unprecedented security for … of farrukhabad in uttar pradesh. capsule rahul datta n new delhi...

BENGAL MUNICIPAL POLLS: TMC GOONS HURL BOMBS Kolkata: Several incidents ofviolence were reported onSunday as voting took place inseven municipalities in fivedistricts of West Bengal. Notonly bombs were hurled nearpolling booths but EVMs were also damaged in someareas allegedly by TrinamoolCongress cadres.

STEPFATHER REPEATEDLYRAPES 10-YR-OLD GIRLRohtak: A 10-year-old girl herewas found to be five monthspregnant after being rapedrepeatedly by her stepfather,police said on Sunday.

GIRL TAKES DEADLYPLUNGE FROM DNDNEW DELHI: In a first, a 21-year-old woman allegedly jumped todeath from the DND flyway intothe Yamuna River in South EastDelhi’s Sunlight Colony area onSunday afternoon. The deceasedhas been identified as Aarti, anative of Farrukhabad in UttarPradesh.

CAPSULE

RAHUL DATTA n NEW DELHI

Against the backdrop of theprevailing unrest in

Kashmir, the Army has decid-ed not to take any chance dur-ing the upcoming AmarnathYatra. More than 14,000 secu-rity personnel from the Army,paramilitary and the localpolice will be deployed allalong the 300-km pilgrimageroute. This strength is morethan double the number lastyear. The yatra will begin onJune 29 and culminate onAugust 7.

As major part of the yatra— a “high visibility” event interms of magnitude of peoplefrom all over the country tak-ing part in the pilgrimage —passes through south Kashmir,which is now witnessing stonepelting and terrorists attackingsecurity forces.

The Army and paramili-tary are engaged in a massiveexercise to ensure an incident-

free pilgrimage.Admitting that providing

protection to lakhs of peoplecongregating during the yatrawas a “huge challenge,” officialssaid here on Saturday. TheArmy plans to deploy two bat-talions (one battalion has 1,000soldiers) along the sensitivesectors of the route.

Moreover, the paramili-tary, including the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF)and Border Security Force(BSF), proposed to deploymore than 100 companies (onecompany has 100 personnel),they said.

Last year, the number ofcompanies deployed was near-ly half of the planned, under-lining the “heightened threatperception to the high profileevent,” officials said.

While the Army provides“prophylactic security,” the

paramilitary and the localpolice will ensure security ofthe pilgrims and the route

through which the yatra pass-es, they said.

Explaining the meaning of“prophylactic” security, theysaid the Army battalions willprovide cover from a distanceas the Jammu & Kashmir Policeis the lead agency for securityof the yatra.

The security forces, includ-ing the Army and paramilitary,will also step up search opera-tions in the coming weeksbefore the yatra begins to flushterrorists out of their hideoutsin the villages in restive southKashmir and force them tomove to forests, the officialsadded. It is easier for the Armyto go after terrorists in forestsas the forces do not have toworry about collateral damage,they added.

Elaborating on the conceptof “prophylactic” measures,sources said the Army conducts

area domination drills on bothsides of the route to prevent ter-rorists prowling in to attack thepilgrims. This exercise is morepreventive in nature, said they,adding all the stakeholders toperform security duty accord-

ing to laid down proceduresand zones of responsibility.

J&K Governor NN Vohraheld the first meeting for co-ordination of this massive exer-cise on Friday in Srinagar andmore such sessions will take

place in the coming days tofirm up the security grid.Additional companies of para-military and Army battalionswill start moving in theirdefined sectors a fortnightbefore the yatra commences,

officials said.The annual pilgrimage has

not seen any untoward incidentin the last one decade or so,they said, adding terrorists hadlast targeted the yatra in 2003and 2007. Given the scale of theevent, livelihood of more thanone lakh local traders andpony owners of the Statedepends on the yatra.

The local business andpony owners suffered greatlosses last year as the yatra wasaffected in the wake of massprotests after HizbulMujahideen commanderBurhan Wani was killed inJuly. About three lakh yatriscould visit the holy Amarnathshrine though the administra-tion had expected that more than five lakhs will come,they said.

PTI n LAHORE

Mumbai terror attacks mas-termind and Jamat-ud

Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeedand his four aides have beendetained for “spreading terror-ism in the name of jehad”,Pakistan’s Interior Ministry hastold a judicial review board.

Saeed appeared before theboard on Saturday and told itthat he had been detained bythe Pakistani Government inorder to stop him for raisingvoice for Kashmiris.

However, the InteriorMinistry rejected his argu-ments and told the three-mem-ber board that Saeed and hisfour aides have been detainedfor “spreading terrorism in thename of jehad”.

The board comprisingJustices Ejaz Afzal Khan of theSupreme Court (head), AyeshaA Malik of Lahore High Courtand Jamal Khan Mandokhail ofBalochistan High Court direct-ed the ministry to submit acomplete record regardingdetention of Saeed and hisaides — Zafar Iqbal, AbdulRehman Abid, Abdullah Ubaidand Qazi Kashif Niaz on nexthearing on May 15.

The board also sought per-sonal appearance of theAttorney General of Pakistanon next hearing.

Police produced Saeed andhis four aides before the boardat Lahore registry of the apexcourt amid high security. A large number of Saeed’s supporters gathered outsidethe court.

Saeed’s counsel advocateAK Dogar was also present butthe founder of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) chose to pleadhis case before the court.

“The allegations levelled bythe Government against mehad never been proved by anystate institution. My organisa-tion and I have been victimisedfor raising voice for freedom ofKashmir and criticising theGovernment’s weak policy onthe Kashmir issue,” Saeed said.

He said he had been placedunder house arrest in order tostop him for raising voice for

Kashmiri people.Saeed appealed to the

board to set aside the PunjabGovernment’s detention order.

“The Governmentdetained the JuD leaders onpressure of United Nationsand international organisa-tions,” an official representingthe federal Interior Ministrytold the board.

Last Thursday, LahoreHigh Court division Benchhad questioned as why Saeedand others were not presentedbefore a review board beforethe Government issued notifi-cation for extension to hisdetention for another 90 days.

On April 30, detention ofSaeed and his four aides wasextended by the PunjabGovernment for another 90days under preventative deten-tion under 11 EEE (I) and 11Dof Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.

Continued on Page 7

PTI n NEW DELHI

The country’s cyber securi-ty agency has alerted

Internet users against damag-ing activities of a strong andglobally active ransomwarevirus — Wannacry — thatcritically infects work stationsand locks them remotely. OnSunday evening, theMaharashtra Police depart-ment said it was partially hit bythe ransomware.

The “unprecedented” ran-somware cyberattack has hit asmany as 2,00,000 victims inover 150 countries. “At themoment, we are in the face ofan escalating threat. The num-bers are going up, I am worriedabout how the numbers willcontinue to grow when peoplego to work and turn (on) theirmachines on Monday morn-ing,” Europol Director RobWainwright said.

Related reports on P13

Dibrugarh: India’s longest riverbridge, capable of withstandingthe weight of a 60-tonne battletank, will be inaugurated inAssam close to the border withChina on May 26 by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

With the inauguration ofthe 9.15-km-long Dhola-Sadiyabridge over the BrahmaputraRiver, the Prime Minister willkick off the celebrations of theNDA Government’s three yearsin office from this eastern-mostpart of Assam.

The construction of thebridge is seen as an attempt byIndia to shore up its Defenceinfrastructure along the India-China border. It is also part of

the Centre’s endeavour toimprove connectivity in theregion. It is 3.55-km longerthan the Bandra-Worli sea linkin Mumbai, making it the

longest bridge in India.“The Prime Minister will

dedicate the strategically impor-tant bridge to the nation onMay 26. It will bolster road con-nectivity in the Northeast as thebridge will be used by people ofAssam and Arunachal Pradeshbesides Defence forces exten-sively,” Assam Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal said.

The construction of thebridge began in 2011 at a pro-ject cost of `950 crore.

Continued on Page 7

ARCHANA JYOTI n GUWAHATI

It is 11 am and 67-year-oldgynaecologist Dr Hema Devi

Goswami is busy examiningpregnant women at theDhirenpara First Referral Unitin Assam’s Kamrup district.

Dr Goswami is one amongthose private practitioners fromthe State who have enrolledwith the Modi Government’sunique safe pregnancy plan,Pradhan Mantri SurakshitMatritva Abhiyan (PMSMA),launched last year in Novemberin collaboration with theUNICEF.

Under the scheme, gyne-cologists and radiologists fromthe private sector across thecountry are invited to volunteerto provide free antenatal careservices (ANC) on the ninth ofevery month to pregnant

women , especially those fromunder-served, semi-urban,poor and rural areas.

Since its launch six months ago, around 3,636gynaecologists across Indiahave registered online onwww.pmsma.nhp.gov.in. InAssam, 62 private doctors haveregistered with the PMSMA.

The aim is to provide spe-

cialist care to improve the healthof pregnant women and theirnewborns and lower India’smaternal mortality rate (MMR)and infant mortality rate (IMR).India’s MMR of 167 per 1,00,000

births, has failed to meet itsMillennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs) target of bring-ing down maternal deaths tounder 140 by 2015.

In India, one pregnantwoman dies every 12 minutes,with 45,000 dying each year. Ofthem, less than one in five (19.7per cent) undergo prenatalhealth checks.

The situation in Assam isno different. With the highest

MMR of 300 per one lakh livebirths, double than the coun-try’s average, the North-EasternState now pins hopes on DrGoswami and her ilk from theprivate sector to help improveits health indicators.

“I have enrolled with thescheme. Last week, I got a callfrom the State health officialsto offer my services at this FirstReferral Unit on May 9.

Continued on Page 7

Unprecedented security for Amarnath Yatra

exclusivePIONEER

2 Lashkar terrorists

responsible for Army

camp attack killed

26/11 mastermind Saeed

spreading terror: Pak

KESTUR VASUKI n BENGALURU

Humans are not the onlyones suffering due to the

severe drought prevailing inKarnataka, animals arebecoming victims of it as well,particularly aquatic creatures.Three fully-grown crocodileshave been found dead inKrishna River in Bagalkot dis-trict in the last 12 days due tolack of food.

A forest official threw lighton the ongoing man-animalconflict in Karnataka that hasbeen reeling under severedrought for the past threeyears, with over 170 taluksaffected this time around.

“The river water has accu-mulated insmall pits in theriver bed wherecrocodiles and

other aquatic creatures havetaken shelter. With farmersdrawing water for their landfrom these pits using motors,crocodiles and other aquaticcreatures are deprived of theirlifeline,” he explained.

On Friday, a 13.4-feet-long crocodile, weighing 365kgs was found dead on thebanks of the Krishna Rivernear Gudadinni Village inBilagi taluk, Bagalkot district.

Veterinarians said the croc-odile died due to unavailabili-ty of food and water as the riverhas dried up due to the drought.According to forest officials agiant crocodile was found deadnear the old bridge at KortiVillage on May 1, while anoth-

er died on May 9 nearGudadinni Village.

Continued onPage 7

Sharif Govt rejectsHafiz’s claim that he is being held forraising voice forfreedom of Kashmir

PM to open longest river bridge to kick off 3-yr-in-office fete

Ransomware virus

hits Maha Police

dept, real damage

to be known today

Deprived of water,3 crocs die in 12 days

62 private doctors

join PM Surakshit

Matritva Abhiyan

Srinagar: Two Lashkar-e-Tayyeba terrorists, who hadattacked an Army camp inKupwara on April 26, havebeen gunned down in a fierceencounter in Waripora areaof Handwara in Kupwara dis-trict. A huge cache of weaponshas been seized. Sources saidthe terrorists were cornered inan orchard, just metres awayfrom the populated area inWaripora.

Detailed report on P6

With the highest MMR of300 per one lakh live births,

double than the country’saverage, Assam now pinshopes on Dr Goswami andher ilk to help improve its

health indicators

Dr Hema Devi Goswami, a privategynaecologist, examines a pregnantwoman at Dhirenpara First Referral Unitin Assam on May 9 Pioneer photo

Pregnant women at the maternal centrewaiting for their turn for the check-up

Pioneer photo

o The yatra will begin on June29 and culminate on Aug 7

o The security personnel to bedeployed during the yatra ismore than double thenumber last year

o Major part of the yatrapasses through southKashmir, which is nowwitnessing stone pelting and terrorists attackingsecurity forces

o The Army and paramilitaryforces are engaged in amassive exercise to ensurean incident-free pilgrimage

Water has collected in pits in Krishna river bed where the crocodileshave taken shelter. With farmers drawing water from these pits,aquatic creatures are deprived of their lifeline — FOREST OFFICIAL

14,000 personnel to be deployed along 300-kmpilgrimage route as Valley unrest continues

Assam jumps on Modi bandwagon for safe motherhood

Pilgrims’PROGRESS

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Hizbul militantnabbed fromNepal borderPNS n LUCKNOW

Amilitant of Hizbul Mujahideen terror out-fit was nabbed by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)

guarding the 1,751-km-long open border, whenhe was trying to infiltrate the Indo-Nepal bor-der at Sonauli in Maharajganj on Saturday night.

