatives the lady officerturned as a role model for the womens.Kudos !

Tremendous Work At TrafficSlowly yet tremendous work is going on in Traffic Po-

lice, which is quite a result oriented move. Dr.V.Ravinder, theJt.Commissioner of police took a task to identify and toeliminate the black spots from the city roads to control theaccidents, which is really a fantastic move.More over thenew techniques turn as a magic mania for the traffic cops tomaintain the continues movement at the traffic jam areas.Theofficer is on his toes to add on more initiatives for the smoothrides on the city roads.

RR Recognized With PPMThe young officer M.Ramesh Reddy, the Group Com-

mander, Greyhounds honored with the prestigious Presi-dent Police Medal on the occasion of Republic day.In theyoung age receiving such a prominent honor is really greatachievement.The credit goes to all his best services.Bestwishes.

Haritha Haram Fervor Is On

5 February, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

Public Sector‘NMDC set to achieve highest everproduction and sales’

N. Baijendra Kumar said this day is a day of pride for every Indian, old and young alike. It isthe constitution of India which has provided the strong base enabling India to become one of themost dynamic of the emerging economies of the world while sustaining the various hurdles atdomestic as well as global levels and preserving its moral and human values.

Shri Kumar said he is privileged to be associated with this vibrant and dynamic organizationNMDC at this point of time which is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee Year and emphasized thatcompany is also set to achieve highest ever production and sales this fiscal. Shri Kumar calledupon the NMDC family to rise up to the challenging time and help the country to prove its mettle.He expressed that NMDC in its Diamond Jubilee Year; various National and International levelprogrammes will be organized in all production projects and at Corporate Level to mark themomentous year.

As part of Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, NMDC has planned to organize an internationalconference on minerals and metals in September 2018. A website pertaining to this conferencewas launched by Shri Baijendra Kumar and Dr. Narendra K. Nanda, Director (Technical) inpresence of Shri P.K. Satpathy, Director (Production); Shri D.S. Ahluwalia, Director (Finance)and Shri K. Vidyasagar, CVO; Senior Officials of NMDC and employees.

CMD urged the employees that everybody should rededicate themselves to take NMDC togreater heights of excellence in the years to come, as he unfurled the tricolour along with

Shri K. Anjaiah, senior most employee of Corporate Office.The 69th Republic Day of India was celebrated at NMDC in full patriotic fervour wherein

cultural programmes and games were conducted for the employees and their family members.Prizes were distributed to the winners in the sports and participants of cultural programmesorganized on this occasion.

SAIL celebrated Republic DaySteel Authority of In-

dia Ltd. (SAIL) celebrated69th Republic Day at itsCorporate Office premisein Lodi Road, whereChairman, SAIL Shri PKSingh hoisted the tri-color.On this occasion, ShriSingh extolled the SAILcollective to feel proud thatSAIL is one of the oldestand largest steel makersfor India which has con-sistently supplied steel forall vital national projectsand missions spanningfrom railways, ports, road-

ways, bridges, power, industries, space technology, defence to all other conceivable sectorsfor nearly 60 years. He added that SAIL has proved that it is worthy of claiming - There’s a littlebit of SAIL in everybody’s life.

18 SAIL employees bag Prime Minister Shram AwardEighteen employees of SAIL’s Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) have brought laurels to the

Company by bagging the prestigious Prime Minister Shram Award for the year 2016. It is worthmentioning here that from all over India 50 employees working in various Departmental under-takings & Public Sector Undertakings of the Central and State Government and Private Sectorunits have won the coveted award for the year 2016. It is a matter of pride that more than one

third of them are from SAIL- Rourkela Steel Plant.Besides, two out of the three women employeeswho have won the award belong to RSP. Although,the total number of Shram Awards conferred thisyear are 32 but the number of workers receivingthe Awards are 50 including 3 women.

CMD, BHEL honouredwith ‘CBIP SpecialRecognition 2018

For his significant achievements in the powersector in the country, Mr. Atul Sobti, CMD, BHEL,has been honoured with the ‘CBIP Special Recogni-tion 2018 for Excellent Contribution in Power SectorDevelopment’ by the Central Board of Irrigation andPower. A memento and citation to this effect waspresented to Sh. Sobti by Dr. Satya Pal Singh,Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Water Resources,River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and HRDon CBIP Day 2018.

PFC enters into MoU with PTC India

PFC Consulting Ltd. (PFCCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Power Finance CorporationLtd., has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PTC India Ltd. for jointlyexploring opportunities for procurement of power from the coal-based commissioned ThermalPower Projects for supply to Discoms and facilitate signing of Power Purchase Agreements.

The MoU was executed in presence of Shri. Rajeev Sharma, CMD, PFC, Functional Direc-tors of PFC, senior officials of PFCCL and Shri. Deepak Amitabh, CMD and other officials of PTCIndia Ltd. Shri. Subir Mulchandani, Chief Executive Officer, PFCCL and Shri. Rajib Kumar Mishra,Director, PTC India Ltd. signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations.

NTPC felicitates 18 brave hearts for theirexemplary acts of courage

With an endeavour to acknowledge,salute and applaud heroic acts of cour-age, NTPC, India’s largest power utilitycompany, felicitated India’s 18 brave heartswho will be conferred with the esteemedNational Bravery Award 2017 on Repub-lic Day, tomorrow. Out of the courageousseven girls and eleven boys who werehonoured at a function held at NTPC’sPower Management Institute three bravesouls were felicitated posthumously.

Congratulating the award winners onbehalf of NTPC, Mr. Ajit Bhatnagar, Ex-ecutive Director (PMI), said “The cour-age and compassion showcased by thesechildren is commendable. Their bravery,valour and sacrifice serves as an inspira-

tion for all Indians to dutifully perform their responsibilities towards humanity. We salute them andwish them all luck and success for their future endeavours.”

Emerging as one of the leading integrated power majors, NTPC strongly believes in support-ing and encouraging acts that have a positive impact on the society at large.

The children, hailing for different geographical locations, received the National BraveryAward from the Prime Minister and will be part of the parade on Republic Day.

HUDCO Organises International TrainingProgramme

Dr M Ravi Kanth, Chairman and Managing Director HUDCO, interacted with the trainees ofthe 37th International Training Programme on “Planning and Management of Urban Services”,being organised by HUDCO’s HSMI. This programme, supported by MEA under the IndianTechnical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), Special Commonwealth Assistance for AfricaProgramme (SCAAP) and the TCS Colombo plan, is being attended by 23 participants from 15countries. The participants will be visiting various urban development projects across India tounderstand the planning and management models of urban centres in India.

6 February, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

First infertility centre in publichealth sector opened

Health Minister C.Laxma Reddy inaugu-rated the State’s first in-fertility centre in publicsector at Gandhi Hos-pital on Thursday. Thecentre started function-ing by providing intrau-terine insemination forcouples where male isinfertile either due to lowsperm court or poorsperm motility. Former

Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya was also present.Even before the inaugural, patients were lined up to avail the services,

but delay in Dr. Laxma Reddy’s arrival forced a long wait on the patients.

Pinkathon-2018 on March 11 “Culturally Indian women

are taught to neglect their ownhealth. The priority is alwaysothers. This has to change ifIndia is to become a healthiercountry,” said Milind Somanannouncing Pinkathon-2018 inHyderabad on March 11.