The arrested 34-year-old terrorist was iden-tified as Naseer Ahmad Wani alias Sadiq ofBanihal village in Ramban district of Jammu andKashmir. He was trying to sneak into India fromNepal in the guise of a shawl and carpet vendor.

Naseer was carrying a Pakistani passport andan identity card of being a resident of Lala Musavillage in Gujrat district in Punjab province ofthe neighbouring country. He was handed overto the Uttar Pradesh ATS for further investiga-tion.

Preliminary interrogation of the terroristrevealed that Naseer joined Hizbul Mujahideenterror outfit in 2002-03 and later moved toPakistan in a group of 23 people and he went

Continued on Page 7

Fireworks likely in new Assembly’s first sessionPNS n LUCKNOW

Even as the number are stackedagainst it, the Opposition parties are

all set to create uproarious scene anddisrupt the inaugural session of the 17thUttar Pradesh Assembly. TheOpposition, with less than 80 MLAsagainst the overwhelming majority ofthe BJP with 325 members, is all set tostall the Governor’s Address to the JointSession of the State Legislature onMonday. The Opposition is gearing upto corner the BJP government over aseries of caste and communal conflicts,particularly two incidents in a row inSaharanpur district.

The Opposition will also corner thegovernment over incidents of violenceinvolving BJP leaders, particularly inSaharanpur, where the ruling party MPallegedly ransacked the official resi-dence of the district police chief.

The 55-day-old Yogi Adityanathgovernment is likely to face the wrathof the Opposition parties, which will try

to make their presence felt after thehumiliating defeat in the recent UPAssembly elections, on different issues.

The government has also geared upto counter the Opposition onslaught.It is arming itself with all relevant datato hit back at the Opposition.

The BJP Legislature Party met onSunday to fine-tune its strategy tocounter the opposition and also high-light the achievements of the YogiAdityanath government during itsnearly two months in office.

The week-long inaugural session ofthe 17th UP Assembly will commencewith Governor Ram Naik’s address tothe joint sitting of the state legislatureat 11 am on Monday.

The important legislative businessto be taken up during the session wouldinclude consideration and passage ofthe state Goods and Services Tax(GST) Bill.

The BJP and its allies Apna Dal andSuheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party have

Continued on Page 7

city 02LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017

QUICK TAKES

Lucknow (PTI): With theNarendra Modi governmentkeen on rolling out the Goodsand Services Tax from July 1,a workshop on the new taxregime will be held here onMonday for all Uttar Pradeshlegislators on the first day of theAssembly session.

An official statement saidthat all members of the UttarPradesh Assembly and theLegislative Council would beprovided with adequate infor-mation on GST.

“MLAs and MLCs of allpolitical parties have beeninvited for this workshop. Allaspects of GST passed by theLok Sabha will be explained tothe legislators,” the statementsaid.

The workshop will beorganised at Lok Bhawan as perthe direction of Speaker HridayNarayan Dikshit.

On May 2, the UP Cabinethad approved a draft bill forim-plementation of the GST in thestate.

This will be the first sessionof the UP Assembly after theBJP stormed to power in thestate by a thumping majority.

After the Bill is passed bythe Assembly, where theBharatiya Janata Party has athree-fourth majority, UP willjoin states like Uttarakhand,Jharkhand, Telangana, Biharand Rajasthan whose legisla-tures have given their nod tothe indirect tax regime.

“After the new tax regimeis implemented, revenue of thestate is likely to increase,” UPminister Suresh KumarKhanna said.

“If there is any burden onthe state exchequer due to the

implementation of GST, thegovernment will meet thedemands for the next five years.Petroleum products, however,will not be covered under GST,”he said.

Four key GST legislations— the Central GST Act, theIntegrated GST Act, the GST(Compensation to States) Actand the Union Territory GSTAct — were passed byParliament in its last session.

The four legislations, whichhave since got the president’sassent, aim to pave way for theroll-out of GST from July 1.

Seen as a path-breakingstep in the taxation regime,GST is expected to create acongenial and cohesive atmos-phere for business in the coun-try.

Different indirect taxes likethe central excise duty, centralsales tax and service tax are tobe merged with the C-GST,while S-GST will subsume statesales tax, VAT, luxury tax andentertainment tax.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The 55-day-old YogiAdityanath government

received a jolt on Sunday whenthe ruling party MLA fromBallia issued a statementagainst the Chief Minister andstaged a dharna.

Surendra Pratap Singh, afirst time MLA of the BharatiyaJanata Party from Beria con-stituency, also threatened to siton hunger strike from May 24if his demands were not met.

The MLA led a humanchain on National Highway-31on Saturday along with theflood-affected people of hisconstituency for two hours.

Talking to media personshere on Sunday, SurendraPratap Singh alleged that thestate government had donenothing to protect the villagesin his constituency from floods.

The MLA said theIrrigation department wasaware that his constituencywas a flood-prone area andseveral thousand families weredisplaced due to floods inGanga and Ghagra rivers everyyear.

“The government has sanc-tioned `29 crore for flood pro-tection projects but the work isyet to begin as the officials ofthe Irrigation department aremore interested in plunderingthe public money than utilisingit for the intended purpose,”Singh alleged.

The MLA said that he hadmet CM Yogi Adityanath andIrrigation Minister DharmpalSingh but nothing had hap-pened so far.

“I will wait for a week andif the work does not start bythen, I will have no otheroption but to sit on hungerstrike,” he said, adding that hewas ready to sacrifice any-thing for the cause of the peo-ple of his constituency.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The UP government onSunday shifted 31 officers

of the Indian Police Service,appointing new police chiefs in15 districts.

According to officialsources, DIG Sonia Singh, whowas awaiting posting, has beenposted as DIG, Kanpur Nagar.

SSP of Kanpur Nagar,Akash Kulhari, has been sent toBareilly in same capacity,replacing Jogendra Kumar, whohas been posted as SP, PoliceAcademy, Moradabad in placeof Vinod Kumar Mishra, whohas been posted as SSP ofMathura.

SP of Gonda, SudhirKumar Singh, has been shiftedto Ambedkarnagar in samecapacity. Umesh Kumar Singh,who was awaiting posting, willbe the new SP of Gonda.

Commandant of PAC atBareilly, Anil Kumar Singh,will be the new SP ofBarabanki, replacing VaibhavKrishna, who has been postedas SSP of Etawah.

SP of Bijnor, Ajay KumarSahni, has been shifted toAzamgarh in same capacity. SP,CB-CID, Atul Sharma will bethe new SP of Bijnor.

SP of Mahoba, VipinTanda, has been posted as SP,Rampur, replacing KKChoudhury, who has beenshifted as SP Railway atMoradabad.

SSP of Etawah, Shiv HariMeena, has been posted as SPRailway at Agra.

Deepak Kumar Bhatt, whowas awaiting posting, has beenposted as SP Railway atAllahabad.

SP Cooperative CellSanjeev Tyagi has been shifted

to Auriyya as SP while SPTraffic (HQ) Rajiv Malhotrahas been posted as SP ofDeoria, replacing SriparnaGanguli, who has been shiftedto Lucknow as SPAdministration at DGP office.

SP of Ambedkarnagar,Piyush Srivastava, has beenmade commandant of PAC atVaranasi.

Commandant, PACMeerut Poonam has been post-ed as SP, Amethi, replacingAnis Ahmed Ansari, who hasbeen shifted to Mahoba insame capacity.

SP STF at Varanasi,Santosh Kumar Singh, has beenposted as SP of Chandauli,replacing Deepika Tiwari, whowill be the new Commandantof PAC at Varanasi, replacingVikramaditya Sachan who hasbeen shifted as SP Intelligence.

ADG Police Appointment

and Promotion Board,Lucknow, Avinash Chandra,has been posted as ADGKanpur Zone while IG KanpurZone Zaki Ahmed has beenshifted as IG, PoliceAppointment and PromotionBoard.

IG Training, AmitChandra, has been shifted as IGwest zone Moradabad replac-ing Sunil Kumar Gupta, whohas been posted as IG Crime atLucknow.

IG EOW Deepak Ratanhas been posted as DIGVaranasi range replacingJawahar, who will be the newDIG of Jhansi range replacingSharad Sachan who has beenshifted as DIG Training atLucknow.

DIG JK Sahi, who wasawaiting posting, has beenposted as DIG Fire Service atLucknow.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Doordarshan will telecastlive the proceedings ofUP Assembly from

Monday. This is will be the firsttime that Doordarshan willmake live telecast of the pro-ceedings of a state Assembly.

Speaker Hriday NaryanDikshit said here on Sundaythat this was a historic momentfor the state Assembly.

So far the facility of livetelecast of proceeding is avail-able only in Lok Sabha andRajya Sabha through TV chan-nels run separately by bothHouses of Parliament.

“This issue was under con-sideration for several years.The present government tookup the matter with the UnionInformation and BroadcastingMinistry. The live telecast willnot only enable people to watchtheir representatives perform-ing on the floor of the House,it will also bring more trans-parency in the overall function-ing of the state legislature,”Dikshit said while addressingan all-party meeting convenedon the eve of the inaugural ses-sion of the 17th UP Assembly.

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath, leaders ofBharatiya Janata Party allies,Apna Dal and SuheldeoBharatiya Samaj Party andleaders of opposition parties –Samajwadi Party, BahujanSamaj Party and Congress, alsoattended the meeting.

Dikshit sought the co-operation of the oppositionparties for “peaceful and mean-ingful” conduct of the proceed-ings of the House. He urged theopposition parties to listen tothe joint address of theGovernor to both the Housesof legislature on Monday and

participate in the debate on themotion of thanks to theGovernor’s address.

The Speaker said the oppo-sition should participate in thedebate and raise their issues asper parliamentary norms.

“Creating noisy scenes andrushing to the Well of theHouse only disrupt the pro-ceedings and have no fruitfulresults,” the Speaker said.

The Chief Minister said thegovernment wanted maximumnumber of sittings of the Houseto ensure accountability ofbureaucracy.

Pointing out that UPAssembly was the largest in thecountry, the Chief Minister

said every member was expect-ed to participate in the pro-ceedings of the House in a pos-itive manner for the redressalof grievances of the people theyrepresented.

Parliamentary AffairsMinister Suresh KumarKhanna said the governmentwas ready to hold debate on allcontentious issues, includinglaw and order.

“We will not shy awayfrom debate on any issue likethe previous government did,but we also want all debates tobe held in a democratic andpeaceful way,” he said.

Leader of opposition RamGovind Chowdhary, BSPleader Lalji Verma andCongress leader Ajay KumarLallu appreciated the observa-tions of the Chief Minister.They assured their full co-operation to the Chair forpeaceful conduct of the pro-ceedings of the House.

Earlier in the day, a meet-ing was held to review the secu-rity arrangements in andaround Vidhan Bhawan. Themeeting was presided over bythe Speaker and attended byDGP, Principal Secretary(Home) and officials of the dis-trict administration.

The meeting of theBusiness Advisory Committeeof the state Assembly was alsoheld on Sunday to consider andapprove the agenda of theHouse for the session com-mencing from Monday.

The meetings of BJP, SP,BSP and Congress legislatureparties were also held onSunday to chalk out their strate-gies for the Assembly session.

Yogi Adityanath presidedover the meeting of BJPLegislature Party and the alliesat Lok Bhawan.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath on Sunday

slammed those callingRashtriya Swayamsewak Sangha communal outfit and calledfor review of the Indian histo-ry as the history of the greatIndians who fought invadershad been erased from the con-science of the nation.

“Let there be a nationaldebate on the issues of com-munalism and nationalism.RSS is being targeted for beingcommunal even when thisorganisation is doing selflessservice for the downtroddenand the underprivileged sec-tions of society.

“Those who perceive Indiaas one organic nation fromKashmir to Kanyakumari aredubbed as communal whilethose who indulge in votebank politics and divide soci-ety on the lines of caste, creed

and religion are seen ashumanists,” Adityanath saidwhile addressing a meeting ofVishwa Hindu Parishad tocommemorate the martyrdomof Maharaja Suheldeo, whofought the Muslim invaders.

“Maharaja Suheldeo hasbeen denied a place of honourin the Indian history. We haveforgotten our glorious historyand those who forget historyare condemned to repeat it.The intensity of attacks by theforeign power on India hasincreased,” the Chief Ministersaid and added: “Those whocannot protect their historycan never protect their geogra-phy.”

“It is difficult to find a per-son in the country who has norespect for Ashfaqulla Khan,Dr APJ Abdul Kalam andAbdul Hamid. Yet there arepeople who link their lineagewith invaders like Babar andAkbar and draw inspiration

from them. What should bethe place of such people inIndian society? We need toseriously ponder over thisissue,” Yogi Adityanath said.

The Vishwa HinduParishad placed five demandsbefore the Chief Minister at theprogramme — the life andtime of Maharaja Suheldeo beincluded in school syllabus,statues of Maharaja Suheldeobe installed in Bahraich andShravasti, the Sainik School inLucknow be named afterSuheldeo, a grand memorial beconstructed in Bahraich in thememory of the great victory ofMaharaja Suheldeo over GhaziSaiyyad Salar Masud, a Musliminvader.

The VHP also demandedrestoration of the Sun templeat Bahraich.

The temple was demol-ished by Ghazi Salar Masudand a mazaar was constructedthere.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath said that the

third International Yoga Dayprogramme on June 21 wouldbe held at Ramabai AmbedkarMaidan here.

Prime Minister NarendraModi will also attend the pro-gramme, which will beobserved in a big way in thestate with yoga events beingorganised at all the districtheadquarters.

Free transport will be pro-vided to those participating inthe Yoga Day function at theRamabai Park.

This will be the thirdInternational Yoga Day func-tion and the first in UP. Thefirst International Yoga Dayfunction attended by the PrimeMinister was held in Delhiand the second in Chandigarh.

The Chief Ministerreviewed the preparations forthe International Yoga Dayalong with Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh andUnion Ayush Minister S Naikon Sunday.

Rajnath Singh is also MPfrom Lucknow. Along with themain programme in Lucknow,Yoga Day will be observed at alldistrict headquarters, tehsilsand development block head-quarters, schools, colleges,parks and at other publicplaces.

The government will alsotake measures to ensure partic-ipation of common man inthese programmes.

The Chief Minister saidthat besides refreshment, yogamat and T-shirt would be pro-vided to the participants ofYoga Day programme.

He said 55,000 people wereexpected to participate in theYoga Day programme inLucknow and all the partici-pants attending the programmein the state capital would beallowed free transport from

their native place. Social organisations and

schoolchildren would be givenspecial entry for the functionfor which registration wouldstart soon, the CM added.

For wide publicity of theYoga Day programme, theChief Minister issued directivethat arrangements be madefor live telecast of the pro-gramme and big LED screensbe installed at public places andparks.

Official sources said 104LED screens were proposed tobe installed.

The CM also asked theauthorities to hold a 28-daytraining programme for theparticipants prior of attendingthe programme in Lucknow.

The Union Home Minister

appreciated the efforts of theUP government for making theevent a grand success. He saidRamabai Maidan was an idealvenue for the programme.

In the inaugural event atRajpath in Delhi in 2015, theUnion Ayush Ministry, whichorganises this event, had estab-lished two Guinness worldrecords — of largest yoga classof 35,985 people and largestnumber of participatingnationalities of 84 nations.

During the second,International Yoga Day atChandigarh, around 30,000participants had attended thesession along with the PrimeMinister.

The Yoga function wouldbe held in Lucknow on June 21from 6 am to 8 am and Yoga

Guru Baba Ramdev will leadthe event.

On Sunday morning,Rajnath Singh visited Ramabaiground and approved it for thefunction.

Earlier, the district author-ities had selected two venuesfor the programme — RamabaiAmbedkar Rally Ground andKanshi Ram Smriti Upvan.

Official sources said thatover 50,000 people, includingseveral Union ministers, MPs,industrialists, state ministersand legislators would partici-pate in this Yoga Day function.“We need around 1.83 lakhsquare metre area to organisethe function as every personparticipating in it wouldrequire 3.6 metre area to per-form yoga,” the official said.

Printed and Published by Vijay Prakash Singh for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow-226016 and Printed at Tin Tin Printech Pvt Ltd., C-33 Amausi Industrial Area, Nadarganj, Lucknow. Tel: (0522) 2438656 / 9336266608.

Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: Vijay Prakash Singh. RNI No. 2016/57. Lucknow Telephones: EPABX: 4036600 Fax: 2345582. Allahabad Office: (95532) 2420818, 2421018, 3290460. Kanpur Office: (95512) 2304006, 2304416. Varanasi Office: (95542) 2414294, 2414295. Delhi

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Assembly proceedings

to be telecast live

Security

beefed up

Lucknow (PNS): Amplesecurity arrangements havebeen made in view of theAssembly session beginningfrom Monday.

The ASP stated that twoofficers of AdditionalSuperintendent of Police (ASP)rank, 7 officers of circle officer(CO) rank, 40 sub-inspectors(including women police offi-cers), 300 constables, 4 compa-nies of PAC and a company ofRAF would be deployedaround the Vidhan Sabha. Hesaid traffic cops would also bedeployed around the VidhanSabha to ensure smooth move-ment of vehicles on the road.He added that a police teamwould patrol and take of thevenue too. The ASP said theforce available to Secretariatwould also remain on theguard.

Yogi, Rajnath review Yoga Day preps

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcoming Union with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the meeting to reviewpreparations for the International Yoga Day, in state capital on Sunday Pioneer

BJP MLA stages

dharna against

Irrigation dept

Cabinet minister Brajesh Pathak listening to people’s grievances at the Janata Darbar held at Bharatiya Janata Party state office in Lucknow on Sunday Pioneer

31 IPS officers transferred

15 districts get new police chiefs

CM favours national debate on communalism, nationalism

Workshop on GST for

lawmakers today

‘After the newtax regime isimplemented,revenue of thestate is likely toincrease.’

NHRC ORDERS `2 LAKHCOMPENSATION OVERINMATE’S DEATH

Muzaffarnagar : TheNational Human RightsCommission has ordered thedistrict jail authorities to pro-vide a compensation of Rs twolakh to the family of an inmatewho allegedly committed sui-cide in 2008. The undertrialprisoner Ankit, had allegedlycommitted suicide in the dis-trict jail on May 8, 2008. Amagisterial inquiry into theinmate’s suicide case held thejail officials guilty of negligenceof duty. According to a seniorstate government official, thehuman rights body has orderedthat the compensation amountbe deducted from the salary ofthe jail officials. The districtauthorities have been asked tocomply with the order, theofficial said.

CLASS XI STUDENTABDUCTED, GANGRAPED

Meerut: A class XI girl stu-dent, who was allegedlyabducted, was on Sunday res-cued from a farmhouse hereafter which she complained ofbeing raped by three youthsduring her captivity, policesaid. The girl, a resident ofModinagar area in neighbour-ing Ghaziabad, had gone to herinstitute on April 28 to collecther marksheet but did notreturn home. Following this,her relatives filed a police com-plaint on May 1 against oneAshu and two others, accusingthem of abducting her, a policeofficial said. “The girl was res-cued from a farmhouse inKankarkhera here on Saturdaynight,” Modinagar police said.


PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The state government willopen 13 more dialysisunits in the districts to

provide affordable care topatients with kidney ailments,state Health MinisterSiddharth Nath Singh saidhere on Sunday.

He was speaking at theinaugural function of a 10-bedhaemodialysis unit atBalrampur Hospital which wasput up on PPP model.

“The state government iscommitted to providing betterhealthcare services to patients.As many as five dialysis unitshave already been made oper-ational in different districts ofthe state. We plan to open 13more dialysis units on PPPmodel so that patients canseek treatment at their ownplace,” Singh told the reporters.

The National HealthMission and the state govern-ment have launched a joint

project to open dialysis units inas many as 36 hospitals of 18divisions across the state aimedat strengthening healthcareservices in the state. The stategovernment has opened fourunits in government hospitalsat Azamgarh, Allahabad,Varanasi and Meerut. The dial-ysis unit in Lucknow-basedBalrampur Hospital is the fifthsuch unit. The unit has beenmade by Varanasi-basedHeritage Hospital in collabo-ration with the state govern-ment. The new unit will pro-vide dialysis facility to HIVpatients. Of the 10 beds in thisunit, one will be reserved forHIV patients.

Rolling out the processfor patients to seek dialysis inthis unit, the hospital admin-istration said that unit wouldprovide treatment to kidneypatients in three shifts dailyand only maintenance dialysiswould be performed in thisunit. “Patients will be required

to come to the hospital OPDwith test reports. A viral mark-ing test of patient will be con-ducted and the sample will besent to RMLIMS for investi-gation. On being diagnosedpositive for renal failure,patients will need to submit aform to hospital director orCMS and on his recommen-dation dialysis will be per-formed. The unit will work inthree shifts with the first begin-ning at 8 am till 12 pm, secondfrom 1 to 5 pm and third shiftwill begin at 5 till 9 at night.The unit will remain closed formaintenance on Sundays,” hos-pital director Dr EU Siddiquisaid.

Minister of State for HealthDr Mahendra Singh, NHMmission director Alok Kumar,director general, Health andMedical Services, DrPadmakar Singh, Dr RB Singhof Heritage Hospital and othersenior authorities were presentin the programme.

Balrampur Hosp gets

new dialysis unit

Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh at the dialysis unit on Sunday Pioneer


Lucknow sizzled at season’shighest maximum temper-

ature at 44.7 degree Celsius onSunday. As per Met departmentfigures, the state capital hadrecorded the maximum tem-perature at 44.7 degree Celsiuslast time on May 25 (2015),May 13 (2010) and May 30(2012). Lucknow’s highest Maytemperature is 46.5 degreeCelsius, which was recorded onMay 31, 1995.

In the last decade,Lucknow recorded 44.4 degreeCelsius on May 16 (2016), 44.3degree Celsius on May 23(2014), 43.9 degree Celsius onMay 27 (2013), 43.1 degreeCelsius on May 15 (2011), 43.8degree Celsius on May 1(2009), 42.6 degree Celsius onMay 1 (2008), and 43.6 degreeCelsius on May 24 (2007).

The weatherman warnedof heatwave conditions at iso-lated places in the state on

Monday even as the maxi-mum temperature in Lucknowexpected to be 45 degreeCelsius. Allahabad was thehottest in the state at 46 degreeCelsius, followed by Kanpur at45 degree Celsius. Doctors’advice for people is protectthemselves from heatstrokeand ensure lots of f luidintake.

Lucknow sizzles

at 44.7 deg C

The weathermanwarned ofheatwaveconditions atisolated places instate on Mondayeven as maximumtemperature inLucknow isexpected to be45 deg Celsius

Girls with their faces covered braving it out on a hot day in Lucknow on Sunday Pioneer


Aman raped his neighbour’sminor daughter in

Hasanganj police station areaon Saturday night. The policeswung into action and nabbedthe culprit.

The miscreant arrested wasidentified as Pradeep ofHasanganj and lives close to thehouse of the girl. It was allegedthat he asked her to do a workfor him and he would paymoney for that on Saturdaynight. However, when the girlreached the miscreant’s house,he overpowered her and laterraped her. He issued a threatasking the girl not to report theincident to the police or hewould kill her parents. Not onlythis, he took the victim on hisbike for a ride and dropped herat Daliganj bridge inHasanganj.

On the other hand, whenthe girl was not seen for more

than one hour, her parentswent out to search her and theyreached Pradeep’s house. AsPradeep was not present there,they went to inquire the samefrom other their neighbours. Inthe meantime, the girl returnedhome looking frazzled andweeping. The family asked thereason for the same and thenthey came to know about theincident. They called the policeand a police team reached theplace for investigation into the

case. The police later nabbedPradeep and sent the girl formedical test. The miscreantclaimed that he was in love withthe girl for a long time and thatthe girl had visited his house onher own consent.

In another incident, a manidentified as Anil KumarKashyap of Aliganj was arrest-ed by the Hazratganj police forluring a girl to run away fromher house and making amorousadvances towards her. The girl’sfamily had lodged a case withthe police on May 12 accusingAnil on that count. They hadalleged that Anil used to visittheir house and he was anacquaintance of one of theirrelatives. “Initially, we took hiscloseness and talks with the girlin a good spirit but when hebecame indecent and the girlcomplained, we lodged a case,”they told police. Police said thatthe case was being investigated.