“Women are the key to anation’s health. Pinkathon isfor first-time runners and forwomen who haven’t had time

to think of their own health. Once they start running there is no stoppingthem,” said Mr. Soman, who is the founder of Pinkathon.

This year’s edition has 3 km, 5, km and 10 km run besides an invitationonly 21 km half-marathon. Last year around 70,000 women ran the mara-thon across eight cities in the country.

“Each participant has to pay Rs. 700 for enrolling in the run. We have1+1 offer. The added benefit is that participants under 45 get a free medicalcheck-up while participants above 45 get a free mammogram done,” in-formed Sandeep Raj, one of the organisers of the run.

5 tips to get the most out of your healthcheckups this year

Ticking off your annual checkups? Here's how to get the most out ofyour visits to doctors and specialists. Did you make the resolution to get yourannual checkups out of the way early this year? Good for you. Regularcheckups are important, no matter your age or gender.

But it's important to make the most of those visits. Going to the doctordoes not have to be a scary thing and preparing for an appointment doesn'thave to be a burden.

Follow these tips to get the most out of your appointments:1. Be honest- Do not lie to your doctor when he or she asks about your

diet, exercise plan or alcohol use. Now is the time to be completely honestabout your health habits. The results of your checkup may be less than desirable, but this might be a step in the rightdirection to a healthier lifestyle.

2. Be prepared- Come up with a few important questions to ask the doctor. Make a list of any health concernsthat have been troubling you over time and bring them up. Also consider your age and family health history. Thisinformation might be vital in making a diagnosis.

3. Be concise- Describe any medical issue clearly and succinctly as the doctor may be on a very tightschedule. This will also keep you on topic.

4. Be direct- Share your feelings about the appointment with your doctor. Let him or her know if you're feelingrushed, worried or uncomfortable. Also ask the doctor about clear instructions for a new medication or treatmentif you are unsure about anything.

5. Be realistic- Accept that your doctor may not be able to answer every question immediately. Be prepared tobe referred to a specialist for a persistent medical problem.

5 reasons why clarified butter or ghee is good for youGhee or clarified butter has been used for thousands of years in

India. It is used not only for cooking but for medical and religious pur-poses too. The world is now getting to know about it as more and morestudies prove the benefits of Ghee.

Ghee is better than butter- The process used to make ghee re-move all the allergens such as lactose and milk protein, making it suit-able for those who are intolerant to lactose. Ghee also has much moremedium and short chain fatty acids than butter, medium and short chainfatty acids do not cause heart diseases unlike other fats.

Nutritional value- Ghee contains high amounts of Vitamin A, D andK. Vitamin A and D both are important for healthy eyesight, bone devel-

opment and a number of other body functions. Vitamin K, has been related to healthy teeth and bone formation inbabies, so if you are going to be a mother, ghee is good for you, although in limited amount.

It can help heal your digestive tract- It has been long prescribed in Ayurveda to have khichdi, a rice and lentilpreparation, with ghee when your stomach is upset. Now we know the reason why it soothes an upset digestivetract. Ghee contains butyric acid which nourishes the cells of intestine and repairs the mucous layer.

Ghee for beautiful skin- Just like other kinds of fats, ghee can make your skin softer and more supple, butdue to its rich nutrient content it also helps heal your skin. It has been used for ages by Indian mothers to soothetheir kids’ chapped lips. Applying ghee once in a while might be a good idea to get that flawless skin.

Antioxidant and Antiviral- Ghee made from milk of cows who are grass-fed has CLA, or Conjugated LinoleicAcid, which is an antioxidant. It is also known to have antiviral properties which might benefit you in case of a minorflu. Image source : Getty

TS ties up with T-Hub startup Egnify toimprove education in govt schools

The Telangana government is looking to increase quality of education ingovernment schools across the state, and wants to use technology for this.In the latest development, it wants to measure the strengths and weak-nesses of students in government schools across subjects, assess it andlook for ways to improve the same using technology.

For this, it has signed up Hyderabad-based T-Hub startup Egnify to runa pilot with 20 schools in Ranga Reddy district. Egnify, founded in 2015, is anEduTech startup that has developed a deep tech solution that uses ma-chine learning and data science to analyse the performance of studentsand tells them where they lack, while also giving them a detailed breakdownof their marks and exactly what a student needs to focus on.

It has developed two products ACADS and JEET to enable institutesgive students personalised, actionable analysis with feedback and recom-mendations to improve their performance. ACADS is for K-12 schools andJEET is for those preparing for IIT-JEE and NEET exams.

Kiran says the main agenda of the government is to understand deeplyhow kids are doing academically and in terms of co-scholastic criteria suchas thinking, reading, etc. “The objective of the project is to provide concept-based analysis and error analysis at a student level to enable individualattention to students and increase the pass percentage and predictabilityfor SSC exam,” he adds. The pilot is being run across 20 Kasturba GandhiBalika Vidyalaya (KGBV) schools, and will then be taken forward.

“The government, especially IT Minister KTR and IT secretary JayeshRanjan are very aggressive in their vision to use technology to solve thehard problems at the grassroot level. And being a part of T-Hub has reallyhelped us get the right exposure,” says Kiran.

Egnify currently has over 4 lakh students, over 28,000 teachers across28 cities in four states in India. Its biggest clients is Sri Chaitanya Educa-tional Institutions in Hyderabad.

‘Genome Card’ could be reality: CCMB chiefCCMB director Rakesh Kumar said a lot of research was happening on

genome and that there indeed is a possibility of having a ‘Genome Card’,similar to Aadhaar card. “There is deficiency in industry readiness andinstitutes must bring industry-ready skill development programmes, similarto what CCMB offers,” he said while speaking at Career Edge Sessionattended by 500 students. It was organised by CII Telangana to raise aware-ness on career and job opportunities in life sciences and its interface withsectors such as Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Education R& D, IT & ITeS,etc. Sujiv Nair, co-Convenor, CII Telangana Higher Education & Skill Devel-opment Panel and CEO, TASK, said with Pharma City, 20 lakh job opportu-nities are expected by 2024. V. Venkata Ramana, Vice-Chairman of HigherEducation Council, K.V. Vishnu Raju, Convenor, CII Telangana Higher Edu-cation & Skill Development Panel and Zafar Javeed, Secretary, Sultan UlUloom Educational Society also spoke.

India to allow 15% universities to offeronline degrees

For the first time, India will allow nearly 15% of universi-ties to offer online degrees allowing students and execu-tives to learn anywhere, anytime.

The courses, however, will be non-technical in nature,implying that they exclude degrees in engineering and medi-cine, human resource development minister PrakashJavadekar explained.

Although some believe the move may compromise qual-ity, it will help India improve its low gross enrolment ratio(GER) in higher education and address the problem of ac-cess to colleges, faced in several parts of India. “In a monthor so, the rules will be finalized. The University Grants Com-mission is working on it,” said higher education secretaryKewal Kumar Sharma.

Universities accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and rated A+ will beallowed to offer such courses. Others that want to offer such courses will be allowed a window of two years toachieve the A+ level in NAAC accreditation. “We are creating an enabling environment where not just students butworking executives can study and earn a degree without travelling the distance,” Javadekar said, adding thatadoption of technology in India is huge and this can be leveraged to boost higher education.