Man rapes neighbour’s daughter, arrested

Lucknow (PNS): The arrestof six miscreants in Gosainganjexposed the mushrooming cau-cus of drug peddlers in the ruralpocket of the state capital.

On Saturday night, a policeteam was on patrol. On the way,the team was tipped off aboutthe gang involved in drug ped-dling in the area.

The police team was alsotipped off that the miscreantswere carrying smack with themand that they had to peddle itamong the gullible customers,most of whom constituted therickshaw-pullers and vendors.The police team raided theplace and nabbed six persons.Those arrested were identifiedas Mahngoo, Sooraj, SanjaySingh, Shyam Kumar, SoorajPal and Chetram, all of

Gosainganj. The cops recovered41 gms of smack in differentpouches/sachets. The miscre-ants owned up their crime anddisclosed that they used to sellthe same to villagers and rick-shaw-pullers. They said they gotthe supply of drugs from a per-son who used to visit the local-ity regularly.

Sources in Police depart-ment said the drug peddlingwas witnessing an ever high inGosainganj locality since theLucknow jail was shifted there.“The drug mafias first luredsome innocent villagers for thekick and later employed themto peddle drugs after theypicked up a habit. It is a dan-gerous trend that the locality iswitnessing these days,’ theysaid.

Mushrooming caucus of drug

peddlers in Gosainganj

PRABHA SHANKER n LUCKNOW

Lucknow is the most sought-afterdestination for inspectors/sub-

inspectors for getting a posting. Thishas resulted into re-posting of a num-ber of inspectors/sub-inspectors in thestate capital during the BJP-ruled gov-ernment.

In the recent past, a number ofinspectors/sub-inspectors did a comeback and got posting at different policestations in the state capital. Interestingly,a number of them were transferred onthe instruction of Election Commissionduring the Assembly election 2017.

Former SHO, Hazratganj, VijayMal Yadav was sent to Barabanki incompliance with EC instructions dur-ing the election. He got posting in thestate capital during the SamajwadiParty regime and was posted atChinhat, Bakshi-Ka-Talab and later atHazratganj. After the election wasover and new government was formed,Vijay Mal did a come back and wasposted as SHO, Gomti Nagar. In themad race for getting posting in the statecapital, top level officials erred whenthey posted inspector Vikas Pandey atKrishna Nagar police station in therecent past.

Pandey was posted at KrishnaNagar police station during the SPregime and was later given posting asSHO, Alambagh, during the previousgovernment. He later was shifted toBazarkhala in the same capacity andtransferred out of Lucknow after hisequation got upset with top level offi-cials in the previous regime. Similarly,Parshuram Tripathi got the posting asSHO, Alambagh, in Lucknow duringthe SP government and was sent out ofLucknow later. He succeeded in stag-ing a comeback second time and got theposting as SHO, Para. Inspector IPSingh is the most lucky person to havegot a posting in the state capital thirdtime and he was posted as SHO,Chowk, at present.

The penchant for getting a postingin the state capital is not limited toinspectors and sub-inspectors alone.Some police officials of circle officerrank also have a strong liking for thesame. “There are a number of circleofficers who were posted in the statecapital during the SP/BSP regime andwere transferred out of Lucknow afterthe change of the guard in the state.They succeeded in forming an equationwith top level officials in the presentgovernment and succeeded in gettinga posting,” sources said.

Cops crave

for posting

in Lucknow

The Hanuman temple in Aliganj being spruced for ahead of Bada Bangal Pioneer


Awoman ended her life inBadi Jugauli locality

under Gomti Nagar policestation area on Sunday. Thewoman, identif ied asKanchan, lived with her hus-band Sunil and in-laws. Herfather-in-law RB Lal toldpolice that he had gone for amorning walk in the morningand on returning home, hefound Kanchan hanging fromthe ceiling with a saree tiedaround her neck.

He said Kanchan wasunder depression due to herprolonged illness. She wasundergoing treatment at ahospital in Nirala Nagar. Thepolice sent the body for autop-sy and investigations wereunderway.

In another incident, aBTech passout, identified asAbhineet Tiwari of Banthra,ended his life after he failed toget a job. Abhineet lived inAzadnagar locality of Banthraand he was running a start-upbusiness at present after hefailed to get a job. He was

hanging from the ceiling witha dupatta tied around hisneck.

MISSINGThe father of an Indian

Railway Service (IRS) officerwent missing from Lucknowwhen he was travelling forSaharsa district by PurabiyaExpress on Saturday.

The man, identified asRavindra Nath, was returningalong with his wife and theirhelper by the train. His sonDeepak Kumar, who is anIRS officer, said that Ravindrawas suffering fromAlzheimer's and was under-going treatment at a hospitalin New Delhi. “Ravindra wasstaying at the house of myelder brother Mukesh in NewDelhi,” he said. He added thatRavindra left for the toilet anddisappeared. In another inci-dent reported in Ashiyana, awoman went missing from herhouse. The woman, identifiedas Savita Yadav (47), lived withher husband Dr MaheshYadav and her children. Sheleft the house on May 12

afternoon and could not betraced since then. The familycontacted the police for helpbut was asked to search thewoman on their own. Aftertwo days’ search, the familyagain contacted the policeand, subsequently, a case wasregistered.

LOOTUnidentified bike-borne

miscreants looted a gold chainfrom a girl who had visited thehouse of her elder sister inAshiyana on Sunday. Reportsaid the girl, identified asShanu, is pursuing studiesfrom Kanpur and lives there.She visited the house of herelder sister Ranu who liveswith her family in sector 7 ofRajni Khand in Ashiyana. OnSaturday evening, she wentout for a walk.

When she reached PriyamPlaza in Ashiyana, the bike-borne miscreants looted hergold chain. A police teamreached the place on infor-mation but returned soonwithout doing any investigation.

Man ends life at in-laws’ house


Lucknow University admission coordina-tor Anil Mishra said here on Sunday that

forms for MEd could be submitted onlinefrom Monday (May 15). “The last date forsubmitting the form without late fee is June10 while with late fee (Rs 1,000) is June 12.Admit cards can be downloaded from June14 onwards and entrance test will be held onJune 20,” said Mishra.

“The written exam will be of three hoursduration and will comprise competence test(multiple choice), mental ability test (multi-ple choice) and language comprehension test.Two hours will be for mental ability and sub-ject competence test (multiple choice). Thesubject competence test (short answers)and language comprehension test will be ofone hour. Questions in the subject compe-tence test will be based on the BEd syllabusof Lucknow University,” he said. The languagecomprehension section will assess the com-petence to understand languages. Candidateshave to attempt both Hindi and English sec-tions. “During the form filling process, if theapplicant is unable to fill the form in one sit-ting or somehow the process is interrupted,there is no need to register again. The appli-cants are required to check all the data they

have entered before submitting the form.Once they have deposited the application fee,the data submitted in the registration pagecannot be edited under any circumstances,”he said. Mishra said that restricted data couldbe edited by the candidates by logging in tothe admission website using the credentialssent to their emails and registered mobilenumbers. “In case candidate have missed outon login details, they can regenerate theirpasswords by clicking on the forgotten pass-word link and entering their respective reg-istration numbers. The new login details willbe sent to their registered mobile numbers.The data submitted in the registration pageand the opted category cannot be editedunder any circumstances,” he added.

MEd forms can be submitted

online from todayPIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The Common LawAdmission Test (CLAT)

for entrance to various lawuniversities across the countrywas conducted by ChanakyaLaw University (Patna) onSunday. Registrar of the uni-versity SP Singh said the examconcluded with no technicalglitches.

He said that in UP, 11,449out of 12,160 candidatesappeared in the exam. InLucknow, he said 2,639 out of2,760 registered candidatestook the test. “Results will bedeclared on May 29 and keysto the answers will beuploaded on May 16.Objections to the answers willbe invited from May 17-19,” hesaid. Deputy registrar, RamManohar Lohia National LawUniversity, Sanjay Diwakarsaid the exam was held at ninecentres of Lucknow.

CLAT is an all-Indiacommon entrance examina-tion conducted on rotationalbasis by 18 national law uni-versities (NLUs) for admission

to UG and PG degree pro-grammes.

The 18 participating NLUsin the order of their year of

establishment are NationalLaw School of India University(Bengaluru), NationalAcademy of Legal Study and

Research University of Law(Hyderabad), National LawInstitute University (Bhopal),West Bengal NationalUniversity of Juridical Sciences(Kolkata), National LawUniversity ( Jodhpur),Hidayatullah National LawUniversity (Raipur), GujaratNational Law University(Gandhinagar), Dr RamManohar Lohia National LawUniversity (Lucknow), RajivGandhi National University ofLaw (Punjab), ChanakyaNational Law University(Patna), National University ofAdvanced Legal Studies(Kochi), National LawUniversity Odisha (Cuttack),National University of Studyand Research in Law (Ranchi),National Law University andJudicial Academy (Assam),Damodaram SanjivayyaNational Law University(Visakhapatnam), Tamil NaduNational Law School(Tiruchirapalli), MaharashtraNational Law University(Mumbai), and MaharashtraNational Law University(Nagpur).

CLAT experiences no tech glitches

Students coming out of an examination centre in Lucknow Pioneer



Association for Advocacyand Legal Rights (AALI)

has recently concluded aresearch study across UttarPradesh, Jharkhand andHaryana to assess the role ofshelter homes and the civil lawfor marriage play in the livesof women who are exercisingchoice and decision-makingin relations and resistingforced marriages. The organ-isation is holding an interfacedialogue on Monday.

“The objectives of thestudy is to bridge the knowl-edge gap in the public sphereon these two topics and thesupport system they are sup-posed to provide to women,girls in distress, especiallythose facing such humanrights violations along withinforming praxis for better useand implementation of shelterhome schemes as well as thespecial marriage act, 1954,”AALI executive director RenuMishra said.

She said that UttarPradesh recorded one of thehighest number of crimes inthe name of ‘protecting honour’.

“Based on our experienceand research, a more vigilant,rights-based and coordinatedresponse from governmentfunctionaries in terms of safespaces for women as well asthe smooth application of thecivil law for marriage mayhelp promote the rights ofsuch women/girls and alsohelp curb crimes done in thename of ‘protecting honour’.The interface and roundtabledialogue will have key gov-ernment functionaries on thefindings of the research con-ducted by AALI with the sup-port of InternationalDevelopment and ResearchCentre (IDRC) on the topic‘Challenging forced marriage:Building the defense and sup-port system’: Analysing avail-ability of safe spaces forwomen and the implementa-tion of the civil law for mar-riage in three states of India,”she said.


Oblivious to the Mother’sDay celebrations world-

wide, over three million younggirls in India are shoulderingthe responsibilities of mother-hood way before their mindsand bodies are ready for it. Astartling 3.8 million adolescentgirls under the age of 19 inIndia have children, of which1.4 million girls have two ormore children before complet-ing their teenage.

This was revealed in astudy which was released byChild Rights and You (CRY) onthe occasion of Mother’s day.Uttar Pradesh has 2.1 millionmarried adolescent girls under19 years of age, the highestamongst all states in India.

While the above-stated fig-ures are from Census 2011, thescenario is far from showingsigns of improvement. Therecently released NFHS 4(National Family Health Survey2015-2016) data corroboratesthis situation, with an estimat-ed 4.5 million girls between 15and 19 being pregnant ormothers at the time of survey.

Being married as childbrides at a young age and hav-

ing born children soon after-wards, these girls suffer farreaching implications mental-ly and physically, which furtherimpacts their children as well.Dismal maternal care and lackof adequate nutrition, especiallywhen their bodies are tooyoung to bear childbirth, resultin health implications likeanaemia and risk of morbidi-ty for the mother and a childwho is undernourished.

Early marriage and moth-erhood deprive girl children oftheir right to education and asa vicious cycle, lack of access toschooling makes girl childrenvulnerable to get married offearly. It isn’t shocking that 39

per cent of adolescent marriedgirls (10-19 years) who havechildren are illiterate.

The higher the educationof mothers, the better are healthoutcomes for their children.The NFHS 4 data shows thatstunting amongst childrenwhose mothers had no educa-tion was 51 per cent, whereasprevalence of stunting reducedto 31% for children whosemothers had completed schooleducation. Similar trends areseen for other health-relatedindicators like incidence ofunder-weight children, per-centage of institutional deliv-eries, complete immunisationof children etc.

Lucknow (PNS): A firebroke out at the DistrictMagistrate camp office onSunday afternoon. DistrictMagistrate Kaushal Raj Sharmasaid the fire was caused due toa short circuit in generatorwiring. “The fire broke out inthe afternoon and did notspread to the main building.Fire tenders were pressed intoservice and the flames weredoused,” the DM said, addingthat there was no loss except forthe generator.

CMS STUDENTS WINGOLD, SILVER MEDALS

Aarush Rastogi and VireshSrivastava, two talented stu-dents of City MontessoriSchool, Rajendra Nagar(Campus II), won gold and sil-ver medals respectively in theInternational MathematicsOlympiad which was organisedunder the aegis of ScienceOlympiad Foundation(Gurgaon, Haryana). Studentsof various countries partici-pated in this contest but theCMS students proved theirmettle and walked away withgold and silver medals besidescertificates of merit and othergifts.

WORLD UNITY SATSANG Speaking at the World

Unity Satsang held at CityMontessori School, GomtiNagar (Campus I) auditoriumon Sunday, school founderBharti Gandhi said thathumanitarian values take peo-ple to the pinnacle becauseknowledge knows no bound-ary. It can be contained intomind through body, heart andsoul and developing it is an art,she added. Earlier, CMS musicteachers sang bhajans whileseveral speakers deliveredmeaningful speeches.


In a bid to search for extra-ordinary talents in Lucknow,

Miss Jammu (2001) AnaraGupta is organising a talenthunt on June 11. Addressingmediapersons at a city hotelalong with Big Boss 10 winnerManveer Gurjar, TV actressKamya Punjabi, Anara saidthat the contest was aimed atidentifying aspiring modelsof Lucknow with a combina-tion of virtue, intelligence,beauty and presence of mind.

“By exhibiting their tal-ents, models can win attractive

prizes and get a chance towork with some good namesof Bollywood. The winnerswill be signed for a film,” shesaid.

Anara said the selection ofcandidates would be made ontheir performances in thescanning round. “Successfulcandidates in the scanningprocess will go for a four-dayrigorous training programme.During the training pro-gramme, successful candidateswill appear in the final audi-tions and personal interviewson June 8. Group discussionand grooming of selected par-

ticipants will be held on June9 and 10,” she said.

During the grooming andtraining session in Lucknow,final contestants will be pro-fessionally groomed andtrained by experts from vari-ous fields like personalitydevelopment, skin and haircare, diction, ramp walk, mod-eling and physical training.The judges will include DishaPatani, Soha Ali Khan,Kishwar Merchant, ManveerGurjar, Suyash Rai, NitibhaKaul, Anita Hassanandani,Nandish, Kashmira Shah, AliFazal and Ragini Khanna.


Sanjay Gandhi PostgraduateInstitute of Medical Sciences

Faculty Forum demandedimplementation of rotationalheadship in various depart-ments of the institute andvoiced for radical change at thetop administrative level to con-tain faculty exodus.

“Many of the clinicaldepartments are suffering onaccount of poor leadership asa result they fail to deliver opti-mally. The current HoDs areoften not accountable to therest of the department faculty.No department meetings takeplace and unilateral decisionsare taken about the require-

ments of faculty in severaldepartments. It will be prudentto consider the idea of rota-tional headship to boost theperformance of these depart-ments and ensure timelygrowth,” said forum presidentDr Ashok Gupta in the gener-

al body meeting.He pointed out that needs

of equipment and otherrequirements of the facultyother than that of HoD wereoften not met and led to frus-tration and a situation of hope-lessness in most of the juniorfaculty of most departments.

“The rotating headship hasbeen already approved by thegoverning body of All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences,New Delhi, in 2012. It is alreadyin practice at Banaras HinduUniversity (BHU) and JIP-MER, Puducherry, andRajasthan medical colleges withgood results. It should beimplemented in SGPGIMS,”he opined.

Lucknow (PNS): The stategovernment has asked the UPHousing Development Boardto chalk out a fresh strategy forthe quick disposal of its unsoldresidential and commercialproperties lying at differentplaces in the state. There are20,000 such properties acrossthe state including 8,000 in thestate capital.

The proposal, which wassent to the state government

recently to seek its approval onthe prices issue, is under con-sideration. A decision is likelyto be taken soon.

It is to be recalled that theboard management felt theprices of the vacant propertiesshould not be revised and soldon the same rates which werefixed at the time of their com-pletion. This will help in quickdisposal and without any delay.

Housing commissioner

Dheeraj Sahu said that proce-dure to sell would start afreshand a strategy was being dis-cussed by experts.

The orders in this regardwere issued by the additionalchief secretary Sadakant onthe behalf of the state govern-ment. He said that the stategovernment was concernedover properties which hadbecome a liability for the hous-ing board.


To experience motherhoodis a feeling beyond com-

parison. And this feeling for amother is beyond expressionwhen a new born takes birthon Mother’s Day.

On the occasion ofMother’s Day, happiness forfirst-time mothers knew nobounds when they gave birthto cute babies at different hos-pitals in the state capital.

Sunita, who lives inDaliganj area, completed ayear of marriage and her hap-

piness was well past its zenithwhen she gave birth to a babyon Sunday. “When I first heardof my pregnancy, I was veryhappy but when my doctortold me about the possibledelivery date in May, I alwayswondered if the baby wouldtake birth on Mother’s Day,”she said.

For Telibagh-based Ruby,Mother’s Day will always bememorable. She gave birth toa baby on Sunday. “TheMother’s Day will always be aspecial one for me. I can neverforget the feeling of becoming

a mother,” a delighted Rubisaid, amid good wishes fromher family and relatives.

While the first-time moth-ers are all delighted to see theirbundle of joy coming to thisworld, those having anotherstint with motherhood seem tohave overcome the pain theybore. Premlata of Arjunganjsaid she always wanted tohave a baby girl as she cuddledher new born. “I never had anidea that God will gift me aninvaluable present on Mother’sDay,” she said with a smile onher face.

ROAD MISHAPIn a tragic incident, a

labourer died when he wasunloading stone slabs from atruck in Vikas Nagar onSunday evening. Reports saidUday Agrawal is getting hishouse constructed in sector 10of Vikas Nagar. On Sundayevening, labourer RajeshKumar of Maal was unloadingslabs when he lost grip on oneof the heavy slabs and wascrushed under it. He sufferedinjuries and was rushed tohospital where he was declared“brought dead”.

THEFT Unidentified miscreants

c o m m i t t e dtheft atDevkali InterCollege inMohanlalganjand decampedwith Rs 3,500in cash, elec-tronic equipment, invertorsand other gadgets from theoffice of the principal, vice-principal and manager of theschool. The police registered acase and were investigating it.The field unit of the policefailed to find any clue aboutthieves who had dropped apedestal fan on the way prob-ably due to hurry.

ALLEGED The Mohanlalganj police

gave a clean chit to the staff ofCommunity Health Centreaccused of carelessness in pro-viding treatment to a womanwho had given birth to a still-born baby. After the family ofthe victim woman Savita com-plained to Samajwadi PartyMLA Ambrish Pushkar, hewrote a letter to the police anddemanded an action. But thecops took the letter lightly andgave a clean to the CHC staff.The family had demanded justice.

A protest was held at Ambedkar statue in Lucknow on Sunday over the attacks on Dalits in Saharanpur Pioneer

Talent hunt for aspiring

models on June 11

Anara Gupta and Kamya Punjabi posing for a selfie Pioneer

SCHOOLSCAN

CRIMELINE

‘Education can stop adolescent

girls becoming mothers’

Bid to assesscivil law formarriage playin the livesof women

Blessed with ineffable

joy on Mother’s Day

Fire breaks out at

DM camp office

PGI faculty for rotational headship

Minister inspects wheat

procurement centre

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n ALLAHABAD

The Uttar Pradesh Ministerof Technological and

Medical Education andMinister incharge of Allahabaddistrict, Ashutosh Tandon‘Gopalji’ on Sunday inspectedthe wheat procurement centrein Gotwa village and on com-plaints of the farmers directedthe authorities to lodge an FIRagainst its incharge. The min-ister thereafter visited theCommunity Health Centre(CHC) at Bani village andfound insanitation besidesother shortcomings. He direct-ed the CMO to inspect all theCHCs and primary health cen-tres (PHCs) and to ensure theavailability of anti-rabies injec-

tion there. He then inspectedthe SRN Hospital and inter-acted with the patients andtheir attendants. He was toldthat the patients had to pur-chase medicines from outside.He said that the complaintsshould be looked into and theavailability of medicinesensured.

On a complaint againstjunior doctors who hadallegedly thrashed a patient, theMinister directed the DistrictMagistrate and SeniorSuperintendent of Police (SSP)to investigate the matter andtake necessary action.

Later the minister chaireda meeting of the DistrictPlanning Committee at theCircuit House and held dis-

cussions on various develop-ment works and proposals forAllahabad district. In the meet-ing the District Magistrate pre-sented a proposal of `570.84crores for various develop-mental and welfare schemeswhich was approved by thecommittee. The ministerassured them that all-rounddevelopment of the districtwould be ensured and said thatthe officers should attend thenext meeting so that theiraccountability could be fixed.

The MP, Virendra Singh,the MLAs, Neelam Karvariya,Harshvardhan Bajpai, PraveenPatel, Dr Ajai Bharti, the ChiefDevelopment Officer (CDO).Samuel Paul, and other officerswere present at the meeting.

...directs authorities to lodge FIR against its incharge

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n ALLAHABAD

The police nabbed two per-sons involved in gunning

down a youth near a liquor shopin Civil Lines area late night onMay 3. The accused and theiraccomplices some of whom werehostel inmates were in a SUVand had a tiff with the deceased,Anurag Pathak.

SP (City) Siddharth ShankarMeena, said that the CrimeBranch team had laid a trapafter being alerted that thesame SUV was spotted near theRoadways bus station in CivilLines. The men in khaki chasedthe speeding SUV and inter-cepted it near the Hindu Hostelcrossing. Its two occupantswere identified as Vivek Singh,a resident of Mumfordganj andRaghvendra Singh, a resident ofPhaphamau. They said that onMay 3 night they along theireight friends had gone to CivilLines in their SUV for con-suming alcohol and havingdinner. While they were pur-

chasing beer at a shop in CivilLines where they had a scufflewith some persons presentthere. In a fit of rage one of theirfriends, Avadhesh Tiwari akaBajrangi aka Bajju Bhai, a Lawstudent of AU, whipped out apistol and opened fire resultingin the death of Anurag Pathak.Eight other accused who werepresent at the spot, includingAvadhesh Tiwari, were still onthe run. Two among theaccused were hostellers. The SP(City) said that they the policehad to ascertain whether theywere staying in the hostel legal-ly or not.

ECC CASE: ONE HELDThe Mutthiganj police

arrested one student involved inthe incident in which a bombswere hurled on a student at theEwing Christian College trig-gering panic there on Friday.Talking to meidapersons hereon Sunday, the AdditionalSuperintendent of Police (ASP),Neeraj, said that the arrested

culprit, Aditya Yadav, had mis-behaved with a girl of his col-lege on whose complaint asenior student, Arpit, had rep-rimanded him and also issuedwarning not to repeat the mis-take again. Enraged over itAditya along with his elderbrothers, Santosh, studentleader of CMP Degree College,and others hurled crude bombsand also opened fire there. Thepolice, however, was searchingfor other culprits, includingthe student leader, he added.

It may be pointed out herethat Arpit Yadav, son of MohanBabu, a resident of Jhunsi wasreturning home after appearinghis examination. In the mean-time, some anti-social elementshurled crude bombs and alsoopened fire in air to create ter-ror in the area. An employee ofthe college and Arpit who werestanding at the gate sustainedpellet injuries. They were imme-diately taken to a private hospi-tal. Arpit informed the policethat he had heated exchange of

words with one of his juniors twodays ago over some trivial issue.He along with his elder brotherand some anti-social elementsattacked him, he added.

GIRL SUCCUMBSUpset following a petty

dispute with her younger sister,a girl immolated herself inAtarsuiya. She was undergoingtreatment at the SRN Hospitaland died on Sunday. The bodyhad been sent for post-mortemexamination. According toinformation, MohammadNanhe, a resident of Dariyabadunder the Atarsuiya police sta-tion, lives with his wife Giduyaand eight daughters. On May 8his eldest daughter, Roshni, hadan altercation with her youngersister for going to school onScooty who later left on it. Ina fit of rage she went upstairsand immolated her. Her wor-ried family members admittedher to the SRN Hospital withserious burns where she diedduring treatment on Saturday.

Two arrested for gunning down youth

Lizard found in food, six of a family taken illPIONEER NEWS SERVICE n ALLAHABAD

Six members of a familytook ill after consuming

the food in which a lizard hadreportedly fallen in Mahevavillage under the Naini Kotwalipolice station here late onSaturday night. All of themwere admitted to the Swaroop

Rani Nehru Hospital here fortreatment.