With mobile phone availability and usage on the rise, experts are hopeful that the existing ecosystem may bemore welcoming to the idea of online learning. The annual status of education report (ASER) published on Tuesday,which measures the learning ability of young people in the age group of 14-18 years, found that 73% used a mobilephone. “Maybe the policy makers can think about utilizing this bright spot,” said Madhav Chavan, co-founder of thenon-government organization Pratham, which brings out the report.

Apple joins Malala Fund for girls’ education inIndia, world

Seeking to strengthen girl education in India and other countries,technology giant Apple has teamed up with the Malala Fund, led byNobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, to double the number ofgrants awarded to the children. With Apple’s support, Malala Fund ex-pects to double the number of grants awarded by its Gulmakai Networkand extend funding programmes to India and Latin America with theinitial goal of extending secondary education opportunities to more than100,000 girls, Apple said in a statement.

Apple will become the fund’s first Laureate partner, enabling a signifi-cant expansion of Yousafzai’s effort to support girls’ education and advo-cate for equal opportunity, it said. “My dream is for every girl to chooseher own future,” said 20-year-old Pakistani, the youngest Nobel PeacePrize winner. “Through both their innovations and philanthropy, Apple

has helped educate and empower people around the world. I am grateful that Apple knows the value of investing ingirls and is joining Malala Fund in the fight to ensure all girls can learn and lead without fear,” she said. Since 2013,Malala Fund has been working in partnership with other organisations, the private sector and governments aroundthe world to realise every girl’s right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education. The fund’s Gulmakai Networkcurrently supports programmes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey and Nigeria. Gulmakai Network isnamed after the pseudonym 11-year-old Malala used when writing a blog for the BBC about life under the Taliban.She was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. “We believe that education is a great equalising force, and we shareMalala Fund’s commitment to give every girl an opportunity to go to school,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “Malala isa courageous advocate for equality. She’s one of the most inspiring figures of our time, and we are honoured to helpher extend the important work she is doing to empower girls around the world,” Cook said.

7MIDNIGHT REPORTER February, 2018

It’s a happening start from ‘Be Unique’ Inte-riors & Exteriors with a rapid growth.The youngInterior Designer Ashmitha Jain, who is behindthe ‘Be Unique’ stated that BU approaches eachproject with precision and personality, whereasworking closely with clients to realize the mostauthentic expression of their individual lifestylesis our specialty .We have designed spaces witha creative and professional approach. From theinitial strategy round table session to laying downthe rug on new floors, we provide clients withexpert guidance throughout the entire designprocess.

Every space has its own personality, andwith a few touch ups and the right Spatial Plan-ning, one can really make it shine. At ‘Be UniqueInteriors & Exteriors’, we work with our clientsthroughout the whole process, and make sureto bring their vision to life with our unique de-signs. She added.We has been designingspaces in a wide range of different fields andareas, and work together with our clients tocreate the designs that that are most suitable totheir specific needs.

Firm undertakes turnkey projects of com-mercial & residential which includesFlooring,Furnishing, False ceiling, Waterproof-ing, Interior & Exterior Designing part. We also design and execute the project with or without material.

Ashmitha did her Interior designing from JNAFAU and from there she set her own company and with theyoung teammates she step into the industry, where she made her own identity with the unique designs in thevery short period.This is all because of her zeal and commitment with a tag line ‘our vision your dreams’.

Hyderabad will have 6-m sq ftmall space in 3 years: Report

Hyderabad is expected to have six million sq ft of mall space in the next threeyears. Office space absorption crossed the 6.5-million sq ft mark in 2016, and isecpected to exceed 7.5-million sq ft mark in 2017. “There’s a huge growth inresidential space. The real estate sector saw a growth of 30 per cent year-on-yearin launches of new units. Capital value of residential properties went up 8-10 percent year-on-year in the last three years,” said P Ravinder Rao, President ofTelangana Real Estate Developers’ Association (TREDA).

Releasing a report on the state of real estate sector in Telangana on Tuesdayevening, he said the demand for residential units saw a growth of 6-10 per cent inthe last three years.

The research report - The New Face of India’s Growth Story - was preparedby JLL, a real estate and investment management services firm.

The report said that the sector would be benefited by the likely expenditure of?22,784 crore by the State government on infrastructure in Hyderabad.

“Office rents went up by 23 per cent from the first half of 2014 to the first halfof 2017. We peg creation of mall space at 6 m sq ft, on the plans announced byvarious infrastructure developers,” a JLL executive said.

Ashmitha KnownFor Unique Interiors

Ashmitha Jain

8 February, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

Publisher/Printer/Owner: G. Narahari, Printed at Colour Graphics, 3-1-351, Bhagya Laxmi Nilayam, Nimboliadda, Kachiguda, Statio n Road, Hyderabad - 27. Published at4-6-252, Esamia Bazar, Hyderabad-27 (A.P.) Editor : Dr. Chaitanya Singh, Cell : 8008175000. E-mail : mrnewseditor@yahoo.com.

For My Valentine

-Rroshni TakMere pyar ki Umar ho itni Sanam...Tere Naam see shuru Tere Naam pekhatam...Teri kushi hai kushi Tere Gam see haigam...

-Samyra RuheenHum tere bin ab reh Nahi sakte tere binakya wajood MeraKyuki Tum HI ho ab Tum HI ho Zindagi abTum HI ho…Dedicated to daughter Aminah

-Sheetal AgarwalNeele neele ambar parChand jab aajayeDil ko tarsai Mann ko LalchayeAisa koi Saathi ho Aisa koi premi ho…

-Arvind NandaLagdi Lahore Di aa, jis hisab naalhasdi aa,Lagdi Punjab Di aa, jis Hisab naalturdi aa...

-Shikha SharmaMile ho tum humko badenaseebon se ..Churaya hai maine kismatki lakeeron se

-Shilpa BajajKacchi dooriyon dooriyondooriyon se meinu tu baandh le..paakhi yaariyon yaariyon meinhunde Na false…

-Sarita AgarwalAise na mujhe tum dekho,Seene se laga loonga,Tumko mein chura loongatumse Dil mein basa loonga

-Preeti GuptaMei tujhse hi chup chupkarTeri aankhen padti huKaun tujhe yun pyarkarega Jaise mei karti hu

-Reetu GoudHum tumhe chahate hai aisemarne wala kohi marne wala kohizindagi chahata ho jaisehum tumhe chahate hai aise..

-Sreevani MachaKabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayaal ata haiKe jaise tujh ko banaaya gaya hai mere lie

-Mamta GuptaSun mere humsafer Kya tujhe itni si hikhabar Ki teri saasein chalti jidharRahungi bas wahin umrr bhar

-Sonal SharmaDekh ke tumko hosh meinaana bhool gayeYaad rahe tum aur zamaanabhool gaye…

-Preeti HarjsHaan hansi ban gayehaan nami ban gayetum mere aasmaanmeri zameen ban gaye..

Tu aati hai seene mein Jab jab saanseinbharta hoonTere dil ki galiyon se Main har roz guzartahoon, Hawa ke jaisi chalti hai tuMain ret jaise udta hoonKaun tujhe yoon pyar karegaJaise main karta hoon

-Dedicated by Pushpak Jain

-Latha Jain

9MIDNIGHT REPORTER February, 2018

Hurray It’s Time To CelebrateIt’s a news that the most preferred retail

super market of the town Ratnadeep hasbagged “Coca Cola Golden Spoon Awards2018” and endorsed as ‘Images most Ad-mired Regional Retail Chains’ in the entirestate. Entrepreneur Sandeep Agarwal’s zealand devotion brought this day, where bigcompanies feels privilege to honorRatnadeep. The customers happiness andsatisfaction is the main mantra & that’s thereason today Ratnadeep is the leader in theretail market.Best wishes to the team.