According to a report,Rajkumar along with his fam-ily had gone to his relativeAshok Kumar, resident ofMaheva under the aforesaidpolice station. All of them hadtheir meal together. Theirneighbours said that a lizard

had fallen into the food servedto them and after consumingit they fell ill.

Their neighbours, AshokKumar, his wife, Sona Devi,their son, Milan, a relative,Rajkumar, his wife, Ajju Devi,their daughter, Shilpa, wereadmitted to the SRN Hospitalwhen their condition deterio-

rated early in the morning.According to the doctors, thecondition of all the patientswas stated to be critical.

On being informed aboutthe incident, the Circle Officer(CO), Karchhana, AlkaBhatnagar, reached the spotand reviewed the situationthere.

UPHDB planning fresh move to sell off properties

nation 05LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017

GRAPEVINESupreme Mistake

Justice CS Karnan has thrown a big challengenot just to the judiciary but also to the Kolkata

cops who are camping in Chennai with anorder of the Supreme Court to arrest him toundergo a six-month prison sentence forcommitting contempt of court. Grapevine hasit that soon after the SC issued order of hisarrest on May 9, the Kolkata Police request-ed the CJI to direct the authorities to ensureKarnan did not flee the country. The CJI toldthe cops, “Since we have said that he shouldbe arrested forthwith, there will be no time forhim to go anywhere.” Almost a week has sincepassed with the judge still untraceable.

PMO is watching!

The Prime Minister’s office is keenly watch-ing service records of private secretaries

and Officers on Special Duty of all Ministers.The PMO wants all the ministers to strictlyadhere to the rule that any officers reachingthe level of Joint Secretary cannot continueas personal staff of the Ministers. Grapevinehas it that the PMO has given marching ordersto the PS of a very senior minister and senthis back to his IRS cadre.

New look

Ministries such as external affairs, defence,finance, and home, all located on the

Raisina Hill, are undergoing a major faceliftfor the last one week. Teams of workers arewashing the outer sandstone walls of thesepower centres and filling the gaps with match-ing plaster. The façade now looks brighter. “The sprucing up may be cosmetic affair, but itis also a reflection of the new work cultureprevailing in these ministries,” quipped asenior officer.

Extension for ASI boss

The Director General of the ArcheologicalSurvey of India (ASI), Rakesh Tiwari, who

was supposed to retire on May 12, has beenasked to continue for next six months. Thesearch committee of the Cabinet appointmentpanel is yet to find a suitable candidate toreplace him. Tiwari who headed the StateArchaeology Department of Uttar Pradesh,prior to his present posting, was appointed byChandresh Kumari Katoch, former CultureMinister in UPA Government. Incidentally,Tiwari had to wait to take over the ASI topjob for nearly a year after he was selected owingto litigation issues.

On Nitish’s silence

With RJD leader LaluPrasad and his fam-

ily members under attackfor corruption charges,BJP Minister RavishankarPrasad wondered whyChief Minister NitishKumar not speaking outon the issue. When some-one referred to Kumar ‘sexcuse that “jor se boleny segala kharab hota hain”, Prasadretorted,” there are many throat cleaning tabsavailable.” On the consequences of corruptioncharges against Lalu, the BJP minister said “ baatniklegi to door talak jayegi..”

Slighted baba

Controversial Baba and Big Boss 10 con-tester Swami Omji is angry with Election

Commission of India. The reason: he was nei-ther invited nor allowed entry in the all par-ties meeting called by the ECI on electoralreforms and electronic voting machines threedays ago. Omji claimed he had contested sev-eral elections in the past , and he was the pres-ident of an independent national party.

Summer vacation for dogs

Delhi Police dogs’squad is going for

summer vacation due toexcessive heat wave in thenational capital. This is thefirst time that dogs of DelhiPolice would be enjoy suchsummer holiday. Theywould be called only onemergency duty until Julyend. It is learnt that most ofthe dogs are from foreignbreeds and finding difficult to adopt the severeweather condition during summer.

Lohani’s Gita

Like many others, Air India CMD AshwaniLohani too has adopted the most accept-

able method to keep off the stress and give hisbest to the national carrier.. After the Shiv SenaMP episode which kept the AI in controver-sy for weeks, Lohani has taken to the teach-ings of Bhagwad Gita. Even in his office he isseen occassionbaly flipping through the pagesof Gita. He begins his day by performing Yogaand then delves into the spiritual discoursesdelivered by Lord Krishna.

New Delhi: National broadcast-er All India Radio will highlightthe achievements of theNarendra Modi Governmenton completion of its three yearsin office through a string of pro-grammes featuring songs, doc-umentaries and interviews.

These programmes will bebroadcast by the AIR’s networkof over 400 centres in Hindi,English and all regional lan-guages, an Information andBroadcasting Ministry officialsaid. The BJP-led NDAGovernment completes threeyears in office on May 26. Peoplewould be interested in knowingabout the outcome and imple-mentation of various decisionstaken by the Government in thelast three years, the official said.

Special discussions would beheld on demonetisation, the leg-islation to regulate the real estatesector and amendments to taxtreaties with various countries toexplain in depth the rationalebehind these decisions, he added.

Interviews of experts andleaders, and documentarieswould be broadcast to “dissem-inate factual information” on var-ious initiatives, including the ‘onerank, one pension’ scheme forex-servicemen and tax reformmeasure GST. PTI

PNS n NEW DELHI

AParliamentary StandingCommittee on Personnel,

Public Grievances, Law andJustice headed by Deputy Leaderof Congress in Rajya SabhaAnand Sharma is presentlyexamining the subject ‘electoralreforms’. The 31-member panelheaded by Sharma has 21 mem-bers from the Lok Sabha and 10from the Rajya Sabha. The panelalso may examine the function-ing of EVMS.

The Election Commissionof India (ECI) had earlier thisweek discussed with 53 politi-cal parties on electoral reformsand use of EVMs. Confrontedwith allegations of EVM tam-pering, the ECI has decided tosoon throw an “open chal-lenge” to test the infallibility ofEVMs in a next few days.

“In this process theCommittee may inter-aliaexamine the functioning ofElectronic Voting Machine sys-tem and its Up-gradation tak-ing Cognizance ofInternational Experience andBest Practices; Electoral fund-ing; the prevalent as well as thealternative voting systems, etc.The Committee has decided tosolicit memoranda thereonwithin 15 days after publicationof the advertisement to this

effect,” sources said. The issue of tampering

and manipulation of EVMs ofwas earlier raised byOpposition parties inParliament, particularly inRajya Sabha, amid intense spar-ring between members of thetreasury and the Opposition.The issue was raised in thebackdrop of election results infive states in which BJP formedgovernment in four. The issuehas seen parties like SamajwadiParty, Bahujan Samaj Party,Congress and Aam Admi Partyraising doubts about the EVMs.

Sources said theCommittee is likely to asksenior officials from theElection Commission of India(ECI) and Ministry ofPersonnel and PublicGrievances soon to take a view

on the tamperability of EVMs. “Those who are willing to

appear before the Committeefor oral evidence, may indicateso in their memorandum. TheCommittee’s decision in thisregard shall be however, final.The memoranda submitted tothe Committee shall be treatedas confidential,” sources said.

AAP convener ArvindKejriwal was the first politicianswho alleged that rigged votingmachines transferred his party’svotes to the SAD-BJP combinein Punjab. BSP chief Mayawatialso echoed the similar viewson the tampering of votingmachines in UP. A delegationof 16 opposition parties hadmet ECI officials on this issue.BSP and Trinamool Congresshave demanded the ECI to con-duct elections on ballot papers.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Home Minister Rajnath Singhwill inaugurate on Monday

the two-day-long NationalPlatform for Disaster RiskReduction (NPDRR) which willbe attended by over 1,000 dis-tinguished guests includingunion ministers, parliamentari-ans, heads of local self Gover-nment, heads of specialised dis-aster management agenciesbesides others. The NPDRR is amulti-stakeholders national plat-form headed by the home min-ister and it promotes participa-tory decision making in disastermanagement and strengthensfederal policy of the country.

The NPDRR meet will onthe theme “Disaster RiskReduction for Sustainable Devel-opment: Making India resilientby 2030”, an official statement

said. The meeting will have a ple-nary session, one session on out-comes of pre-events, four tech-nical sessions on four priorityareas of Sendai framework fordisaster risk reduction, one tech-nical session on monitoring ofSendai framework and a closingcum valedictory session.

Besides, there will be anexclusive ministerial session afterthe inaugural ceremony, whereministers from the Centre, Statesand Union Territories will delib-erate on various aspects of dis-aster risk reduction. The homeministry with the help of theNITI Aayog has also organisedan online call from startups andinnovators in the areas like firefighting, GPS-based solutions,search and rescue operations,reconstruction, low cost shelteretc. In MyGov.In for display dur-ing the NPDRR meet.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Aproposal of the ElectionCommission seeking

statutory powers to counter-mand a poll over cases ofbribe-for-votes has receivedthe backing of the OppositionCongress while the BJP hassuggested that illegal gratifi-cation should have similardefinition in all laws.

At an all-party meetingheld on Friday, the commis-sion had sought the views ofparties on its proposal tohave a specific clause in theRepresentation of the PeopleAct “to take appropriateaction including counter-manding of election in theevent of incidents of briberyof electors”.

The Congress, the mainOpposition party inParliament, said that it standsfor strengthening of democra-tic institutions in their fightagainst graft. “The Congressparty stands for strengtheningof institutions of democracy.All steps which will fight andreduce the menace of moneypower will have the support ofthe party,” party leader VivekTankha said. Tankha, a formerAdditional Solicitor General,

had represented the Congressat the all-party meeting.

BJP general secretaryBhupendra Yadav said his partywill apprise the ElectionCommission of its stand on theissue in detail and insisted thatthe term gratification be “syn-chronised” with all laws. “Theterm gratification should besynchronised with all laws.Parliament is already consid-ering the subject in the form ofamendments to the Preventionof Corruption Act,” he said.Yadav had represented the BJPin the meeting.

The Commission has askedthe Government to add a newSection 58 B in the Represent-ation of People Act, 1951, on thelines of Section 58 A, whichallows adjournment of poll orcountermanding the election onthe ground of booth capturing.The left Leaders also supportedthe EC move in this regard.

As of now, theCommission uses its powersunder Article 324 to counter-mand elections where votershave been bribed in large num-bers to influence the outcome.

The RK Nagar assemblybypoll in Tamil Nadu was can-celled on the same groundsrecently.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Sharpening his attack againstthe Congress leadership in the

National Herald case, BJP leaderSubramanian Swamy has peti-tioned to CBI and EnforcementDirectorate to register casesagainst Sonia Gandhi, RahulGandhi and other Congressleaders under Prevention ofCorruption Act and Preventionof Money Laundering Act.

In his petition filed onSaturday, Swamy said by illegal-ly forming the private companyYoung Indian, Sonia and Rahultook control of the land allottedto National Herald newspaper byUrban Development Ministry onlease.

In his petition to CBIDirector, Swamy said SoniaGandhi should be booked underPrevention of Corruption Act forabuse of power since she heldCabinet Rank in the capacity ofNAC Chairperson during thescam period 2010-2011. Pointingout that the others accused per-sons, Rahul Gandhi, MotilalVora and Oscar Fernandez wereruling party MPs, he alleged thatthey abused their power bygrabbing the prime land allottedby Urban Development Ministry

for publication of NationalHerald newspaper.

“The land allotted inBahadur Shah Zafar Marg werethe Herald House stands allottedat concessional rates in thisprime area by the CentralGovernment was exclusively forpublication of newspaper andthus the act of the accused per-sons grabbing public property,cheating, criminal breach oftrust and forgery etc, not only areIPC offences the of which I amindependently pursuing in theMagistrate Court in PatialaHouse in New Delhi, but it isclearly also offences under thePrevention fo Corruption Actand PMLA,” said Swamy in histhree page letter to the CBI andED Directors.

“Moreover, the first accusedand prime conspirator SoniaGandhi was holding CabinetRank as NAC Chairperson whenthe crime was allegedly com-mitted 2010-11,” he added.

Swamy accused that previ-ous Directors of the CBI andthe ED had not acted on hispetition even after the trialcourt found prima facie fraudand land grabbing and moneylaundering of Rs.90 croreinvolving Congress party.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Two warships of the IndianNavy on Sunday reached

Malaysia on a six-day visit asthe force aims to further deep-en bilateral maritime cooper-ation including effectivelycontaining piracy in theIndian Ocean Region.