The Rajah Of DarjeelingSwaraj Kumar Banerjee, fondly called Ra-

jah of Darjeeling - The Man who quit Oxfordfor Makaibari Tea and took Darjeeling tea toits exalted heights was in the city to bless anew tea room. He is the producer of the cost-liest tea in India and It is his Makaibari Tea,that was gifted to the Queen by our honor-able Prime Minister during his visit to Englandin November 2014.

Happy Birth Day TrushnaPretty Trushna Ashwin

Tibrewala celebrated her birth daywith family and dear friends. Al-though it was an awesome gather-ing and the white crème tasty cakewas in discussion. Happy birthdayTrushna and by the way from wherethe cake is been ordered!

Meet the Diva HarshuPresenting Harshu Kamble, the diva

from Singapore, who has bagged manybeauty contests till date. Including Mrs.SE Asia 2016, Asian smart award inBangkok & Mrs. India Asia Pacific-2017.She is also into acting and also thebrand ambassador of WHOPWS.org.Harshu recently celebrated her birth day.Best wishes to her !

Ek Duuje Ke LiyeHappening couple of the town

Sikander & Shaheen Daredia celebratedtheir 15 years of togetherness.The 15thmarriage anniversary get together is intalk, where actress Malaika Arora's pres-ence was the attraction. Music-masti aurwine-dine continued till midnight. Awe-some party! Wishes to the ‘Ek duuje keliye’ couple.

Mile Ho Tum HumkoThe beautiful couple Ashish &

Manasi Kapoor celebrated their wed-ding anniversary.The day which camewith lot of wedding memories and madethe divine relation closer and stronger.Lots of love & blessings to the youngcouple. On this occasion the romanticsong ‘Mile ho tum humko badenaseeboon se… is dedicated to them.

T & R Wedding BellsThe handsome chap Tushar Patel's

wedlock with pretty Rima Chawla.The jodiof the year wedding happened at the Ban-galore city. Awesome baraat, pagadis ,imported motorcycles, music-dance &beautiful mandap was the attraction.Friends & relatives blessed the made foreach other couple. Tushar & Rima bestwishes for you.

Cheers To The CA ProfessionSession of SICASA Hyderabad

Branch of ICAI is in discussion and thesame session is loved by the happen-ing CA Dayaniwas Sharma. “ One of mymost loved session which I cannot for-get in my life time” said Mr.Sharmawhere he delivered his notes on “NonConventional Way of Practice and Wayforward” topic. Well responded. The timeto cheers the CA profession.

Well DoneVamsi

Supporting tothe young needysports persons is agreat cause and theperson who is si-lently helping nee-ds to be appreci-ated. C.Vamsi

Mohan Reddy, Inspector of police, PCS&S%DGP, TS recently donated shoes,track suits& knee caps to volleyball player A. Nikhitha,who represented Telangana State in KheloIndia and V. Aishwarya & R.Divya, who rep-resented State in 63rd National games, whoare from Zilla Parishad High School,Nalgonda district. Moreover Vamsi distrib-uted 50 cricket dresses cricket players atSanathnagar Cricket Academy. Let’s ap-plaud for his initiative.

Deepa- The Life ResetProfessional

Deepa is a Certified FitnessCoach with expertise intoZumba and Personal training,the profession which reset thelife with weight management,fat loss, injury management &lifestyle change. Inspite of herlong association with Hospital-ity industry, she was discoveredwith multiple health problemswhich made her step into theFitness world and found herniche.“It is not an easy journeyto achieve a healthy and fit body,but can be done with determi-nation, proper guidance andwillingness to change, men-tally- understanding the impor-tance of fitness in day to daylife.” said Deepa.Being a womanshe is also working on femaleobesity.

‘Vitamin G :Gratitude’ Book IsOn Stands

The most awaited Vita-min G: Gratitude bookwritten by Prashant Jain isreleased at Hyderabad Lit-erary Festival published byBSC Publishers & Distri-buters. Book is a dailysupplement to create themagical life what we de-serves. The Book will helpto develop resilience toface life’s major challengesand adversities. Quite ameaningful and essentialbook in the recent times.Wishes to the writer ! In theclick writer Mr.Jain is withthe publisher MayurParekh.

10 February, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

vxj vki vDlj MsfcV dkMZ ls Hkqxrkudjrs gSa] rks vxyh ckj Hkqxrku dh fLyidks gkFk esa ysus ls igys vPNh rjg lkspysaA bl fLyi ds isij ij [krjukd dsfedygksrk gS tks vkidks dbZ jksxksa dk f'kdkjcuk ldrk gSA ,d fjlpZ ds eqrkfcd] blfLyi ls fny dh chekjh] fyoj vkSjfdMuh ls tqM+h xaHkhj chekjh gks ldrh gSa]ftuls tku tkus dk [krjk gSA

V�fDld fyad dh ubZ 'kks/k fjiksVZ esalkeus vk;k gS fd fLyi ds bl isij esa[krjukd dsfedy fclfQu�y&, ¼chih,½dkQh vf/kd ek=k esa feyk gksrk gSA bldkbLrseky FkeZy isij] dS'k jftLVj isij

vkSj lsy fjflIV vkfn esa gksrk gSAV�fDld fyad us fnYyh ls 12 vç;qä FkeZy isijksa ds lSaiy ,df=r fd,A ;g lSaiy

yksdy czkaM ls ysdj bUgsa cukus okys vkSj budh vkiwfrZ djus okyksa ls Hkh fy, x,A bldsckn budh tkap djkdj fjiksVZ rS;kj dh xbZA

V�fDld fyad ds dk;ZØe leUo;d ç'kkar jktkadj us crk;k fd bu lSaiy dks tkapds fy, cukjl fganw ;wfuoflZVh ds fMikVZesaV v�Q c�;ksVsDuksy�th esa Hkstk x;kA budhtkap xSl ØksesVksxzkQh ls dh xbZA

blesa FkeZy isij esa chih, dh ek=k 300 ihih,e ¼ikVZ~l ij fefy;u½ ls 6600 ihih,erd feyhA ;kuh FkeZy isij esa chih, dh vkSlr ek=k 3037 ihih,e FkhA ;g r; ekudksals dkQh vf/kd gS vkSj i;kZoj.k gh ugha] LokLF; ds fy, Hkh dkQh [krjukd gSA

dbZ ns'kksa esa chih, dh fu/kkZfjr vkSlr ek=k 200 ihih,e gSA V�fDld fyad ds ofj"Bdk;ZØe leUo;d ih;w"k egkik=k us crk;k fd tkiku] csfYt;e] MsuekdZ] dukMk vkSjÝkal tSls ns'kksa esa FkeZy isij esa chih, ds bLrseky ij çfrca/k gSA