The ships — INS Shivalikand INS Jyoti — are part of anoverseas deployment to theSouth East Asia and SouthernIndian Ocean in sync withIndia’s ‘Act East Policy’.

“The visit of the IndianNaval Ships seeks to underscoreIndia’s peaceful presence and sol-idarity with friendly and har-monious countries towards

ensuring good order in the mar-itime domain and to strengthenexisting bonds between Indiaand Malaysia,” Navy Spokes-person Capt DK Sharma said.

Indian naval assets havebeen increasingly deployed inrecent times to address themain maritime concerns of theregion. In addition, as part ofthe Indian Government’s visionof SAGAR (Security andGrowth for All in the Region),the Indian Navy has also beeninvolved in assisting countriesin the Indian Ocean Regionwith surveillance of the exclu-sive economic zones, search andrescue operations and othercapacity-building and capabil-ity-enhancement activities.

DEEPAK KUMAR JHA n

NEW DELHI

The two major Oppositionparties — Congress and the

Trinamool Congress — arelikely to take a final call thisweek to finalise the candidatefor the Presidential elections.

In the scheduled meeting ofCongress president Sonia Ga-ndhi and West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onTuesday, the focus will also be onchalking out the contours of ananti-BJP front on the nationallevel.

Mamata, who is also thechief of the TMC, would alsomeet Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal even thoughthe latter is mired in deepcontroversy over the allegedallegations of graft by his own

partymen. Congress sources said that

Sonia is going to be proactive-ly engaged in uniting theOpposition and impress uponthem to sink their differencesand collectively take on theBJP. The State unit of theCongress has its own differ-ences with the TMC, but Soniais ready to overlook these.

West Bengal Congress pres-ident Adhir Ranjan Chowdhuryhas expressed his discontentover Sonia’s proposed meetingwith Mamata Banerjee. In hisletter, Chowdhury stressed thatthe Congress central leadershipshould be careful while dealingwith the West Bengal CMbecause most of the Trinamoolleaders are under scanner inNarada and Saradha case.

Sonia has already has met

leaders of several partiesincluding Bihar Chief MinisterNitish Kumar and CPI(M)General Secretary Sitaram

Yechury in the last few weeksto discuss the possibility ofputting up a joint candidate forthe Presidential elections and

propping up a anti-BJP front totake on the Modi Governmentin 2019 general elections. .

After holding talks withMamata, Sonia would meetother key Opposition leaderssuch as BSP chief Mayawatiand DMK leader MK Stalin.She has already met NationalConference leader OmarAbdullah and spoken on phonewith Samajwadi Party patriarchMulayam Singh Yadav andRJD chief Lalu Prasad, NCP’sSharad Pawar and IndianUnion Muslim League leaderPK Kunhalikutty. Congressvice-president Rahul Gandhitoo has spoken over phonewith former Uttar Pradesh CMAkhilesh Yadav with whom theparty stitched an alliance in thejust concluded UP Assemblypolls.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Centre has stumbledupon a few encouraging

nuggets while studying theGanga, with the discovery of aflourishing aquatic life in a sin-gle stretch of the river, consid-ered one of the most pollutedin the world.

After 70 years, theDehradun-based WildlifeInstitute of India (WII), whichis enumerating aquatic life inthe Ganga for the Government,reported spotting Siebold’ssmooth scaled water snake, amildly venomous serpentwhich grows to a maximumlength of 76 cm, in the first legof the survey of the river’smainstream from Bijnor toKanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

It also sighted 50 Gangeticdolphins, an endangeredspecies, at 28 spots, up from 42

spotted in a 2015 study by theUP government, in the 570km-long river stretch, sourcesin the union water resourcesministry said.

Scientists attached to theWII have also discovered newbreeding spots of the IndianSkimmer bird, protected underIndian Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972, in the river basin.

The concentration of thebird, a declining species whichpreys on aquatic animals fromthe river surface, is prominent

in Allahabad, where 350 nest-ing birds were observed in theWII survey conducted betweenApril 14 and April 25.

Usually, the IndianSkimmer is found in theNational Chambal GharialWildlife Sanctuary, located atthe tripoint of Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh and UttarPradesh, and in the Mahanadiriver basin.

The study, carried out by anine-member team includingfour biologists, also found 27

gharials, released by the UttarPradesh Government in thepast, in the Ganga, particular-ly in the Hastinapur WildlifeSanctuary.

It found several promi-nent species of turtles, includ-ing the three-striped roofed,black pond, crowned river,Indian flapshell, Indian soft-shell, Indian roofed, Indiantent and brown roofed turtles.

“Contrary to popular per-ception that Ganga’s waterquality has deterioratedbecause of pollution, the find-ings suggest that biodiversity isstill active,” senior WII scien-tist SA Hussain told PTI.

Hussain attributed theactivity to restoration effortspromoted by the union waterresources ministry through theNational Mission for CleanGanga (NMCG), which aims atcleaning up the river.

Cong, TMC to take final call this week

Activist Irom Sharmila during a protest against the Union Government organised by Pratinidhi Pariwar at Jantar Mantar in NewDelhi on Sunday PTI

OPPOSITION CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Rajnath to inaugurate 2-dayNational Platform for DisasterRisk Reduction today

EC plans to revokepoll mandate inbribe-for-votes cases

Swamy urges CBI, ED to file cases under graft Act,PMLA against Sonia

Indian warships in

Malaysia to step up

maritime cooperation

In the scheduled meeting of Congress presidentSonia Gandhi and West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Tuesday, the focus willalso be on chalking out the contours of an

anti-BJP front on the national level

AIR lines up spl

programmes to

mark 3 years

of Modi Govt

Mahmoud Abbas, President of Palestine on his arrival in New Delhi on Sunday PTI

Aquatic life flourishes in a stretch of Ganga: Survey

House panel studying pollreforms may examine EVMs

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017 nation 06

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n

KOLKATA

Amid vengeful repetition ofhistory marked by ran-

dom bombing and capturing ofbooths, the Bengal Oppositionparties on Sunday demandedcountermanding of civic elec-tions.

Sunday saw violence rid-den voting with goons takingcontrol of most of the munic-ipalities save the four in erst-while Darjeeling district in themountains where political tem-perature was cooler than whatit was in the plains of Raiganj,Domkal and Pujali where moregoons than voters traversed thestreets. The only departurefrom the regular gun-and-bomb affair — from Parliamentto panchayat polls — was areported plan by the BJP tobring impeachment motionagainst State ElectionCommissioner who remainedincommunicado on the issue oframpant electoral violence thatleft at least a dozen peopleinjured and many bombs andmotor bikes seized.

Opposition Left, Congressand BJP agitated outside theState Election Commissionoffice after the SEC remainedburied within the four-walls ofthe Commission office beforethe former two filed a policecomplaint against a ‘political-ly biased and servile commis-sion’ for sullying the pollsprocess at the neighbouringShakespeare Sarani PoliceStation.

This whereas sources in the

BJP said the party would con-sider bringing impeachmentmotion against the SEC andcalled upon the otherOpposition outfits to joincause.

The poll process that start-ed briskly in the morning wentviolent by the noon with gun-totting goons taking over thestreets at Raiganj in NorthBengal, Domkal inMurshidabad district and Pujaliin South 24 Parganas.

“In all the cases they fol-lowed the same pattern. Theywere bike-borne, carried back-packs filled with bombs andwickets,” said a policeman onduty at Pujali refusing to givehis name.

“They hurled bombs atwill and stopped voters from

going to vote,” BehrapmporeMP Adhir Chowdhury said.Suryakanta Mishra the CPI(M)State secretary said the partyhad withdrawn from pollprocess at Raiganj as there is nocondition to participate in vot-ing. There is no democracy inBengal. It is history beingrepeated all the way.”

At Domkal local CPI(M)MLA Anisur Rehman claimedTrinamool candidate SoumikHusein had employed trans-border criminals from neigh-bouring Bangladesh whorobbed the voters of their IDcards in night long operationsas the police remained mutespectators. Same cards wereused the next day for castingfalse vote.

BJP State president Dilip

Ghosh said Bengal was differ-ent from the rest of the coun-try as there was no democra-cy in the State. “The civic elec-tions are a glaring example ofthis. The wants countermand-ing of the elections and a freshpoll,” he said.

Things however remainedcooler in Darjeeling hills wereelections were held for fourboards of Darjeeling,Kalimpong, Kurseong andMirik.

While Darjeeling polled52 per cent, Kalimpong saw 58per cent voting. The figures forKurseong and Mirik were 66percent and 75 per cent respec-tively. In violence-torn Raiganj66 per cent voters cast votes hilein Pujali 79 per cent votedwhereas at Domkal 78 per cent

exercised their franchise. Therate of violence could begauged from the fact that theaverage rate of voting in allthese places is normally beyond83 per cent.

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN n

CHENNAI

VK Sasikala, the jailed gen-eral secretary of the

AIADMK and her nephewTTV Dinakaran, the deputygeneral secretary of the partyare against any kind of alliancewith the BJP. This was revealedon Sunday by Nanjil Sampath,a spokesperson of theAIADMK (Amma) factionheaded by Sasikala.

Nanjil Sampath isdescribed as the ears, eyes andloud speaker of the Sasikala-Natarajan duo.

“The AIADMK shouldnever have any kind of alliancewith the communal BJP. Seewhat is happening in Gujaratand Uttar Pradesh. A ChiefMinister insists that all peoplein the State should follow hisstyle of haircut. A member ofthe Legislative Assembly slapsa woman police officer. ShouldI explain further?” askedSampath while speaking to aTV news channel.

It may be recalled thatSampath had warned theAIADMK Government that87 of the 122 AIADMK MLAswere with Dinakaran when itwas announced by theAIADMK (Amma) that theywould keep the aunt-nephewduo from the party’s leadership.

The announcement bySampath has enlivened thepolitical scenario being evolvedfor the upcoming Presidentialelection. If the AIADMKdecides to vote against theBJP’s candidate in thePresidential election sched-uled for July, it would havenational ramifications.

Sampath’s outburst against

any kind of alliance with theHindutva party came even as Edappadi K Palaniswami,Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,was sharing a dais with MVenkaiah Naidu, UnionMinister for Information andBroadcasting who is also the BJP strongman from south India in a function held in Chennai on Sundayto dedicate to the nation astretch of the Chennai MetroRail, an infrastructure expect-ed to give a facelift to themetropolis.

While Palaniswami wascomplimenting the Centre forthe timely help extended to theState Government to executethe Metro Rail project andVenkaiah Naidu in his felicita-tion speech reminded the peo-ple about the warm relation hehad with late Chief MinisterJayalalithaa, the AIADMK pro-paganda man Sampath parrot-ed the words believed to havebeen taught by aunt Sasikala,who is serving a four-year jailterm at Parappana AgraharaCentral Jail in Bangalore in theDisproportionate Asset case.Dinakaran is in Tihar Jail inconnection with the criminal

case registered against him forhis attempt to bribe theElection Commission of Indiaofficials in the party symbolcase.

Sampath has been goingaround Tamil Nadu allegingthat the BJP was responsible forDinakaran’s imprisonment. “Itis a conspiracy hatched at New Delhi by the BJP. Theywant to destroy the AIADMK,”he had told reporters since theDelhi Police arrestedDinakaran last month.

Sampath was with Vaiko’sMDMK before he jumpedfence and joined the AIADMK.Though he announced his res-ignation from the AIADMKimmediately after the electionof Sasikala as general secretaryof the party, he retracted andre-joined the party after a per-sonal audience with Sasikala.Since then he has been func-tioning as the ears, eyes andlounge of Sasikala.

Other than Sampath, theAIADMK MP AnwharRaajhaa, representing Ramana-thapuram Constituency toohad blamed the BJP for the tur-moil in the AIADMK. Theimminent election to the localbodies in Tamil Nadu wouldsee the realignment of variousparties in the State.

While the CPI(M), theCPI, the VCK and Islamistoutfits are all waiting for thegreen signal to join the DMKbandwagon, the moves to bemade by the PMK, MDMKand DMDK are still not known.Dr Ramadoss, the medicaldoctor-turned-politician hadmade it clear that his outfit thePMK would never align eitherwith the AIADMK or theDMK.

PTI n BENGALURU

Congress leader MallikarjunKharge on Sunday said his

party will fight the 2018Assembly election in Karnatakaunder ‘collective leadership’.

To a question whether he isbeing considered for the party’sState unit president post, theleader of the Congress in theLok Sabha said, “I have noteven applied for it.”