FkeZy isij dk lcls vf/kd bLrseky lsy fjflIV ds fçaV esa gksrk gSA e�y ls ysdjxSl fQfyax LVs'ku] isVªksy iai] ,Vh,e] fVdfVax ,tsalh vkSj dbZ rjg ds O;kikj esa bldkbLrseky gksrk gSA chih, dh igpku ,aMksØkbu fMljfIVax dsfedy ds rkSj ij gksrh gS]ftldk lsgr ij dkQh cqjk vlj gksrk gSA

blls Fkk;jkbM ds lkFk eksVkik] e/kqesg] fny dh chekjh] fyoj vkSj fdMuh vkfn dhleL;k,a Hkh gks ldrh gSaA 2015 esa Hkkjrh; ekud C;wjks us cPpksa dh nw/k ihus dh cksryls chih, dks ckgj dj fn;k gS] rkfd muds LokLF; ij bldk xyr vlj u iM+sA

gkykafd] chih, dk vc Hkh FkeZy isijksa esa bLrseky gks jgk gSA Hkkjr esa FkeZy isijds fy, vxy ls fuiVku dh dksbZ O;oLFkk ugha gS] ftldh otg ls bl dsfedy dk vljokrkoj.k ij dkQh vf/kd iM+ jgk gSA

bl fjiksVZ esa lq>ko fn;k x;k gS fd Hkkjr esa FkeZy isij esa chih, dks fu;af=r fd;ktk, vkSj blds fy, fdlh lqjf{kr fodYi dks viuk;k tk,] rkfd chih, ls gksus okysuqdlku ls i;kZoj.k vkSj balku dks cpk;k tk ldsA*

,d tknw dh >Iih ¼gx djuk½ fdlh jksrs dksldwu ns ldrh gSA fdlh grk'k gksrs O;fä esa ÅtkZdk lapkj dj thou dks ubZ fn'kk ns ldrh gSAflQZ bruk gh ugha] >Iih ;g Hkh crk ldrh gS fdO;fä bl le; D;k eglwl dj jgk gSA mldsvanj D;k Hkkouk,a py jgh gSaA oks [kq'k gS ;knq[khA oks ldkjkRed gS ;k udkjkRedA njvly]oSKkfudksa us ,d uohu v/;;u ds vk/kkj ijcrk;k gS fd xys yxkus ds rjhds ls O;fä;ksa dhHkkoukvksa dk irk py ldrk gSA

'kks/kdrkZvksa ds eqrkfcd xys yxkuk tUe ls gheuq";ksa ds lkekftd laca/kksa dk ,d vge fgLlkgSA ldkjkRed vkSj rVLFk nksuksa gh lanHkZ esa ;gLusg vkSj çse dks tkfgj djus dk rjhdk gSAteZuh esa :gj ;wfuoflZVh ckspqe ds 'kks/kdrkZvksa ds

eqrkfcd] yksx vDlj HkkoukRed fLFkfr;ksa esa rVLFk lanHkZ dh rqyuk esa ckbZa vksj ls,d&nwljs dks xys yxkrs gSaA :gj ;wfuoflZVh ckspqe ds twfy;u iSdstj ds eqrkfcd] ge;s tkuuk pkgrs Fks fd D;k xys yxkus ds rjhds dk laca/k fdlh O;fä dh Hkkoukvksa lsgS ;k ughaA tuZy lkbdksy�ftdy fjlpZ esa çdkf'kr v/;;u ds eqrkfcd] 'kks/kdrkZvksaus 2]500 ls T;knk gx dk v/;;u fd;kA blds vykok mUgksaus 500 mu rLohjksa dk Hkhv/;;u fd;k] ftuesa vfHkusrkvksa us lMd ij fdlh vutku O;fä dks xys yxk;k FkkAblls igys ds v/;;uksa ds eqrkfcd] 'kks/kdrkZvksa us ik;k Fkk fd T;knkrj yksx nkbZa vksjls xys yxkus dks rjthg nsrs gSaA ogha] nwljh rjQ ;g Hkh lkeus vk;k fd ldkjkRedvkSj udkjkRed nksuksa fLFkfr;ksa esa ckbZa vksj ls xys yxk;k tkrk gSA

,d dgkor gS--- xyrh euq"; ls gh gksrh gSA blh dks /;ku esa j[kdj Ýkal esajk"Vªifr beSuq,y eSØksa dh ljdkj us u;k dkuwu cuk;k gS tks yksxksa dks xyrh djus dkvf/kdkj nsrk gSA gkykafd 'krZ ;g gS fd xyrh vPNh uh;r ls dh xbZ gksA jkbV Vw esdfeLVsd uke ds bl dkuwu dks Ýkalhlh ljdkj fo'oluh; lekt dh vk/kkjf'kyk ekurhgSA eSØksa us vius pqukoh vfHk;ku esa bl dkuwu dks ykus dh ckr dgh FkhA fygktk chrsfnuksa Ýkal dh us'kuy vlsacyh esa lkalnksa us iwoZ dkuwu esa la'kks/ku fd;kA u, dkuwu dsrgr vxj ukxfjd ljdkjh dkedkt djokus ds nkSjku dksbZ xyrh dj nsrs gSa] rks mudhigyh xyrh ekQ dh tk,xhA ç'kklu vxj pkgs rks tkap dj ldrk gS fd xyrh ds ihNsuh;r vPNh gS ;k cqjhA LokLF;] i;kZoj.k] lqj{kk tSls dqN ekeys blds nk;js esa ughavk,axsA

cw<+ s eka&cki dh lsok dks ljdkj vcdkuwuu vfuok;Z cuk,xhA dksbZ Hkh blls cpugha ldsxkA bls ysdj tYn gh og dkuwu esacM+k cnyko djus dh rS;kjh esa gS] ftlesacqtqxZ eka&cki dks iwjk laj{k.k fn;k tk,xkAblds rgr ;fn fdlh ds cPps mudh lsokugha djrs gS] rks og muls xqtkjk HkÙkk ysldsaxsA gkykafd vHkh Hkh blds fy, dkuwu gS]ysfdu mUgsa blds fy, iqfyl vkSj dksVZ dspDdj yxkus iM+rs FksA u, fu;eksa ds rgr,slk ugha gksxkA og uksMy vf/kdkjh ds ikl,d f'kdk;r ntZ djkdj xqtkjk&HkÙkk ikusds gdnkj gks ldsaxsA uksMy vf/kdkjh dkçko/kku iqjkus dkuwu esa Hkh gS ysfdu vc rdmuds ikl flQZ f'kdk;r gksrh FkhA cnykods ckn laHkor% ogh bldk fuokj.k djus esa

Hkh l{ke gksaxs vkSj cqtqxZ dksVZ dpgjh ds pDdj ls cpsaxsAlkekftd U;k; ,oa vf/kdkfjrk ea=ky; bls ysdj rsth ls dke dj jgk gSA gky gh

esa lHkh jkT;ksa vkSj ea=ky;ksa ls bls ysdj jk; Hkh ekaxh gSA cqtqxZ ekrk&firk ds Hkj.kiks"k.k dks ysdj vHkh Hkh lkekftd U;k; ,oa vf/kdkfjrk ea=ky; dk ,d dkuwu gSA ysfduvc cnyko ykdj bls ljy cuk;k tk jgk gSA

ljdkj ds Lrj ij dksf'k'k gS fd og bldh xkjaVh [kqn ysA blds fy, T;knk ls T;knko`)k vkJe [kksys tk,A tgka LokLF; lqfo/kkvksa ds lkFk muds [kkus&ikus vkSj jgus dhcsgrj O;oLFkk gksA ysfdu blls igys og bu cqtqxZ ekrk&firk ds cPpksa dks Hkh tokcnsgcukuk pkgrh gSA lsok u djus okys cPpksa ls blds Hkj.k&iks"k.k ds fy, ,d jkf'k olwyhtk ldrh gSA tks mUgsa nsuh gh gksxhA bl iSls ls og viuk Hkj.k&iks"k.k Bhd rjhds lsdj ldsaxsA ea=ky; dk ekuuk gS fd ekStwnk le; esa muds ikl ,sls <sjksa ekeys vk jgsgS] ftuesa cPpksa us ekrk&firk ds uke dh laifÙk dks csp dj mUgs ?kj ls csn[ky dj fn;kgSA ea=ky; ls tqM+s vf/kdkfj;ksa dh ekusa rks ;g leL;k fiNys dqN lkyksa esa rsth ls c<hgSA oSls Hkh ekStwnk le; esa ns'k dh dqy vkcknh dk djhc 11 Qhln vkcknh cqtqZxksa dhgSA tks 2026 rd c<+dj djhc 13 Qhln gks tk,xhA

[sefyeì keÀe[& mes efvekeÀueer efmueHe mespee mekeÀleer nw DeeHekeÀer peeve

yeme SkeÀ peeot keÀer íHHeer, Deewj DeeHeGvekesÀ efoue keÀer yeeleW peeve mekeÀles nQ

HeÀebme ceW ueesieeW keÀes efceuee ieueleer keÀjves keÀe DeefOekeÀej

Deye keÀjveer ner Heæ[sieer yegpegie& ceelee-efHeleekeÀer mesJee, mejkeÀej yeveeSieer keÀevetve

oSKkfudksa us ,d ,slk jsaxus okyk jkscksVfodflr djus esa lQyrk gkfly dh gS] tks;g crk,xk fd cPpksa dk Q'kZ ij jsaxuk mudsfy, fdruk gkfudkjd ;k lgh gSA njvly]f'k'kq tUe ds yxHkx ,d lky rd tehu ijjsaxrs gSaA ,sls esa Q'kZ ij ekStwn cgqr ls /kwyds d.k vkSj dhVk.kq mUgsa gkfu igqapkrs gSaAf'k'kqvksa dks buls cpkus ds mís'; ls oSKkfudksaus ;g jkscksV csch fodflr fd;k gSA

'okl ds tfj, nwf"kr d.k 'kjhj ds vanjysrs gSa f'k'kq % 'kks/kdrkZvksa us ik;k fd tehuij jsaxus ds nkSjku f'k'kq dh dbZ ckj f?klVrs

gq, vkxs c<rs gSaA bl nkSjku Q'kZ [kkldj dkjisV ij /kwy] cSDVhfj;k] ijkx] Qaxy vkfnvf/kd Lrj ij ekStwn gksrs gSaA bUgsa f'k'kq 'okl esa 'kjhj ds Hkhrj ysrs gSa] blds vykokmuds 'kjhj ds vax Hkh bu nwf"kr phtksa ds laidZ esa vkrs gSaA

f'k'kqvksa buls dks gksus okys chekfj;ksa ls cpkus ds fy, vesfjdk fLFkr iMîwZ ;wfuoflZVhds oSKkfudksa us bl jkscksV csch dks bZtkn fd;k gSA ;wfuoflZVh ds vflLVsaV çksQslj czSaMucksj ds eqrkfcd] ,sls dbZ v/;;u fd, tk pqds gSa] ftuls irk pyrk gS fd Q'kZ vkSjdkjisV ij ekStwn /kwy ds d.k vLFkek vkSj ,ythZ QSykus dk dke djrs gSaA /kwy dsT;knkrj d.k o;Ldksa ds twrksa ls vanj vkrs gSaA

cdkSy czSaMu] geus tks jkscksV rS;kj fd;k gS oks jh;y Vkbe esa lsdaM nj lsdaM dsfglkc ls ;g crkus esa enn djsxk fd f'k'kq ftl tehu ij jsax jgk gS oks fdruh lkQ;k fdruh xanh gSA blds fy, geus jkscksV dks ck;ksy�ftdy eSVhfj;y ls rS;kj fd;k gS]rkfd nwf"kr d.kksa ds f'k'kq ij i?us okys okLrfod çHkko dks tku ldsaA oSKkfudksa dseqrkfcd] ;s jkscksV csch vkids csch dks /kwy ds d.kksa ls cpkus esa csgn dkjxj lkfcr gksxkA;g jkscksV fuekZ.k dh vafre fLFkr esa gSA cl dqN vafre tkapsa ckdh gSaA

ye®®eeW keÀes Oetue mes ye®eeves keÀe keÀece keÀjsiee ³en jesyeesì

lSdMksa o"kZ iwoZ tc nok,a ;k vU; fpfdRldh;rduhd miyC/k ugha Fkha] ml oä Hkh yksx yacsle; thfor jgrs Fk sA dbZ oSKkfud vkSjiqjkrRofon yacs le; ls ekurs vk jgs gSa fdbfrgkl ds 'kq#vkrh nkSj esa O;fä 40 ls 45o"kZ ls vf/kd yack thou O;rhr ugha dj ikrsFk s] ysfdu gky gh es a v�LVª sfy;u us'kuy;wfuoflZVh us v/;;u es a ik;k fd nok, amiyC/k u gksus ds ckotwn Hkh çkphudky esayksx 90&95 lky rd ftank jgrs FksA oSKkfudfØLVhu dso us er O;fä ds VwFk fo;j dk v/;;u dj mudh mez dk irk yxk;kA nkar dh

lrg ds /khjs&/khjs f?klus dks VwFk fo;j dgrs gSa] mez c<us ds lkFk O;fä dk VwFk fo;jHkh c<us yxrk gSA dso us 475 ls 625 ds chp nQuk, x, rhu ,axyks& lSDlu vaxzstksads VwFk fo;j dh tkap dhA blls feyh tkudkjh dh rqyuk mlh uLy ds thfor O;fäds VwFk fo;j ls dh xbZA tuZy v�Q ,aFkzksiksy�ftdy vkfdZ;ksy�th esa Nis ifj.kke dsvuqlkj ml oä O;fä dk yack thou lkekU; ckr FkhA ogha] ml nkSj esa vkSlru vk;q70 o"kZ FkhA dso ds eqrkfcd] tc O;fä iwjh rjg ifjiDo gks rks mlds dadky vo'ks"kksadk v/;;u dj lgh mez dk irk yxkuk ukeqefdu lk gksrk gSA blfy, iqjkrRofon 40vkSj 95 o"kZ ds e`r O;fä;ksa esa varj dj ikus esa vl{ke FksA ubZ rduhd ls iqjkrRooSKkfud çkphu dky ds yksxksa ds ckjs esa lVhd vuqeku yxk ik,axsA

Hee®eerve keÀeue ceW ceveg<³e kewÀmes peerles Les uebyeer efpeboieer

11 February, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

Tourism

10 million foreign tourists visited India lastyear; $27 B earned from the to urism sector

Tourism can revive arts that were once lost. Tourists can visit craftsmen, see their works,and create new channels of demand. Tourism has the power to reshape and rejuvenate theIndian economy. The country has seen an impressive boom in the tourism sector with almost10 million international tourists visiting it last year. This number has also raised the earnings ofthe nation, with the tourism sector estimated to have made well over $27 billion.

According to a report KJ Alphons, Central Tourism Minister, said,I think our sector is doing very well. But am I happy with the numbers? I want these

numbers to increase dramatically because India is an incredible place and we have everythingfor everybody. So we are trying to bring in a lot more people.

As per excerpts by the minister's interaction, the tourism sector has contributed 6.88percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country and a 12 percent share ofemployment in the year 2017.

Another report says that the government is 'Looking East' in the tourism sector to promoteIndia's north-eastern states. As part of the efforts to introduce new concepts to engage thelarger world, India's golf courses have found mention in the ministry's 'Incredible India' cam-paign alongside the heritage monuments.

Most tourists came to India last year were from Bangladesh (21.66 percent) followed by theUnited States of America (11.57 percent), the United Kingdom (10.23 percent), Sri Lanka (3.79percent), Canada (3.36 percent), Germany (3.17 percent), Australia (3.07 per cent), France(2.81 percent), and The Russian Federation (2.81 percent), among others.

Ministry of Tourism launches IncredibleIndia digital calendar

In line with thegovernment's DigitalIndia initiative, Ministerof State for Tourism(Independent Charge)and Minister of Statefor Electronics and In-formation Technology,K.J Alphons launchedthe Incredible Indiadigital calendar in NewDelhi on Wednesday.

He also releasedthe Incredible Indiawall and desk calendarfor 2018. The Incred-

ible India digital calendar application enables users to know about the events and festivalshappening in India on the go. The digital calendar can be downloaded on Android and iOSplatforms. The Incredible India digital calendar contains all exclusive features of any digitalcalendar making it a perfect travel planner on the go.

This digital calendar can also be used as a personal planner.It also has information on festivals and events happening in the country and will also allow

user to create and manage personal events, get regular notifications on the upcoming festivalsand events, allow set up of customize reminders for individual events, share the events withfriends and contacts, etc. Each day will have a stunning image of tourist destinations fromacross India which can be shared on various social media platforms also.

Indian landscapes are as mesmerizing during the night as they are at day.Each leaf of Incredible India wall calendar 2018 has been crafted using illuminating paints,

that would glow in the dark. Anyone going through the calendar will get a glimpse of howdrastically di-fferent yet equally beautiful India can be before and after sun down.

Every traveler has his or her reason to travel, according to which he or she chooses thedesired destination. India is a country which has destinations for every kind of traveler.

Incredible India Desk calendar 2018 profiles 12 different kinds of travellers and suggeststhe appropriate destinations for them.

India now has its first ever tourismuniversity in West Bengal

The country will have its first ever tourismuniversity 'IIHM University' in West Bengalunder the WB Pvt University Act. One of theoldest and famous hospitality and tourism in-stitutes of India, International Institute of HotelManagement (IIHM), is undertaking the op-erations of the new university.

Presently, IIHM offers courses like sus-tainable tourism, eco-tourism, tourism devel-opment, tourism in digital world, and hospital-ity and tourism studies.

There are currently 6,500 students who are pursuing various courses in both India andThailand campuses. Due to its immense collaborations and affiliations, people from othercountries like South Korea, Bangladesh, Singapore, and many more come to the institute fortheir studies. The mentors here are from across the world as well, thus resulting in a multiculturalenvironment and a good exposure for the students.

An investment of Rs 150 crore for establishment of the university will be done by the IIHM.Out of the total investment, Rs 70 crore has already been invested for infrastructure andcutting-edge facilities in the Salt Lake Electronic Complex Sector 5.

Kerala Tourism wooingvisitors from Europe

As many as 10,18,986 new domestic tourists were addedduring the time period of January to September 2017 as com-pared to the same period of previous year

In an effort to attract more visitors to the state from Europe,diversified products will be showcased by Kerala Tourism, whichhas set apart Rs 7.5 crore for promotional activities. Kerala Tour-ism minister, Kadakkampally Surendran, said the state’s tourism

department has activated a rigorous promotional campaign involving diverse products to pro-mote the state in Europe as it holds the top slot in the list of high potential markets for overalltourism growth. Highlighting the growth of state tourism, Rani George, Secretary, Tourism andCulture, stated that through this promotional and marketing campaign, the state aims to doublethe foreign tourist arrivals by 2021, a press release said. The latest tourist arrival statistics haveshown very “positive” signs of attaining this goal.

As many as 10,18,986 new domestic tourists were added during the time period of Januaryto September 2017 as compared to the same period of previous year. As a result, the domestictourist arrivals have achieved more than the target set out by the State Tourism policy.

Despite major changes in the tourism industry, including enhanced GST rates, the foreigntourist arrivals have also increased by 4.23 per cent during the same time period, she said.

Under the promotional campaign in Europe 2017-18, Kerala Tourism has planned to utiliseall forms of promotional tools under various categories, including television campaigns, Con-sumer Travel Mart and Kerala Blog Express. Director of Kerala Tourism, P Bala Kiran said underthis campaign, the department has continued its focus on promoting the unexplored and pristinedestinations of North Kerala such as Bekal, Kannur, Malabar, Wayanad etc.

India Tourism recognizes 18 youngbrave hearts

Eighteen extraordinary children hailing from different parts of India, became National Brav-ery awardees, and were welcomed to a mesmerizing sound and light show, “Ishq-e-Dilli,” run bythe India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) Ltd. at Purana Qila, New Delhi.

The children received National Bravery awards for their outstanding acts of courage andtact by the Honorable Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on Republic Day. ITDC presented thesebrave hearts with the incredible 1,000-year journey of the rise and fall that shaped the capitalcity of Delhi. Addressing the young people at Purana Qila, the Director of Commercial & Market-ing for ITDC, Shri Piyush Tiwari, who also hosted the evening, said: “I am overwhelmed withpride as I witness the youth of India who have personified themselves as epitomes of courageand valor.

The young souls have showcased the humanity by valuing others’ lives and fighting theirfears to protect others, while some brave hearts sacrificed their lives to save others. They aretrue inspirations who live with heroism and compassion. It indeed is an honor for the ITDC familyto host, meet, and interact with these real-life heroes and brave souls at the Son Et Lumiere(Show).” The co-host for the evening, Mr. R N Kumar, General Manager of the Sound and LightShow Division of the ITDC said: “The Sound and Light show at the Purana Quila is a majorattraction for visitors to Delhi.

As the winners come from different parts of the country, we thought it would be interestingfor these kids and their escorts to experience the dramatic recreation of a vast period of time inDelhi’s exciting history. With cutting-edge projection and laser technology, complemented by apowerful narration, it is India’s first permanent projection multimedia art installation, and we aredelighted to host the brave hearts to this special spectacular show.”

12 February, 2018MIDNIGHT REPORTER

Israel saw 31% growth in touristarrivals from India in 2017

Israel witnessed 31 per centgrowth in footfalls from India in2017, an all-time high, witharound 60,000 Indian touristsvisiting the country and is eye-ing one lakh by the end of thisyear.

Israel witnessed 31 per centgrowth in footfalls from India in2017, an all-time high, witharound 60,000 Indian touristsvisiting the country and is eye-ing one lakh by the end of thisyear. In 2016, about 45,000 Indi-ans visited Israel, according tothe statistics released by Israel

Ministry of Tourism (IMOT). “2017 has been outstanding and by far the best year for Israeltourism in India and worldwide. By October, 2017 we already saw 49,000 Indians arrive inIsrael, breaking previous records, and we were positive to close the year with 60,000 travel-ers to Israel from India,” Israel Ministry of Tourism Director -India and Philippines -HassanMadah said. With over 20 million outbound tourists a year, India has been an important marketfor Israel and the country has witnessed constant growth in the arrivals from the Indian marketover the last four years, he added. “Introducing initiatives, including easing of the visa process,and with airlines in India and Israel expressing interest to increase connectivity between thecountries, I am confident that this growth will help us achieve one lakh Indian arrivals in 2018,”he added. He said, the Ministry of Tourism along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs willcontinue to facilitate some changes for Indian travellers. This includes relaxing some visarequirements for Indians who have completed travel to any Schengen countries, US, Canada,Australia or Israel, and express visa services through VFS.

Israel is actively exploring Bollywood as a means of promoting tourism in India, Madahsaid. The country had recently witnessed its first ever Bollywood collaboration, the Ministry ofTourism partnered with Dharma Productions, to shoot a song in Tel Aviv and Jaffa for theirupcoming, he added.

In 2017, Bollywood filmmakers Imtiaz Ali and Vishesh Bhatt, along with a few others, alsovisited the country to explore co-production possibilities while Ali Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor andAyan Mukherjee visited Israel to begin preparations for their upcoming movie. Israel’s nationalairline El Al recently announced to increase its direct flight frequency between India and Israel.Air India and Arkia have also expressed interest to begin operations soon and introduce directflights between Israel and India. Currently there are four direct flights weekly connectingMumbai and Tel Aviv.

Japan and India Tourism working toboost trave

India and Japan are keen to promote travelbetween their two countries and expect to ex-ceed targets set in recent months.

This message came out loud and clear ata Japan seminar in New Delhi, India, on Janu-ary 30, where senior officials, diplomats, andagents spoke of the possibility to boost arriv-als from each other’s country, especially be-cause of the close old and new ties and affinity.Kenko Sone, Minister in the Embassy of Ja-pan, and Suman Billa, Joint Secretary of the

Ministry of Tourism for the government of India, highlighted the need to reach this potential.Visits by top leadership have helped the sentiments, but it was felt that if the trade promotestravel more, airlines will further improve connectivity.

Vegetarian food and costs were no constraints, said the agents from Japan, who said thatmany more places than just the traditional ones should be included in travelers’ itineraries.

The special status of Japan in India is reflected in the fact that tourists from that countrycan come to India and get visa on arrival, while from other countries, they require an e visa.

Once should never be enough, and repeat visitors to Japan from India must be encour-aged, was the point made. The seminar was attended by many suppliers from Japan andagents from India, who are already promoting, or want to promote, Japan.

India to promote 2018 as The Yearof Adventure Tourism

ATOAI is aiming to have a series ofevents, roadshows in India and overseas,FAM trips for international adventure touroperators as well as travel media to markthe celebrations. “The goal is to double theadventure travel in the country in the nexttwo years,” said Capt. Swadesh Kumar,President, ATOAI.

ATOAI has already given a wish list toMoT which includes the “India AdventureSummit” in April 2018, ATTA- AdventureNextin Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh in Decem-ber 2018. The association also plans to bid

for PATA Adventure Travel Mart and Conference in India for February 2019 in Assam.The association has adopted two trails; Stok Kangri and the ascent trail to Base Camp and

Gangotri Temple and trail to Gaumukh, as a part of their contribution towards Himalayan sitesfor cleaning and maintaining. ATOAI is also working towards increasing its membershipacross the country from the present strength of 450 to 2,000 by the end of 2018.

It has prepared a version II of the Safety Guidelines for adventure tourism which MoT hascirculated across all the states. A meeting was held on December 27, 2017, where theseguidelines were shared and discussed with the representatives of all Indian states. MoT hasgiven them two weeks to come back with any changes or additions, after which the guidelineswill be implemented across all Indian states.

States like Tamil Nadu, whose presence in the adventure tourism map of India, is com-paratively low, are expected to witness a surge in adventure tourists due to increasing oppor-tunities and harness the growth potential enabling themselves as adventure tourismdestinations.

Most of the domestic adventure tourists in the north, east and north-east zone statesspent around INR 20,000 to INR 30,000 per head per trip for adventure packages while thosein the south zone and west zone states spent around INR 10,000 to INR 20,000 per personper trip for adventure packages. Foreign adventure tourists spent less than USD 4,000 perhead per trip for adventure packages.

Tourists offered night's stay in Mumbai slumTourists are being offered a

night’s stay in a Mumbai slum toexperience the “reality” of life inIndia’s financial capital, includingusing a public toilet shared bymore than 50 other families.

The scheme is being run byDavid Bijl, 32, a Dutch citizen whoworks for a Mumbai NGO inconjuction with a local resident,Ravi Sansi.,argues that slums are“part of the reality of Mumbai - notthe only part, but a part” and any-one who wishes to understand the

inequalities of the city needs to understand slum life. Other tours of Mumbai slums, he said, canoften be “superficial”. “Visitors come in, take a few snapshots for their Facebook page and go offwithout really understanding anything,” he said. “I have worked in many slums and I know thereis a positive impact for both sides when an outsider takes an interest in slum dwellers’ lives andhow they cope by connecting with them.”

Sansi’s family home will be available for tourists to stay in. It includes a new “loft” which hasbeen equipped with a flatscreen television, an air conditioner and a new mattress - all of whichare considered luxuries for the majority of residents. Bijl says the entire 2,000 rupee (£22) ratefor one night’s stay will go to the host family. “I am already getting a lot of interest from [other] slumfamilies who want to invite guests to stay,” he said.

TAAI to hold 64th annual convention in MarchTo give a major boost to the

tourism sector of Jammu and Kash-mir, the Travel Agents Associationof India (TAAI) has decided to holdits 64th annual convention here inMarch for the first time in three de-cades, an official said today.

He said this was announced bythe president of TAAI, Sunil Kumar,at a press meet in New Delhi.

"To give a major boost to thetourism sector of Jammu and Kash-mir, the TAAI is going to organise its

64th annual convention from March 27 to 30 this year in Srinagar," an official of the tourismdepartment said. Around 500 travel agents from across India are expected to participate in theannual convention which is seen as a major boost to tourism of Jammu and Kashmir, the officialsaid. Kumar said Jammu and Kashmir is one of the prime destinations in India where travellerscan enjoy any tourism products. He said the TAAI convention will help leading�travel agentsget familiar with beauty and hospitality of the state. Secretary Tourism Sarmad Hafeez, who wasalso present, said the state government wants to show the states tourism beauty to the countryby organising the annual convention. He said the state tourism department is organising manyfestivals and cultural activities in the state to entertain the tourists visiting the state. DirectorTourism Kashmir Mahmood A Shah said the TAAI convention is like a homecoming for travelagents. "It is after 30 years that the TAAI convention is happening in Kashmir. It will be homecom-ing for you to visit Kashmir and see by yourself the beautiful landscape, culture, art and craft,sumptuous food, and above all the hospitable people of JK state," he said.