“We will go (to polls) undercollective leadership... Afterwe come to power, things willhappen according to what isdecided by the CLP (CongressLegislature Party) and our highcommand,” he told reportershere.

There is a stiff competitionamong senior party leadersfor the State Congress presi-dent’s post ahead of the 2018Assembly polls.

While Home Minister GParameshwara is seeking toretain the post, other leaderslike DK Shivakumar, MB Patil,SR Patil are also said to be inthe fray.

Kharge said, unlike theBJP, where all powers are con-centrated with one person,that is Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, the Congresshas a high command whichtakes decisions.

Speaking to reporters onFriday, Karnataka ChiefMinister Siddaramaiah had

expressed confidence that theCongress will return to powerin the State after the nextAssembly elections under hisleadership and the ChiefMinisterial candidate will bedecided by the party high com-mand. He had said the party’snorm is that the CM candidateis first selected by the CLP afterwhich it is ratified by the highcommand.

“So, as of now, I cannot saythat I will be the ChiefMinisterial candidate. It is adecision of the high com-mand,” Kharge said.

Newly appointed Congress'general secretary in-charge K CVenugopal had on Wednesdaysaid there is no difference in theparty’s State unit and ‘all con-fusion’ on the new PradeshCongress Committee presi-dent will be cleared within thismonth.

Polling for the 224 seats inKarnataka Legislative Assemblyis expected to be held earlynext year.

PTI n AHMEDABAD

Senior Gujarat Congressleader Shankersinh Vaghela

on Sunday said he was not keenon contesting the upcomingAtate Assembly polls to beheld later this year.

Responding to a query byreporters about his choice ofConstituency from where hewould want to contest the

polls, the 77-year-old formerChief Minister said he hadcontested enough number ofelections in his life and it nolonger held importance forhim.

“I have contested manyelections in my life. Now, timehas come to fight for the prob-lems faced by the people ofGujarat. Contesting Assemblyor Lok Sabha polls is not

important for me,” he toldreporters in Bayad town ofArvalli district.

Meanwhile, Vaghela onSunday ‘un-followed’ Congressvice president Rahul Gandhiand many other party leadersfrom his Twitter account.

The developments cameon the day when the StateCongress organised its IT Cellconference here, which saw

the presence of Congress pres-ident Sonia Gandhi’s politicalsecretary Ahmed Patel andmany other senior leadersfrom the State.

In March, Vaghela, who isthe Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly, hadclaimed he was not in the race for the Chief Minister’spost for the State Assemblyelections.

Sasikala, Dinakaran againstADMK-BJP ties: Sampath

If the AIADMKdecides to vote

against the BJP’scandidate in the

Presidentialelection

scheduled forJuly, it wouldhave nationalramifications

84-yr-old donates `1cr for jawans’ welfare

PNS n GANDHINAGAR

Eighty four-year-oldJanardan Bhatt, a retired

employee of State Bank ofSaurashtra (SBS) set an exam-ple by donating `1 crore to theNational Defence Fund (NDF)for the welfare of jawans andtheir families.

NDF is used for the wel-fare of the members of theArmed Forces (including ParaMilitary Forces) and theirdependents. It was set up totake charge of voluntary dona-tions in cash and kind receivedfor promotion of the nation-al Defence effort, and todecide on their utilisation.

Based in coastal town,Bhavnagar Bhatt has no son ordaughter and hence he decid-ed to donate all his savings forthe noble cause. “In the recentpast I had been watchingnews related to martyredjawans and the way they are

guarding our borders in chal-lenging conditions. At thisage, I did what best I coulddo,” said Bhatt.

Many celebrities includingmovie star Akshay Kumar,

cricketer Gautam Gambhiramong others hit the headlinesby donating huge amount forsuch noble cause. In the caseof Bhatt, he belongs to a mid-dle class family and has a heart

to donate all his savings for thejawans. After retirement, hehad invested his ProvidentFund smartly which yieldedhim hefty returns. Now he isusing money for the noble

cause.“During his entire career,

Bhatt was active in SBSEmployees Union. As a unionleader he had helped many ofhis colleagues and fought with management for theirrights. Even after retirement,he was active in social servicesin his hometown Bhavnagar,”said his ex-colleague Mahas-ukhbhai Dave, adding that allthose who had worked withhim are feeling proud forBhatt.

This not first time Bhattcame forward for the noblecause. In the past too he andhis likeminded friends col-lected and donated more than`50 lakh for various socialcauses.

The NDF is administeredby an Executive Committee,with Prime Minister as thechairperson, and Defence,Finance and Home Ministersas members.

Violence marks Bengal civic polls

Voters stand in a queue to cast their franchise at a polling station during municipal elections at Domcol in Murshidabaddistrict of West Bengal on Sunday PTI

Bengal Policebooks BJPleaders forinciting violencePNS n KOLKATA

The Bengal Police onSunday filed suo motu

cases against State BJP lead-ers Locket Chatterjee andJayprakash Majumdar forinciting violence in Dinhataon Saturday.

The Trinamool Congressand BJP workers had clashedat Dinhata in Coochbehardistrict where the saffronparty had done well in the lastParliamentary electionsemerging as the secondbiggest outfit after theTrinamool Congress.

Vehicles were damagedand party offices were ran-sacked and torched.

“My vehicle was attackedby the Trinamool goons,”Chatterjee an actress-turnedpolitician said.

“We will also answer theTrinamool Congress in thesame language that theyunderstand,” he added

The police on Sundayfiled suo motu cases againstChatterjee and Majumdar.“The Trinamool has startedplaying politics of vengeancein Bengal. We will fight theissue politically” saidChatterjee on Sunday.

Cong to fight K'takapolls under collectiveleadership: Kharge

Polling for the 224seats in Karnataka

LegislativeAssembly is

expected to beheld early next

year

Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his colleagues taking the first ride after flagging off the firstunderground metro rail service from Thirumangalam to Nehru Park in Chennai on Sunday PTI

Contesting polls is not important for me: Vaghela

Opp parties stageprotest, urge ECto cancel election

KHURSHEED WANI n SRINAGAR

The security forces onSunday shot dead two

Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) ter-rorists suspected to have beeninvolved in a fidayeen attackon an artillery garrison inKupwara on April 27. Policesaid the two terrorists werekilled in a brief encounter atWarpora area of Handwara innorth Kashmir’s Kupwara dis-trict, around a hundred kilo-meters from here.

Director General of PoliceDr SP Vaid said the two ter-rorists have been part of thegroup that infiltrated lastmonth to launch an attack onan army garrison. He said itwas unclear whether the duohad actually taken part in thesuicide strike. Army said thatone of the slain terroristshad a unhealed wound thatindicates that he might havebeen involved in the fidayeenstrike at Panzgam formation.

The Panzgam strike wasthe first fidayen (suicide)attack in Kashmir this yearthat resulted into killing ofthree soldiers including aCaptain, and two terrorists onApril 27. The artillery garrisonclose to the Line of Control(LoC) was stormed from therear side of the camp at weehours as the attackers cut thebarbed wire to force theirentry into the camp.

The Sunday gunfighterupted when the Army’s 21

Rashtriya Rifles and SpecialOperation Group (SOG) ofJammu and Kashmir policelaunched an anti-terrorist oper-ation in Waripora followinginputs about presence of ter-rorists . “During the brief fire-fight that lasted around 10minutes two LeT terroristswere killed. Their identity isbeing ascertained but theyappear to be Pakistani nation-als linked with the Lashkar,”Senior Superin-tendent ofPolice, Handwara, GhulamJeelani said.

“We have found yet-to-heal graze wound on one of theeliminated terrorist which isindicative of a likely involve-ment of these two terrorists inthe Panzgam suicide attack. Wehave found some other evi-dence also amongst the war likestores confirming their involve-ment in Panzgam incident,”Commanding Officer of 21RR, Col Kuldeep Singh toldreporters. In a separate incidentan AK rifle, three magazineswere recovered in Handwaraon Sunday. Police said therecovery was made during thedemolition of an old mosque inRajwar area of Handwara.

“During the demolition ofan old Masjid Sharief inLashipora, Rajwar, locals foundan AK rifle and three maga-zines. Later on, villagersinformed Handwara police andhanded the rifle and magazinesto them,” a police spokes-man said.

2 LeT terroristskilled in Kashmir

Preparations underway for the 121st flower show at Ooty Govt Botanical Garden on Sunday PTI

nation 07LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017

VR JAYARAJ n KOCHI

The Kerala Police have iden-tified the killers of local RSS

leader Choorakkad Biju (34)who was brutally hacked todeath in Payyannur in Kannurdistrict on Friday even as fearand anxiety spread among theresidents of the sensitive areasin the district despite stepped-up security arrangements.

The police said they hadreceived clear informationabout the identities of all theseven members of the killergang — all of whom areCPI(M) sympathisers or work-ers— that had murdered Bijuand that all of them would "fallinto the net without delay".Two persons have already beentaken into custody in connec-tion with the killing.

According to the police,Biju, Ramanthali MandalKaryavahak of the RSS and12th accused in the case per-taining to the murder ofCPI(M) worker CV Dhanaraj(38) at Ramanthali, Payyannurlast July, was killed by a seven-member CPI(M) gang headedby Rineesh and Anoop ofPayyannur, both said to beaccused in several criminalcases.

The police have come tothe conclusion that the ganghad murdered Biju as an act ofrevenge for the murder of theirclose friend, Dhanaraj. Theyhave also found out that Biju'skilling was the result of a con-spiracy and that the killershad stalked the RSS leader forseveral days before committingthe crime.

Biju was hacked to deathon Friday evening at Palakkodnear Pazhayangadi inPayyannur as he was goinghome on a motorbike beingdriven by his friend Rajesh. At

a bridge near Palakkod, thekillers hit the bike with theToyota Innova car they weretravelling in and then hackedBiju to death. It was Rineeshand Anoop who had hackedthe RSS leader.

The CPI(M)'s Payyannurarea committee said actionwould be taken after inquiriesif anybody related to the partywas involved in the murder asthe party's State secretary anda native of Kannur, KodiyeriBalakrishnan, alleged that theBJP and RSS had embarked ona campaign against the CPI(M)and the LDF Government itwas heading by using the"unfortunate incident".

The police on Sunday tookinto custody two persons onthe basis of the statement givenby Rajesh on whose bike Bijuwas travelling. They wereBenoy, the owner of the Innovacar used by the murderers, andJijesh, who had provided assis-tance for the gang to take thecar on rent on April 25.

The car was taken intocustody by a police patrol teamfrom Payyannur earlySundaymorning but the drivermanaged to escape. Beforeescaping, he had sprinkledchili powder inside and the carand on its body. Forensicexperts confirmed that thepatches of paint found on theseized Innova had come from

the motorbike on which Bijuwas travelling.

According to the investi-gators, Biju, a paint worker, wasaware that the Marxists hadbeen stalking him for sometime. For the same reason, hehad planned to stay away fromKannur and had found a job inMangalore for the purpose.The gang had waylaid andmurdered him when he wasreturning home fromMangalore on Friday eveningafter arranging the job.

A top police official saidthat the incident had strikingsimilarities with the murder ofMarxist rebel TPChandrasekharan inOnchiyam, Kozhikode districtin May, 2012.

"In that case also, the killers had waylaid the victimusing a car taken on rent,which they had abandonedafter brutally hacking him todeath," he said.

Meanwhile, fear and anxi-ety over the violence reachedpanic levels among the resi-dents of sensitive areas likePayyannur, Koothuparambuand Panur in Kannur districtwhich have a history of violentCPI(M)-RSS conflicts. Thepolice have stepped up securi-ty by deploying large numbersof personnel but that has nothelped in mitigating the panicamong the people.

"Since last May, peoplehere had expected the vio-lence to come down becausethey thought the CPI(M), asruling party, would showrestraint. But the incidentssince July last have disprovedthat hope. With Friday's inci-dent, the people have onceagain slipped into fear," saidRamesh Nambiar, a formerCPI(M) activist fromThalassery, Kannur.

MOHIT KANDHARI n JAMMU

The situation along the Lineof Control in Nowshera

sector continue to remain grimfor the second consecutive dayon Sunday. After a brief lull offew hours during the nightmortar shelling from thePakistan side resumed earlySunday morning.

According to Defencespokesperson in Jammu,“Pakistan Army initiated indis-criminate firing along the lineof control earlysunday morn-ing.” He said, “Pak Army used82 mm and 120 mm mortars totarget the civilian areas alongthe LoC.”

As firing intensified IndianArmy retaliated effectively,spokesman added. The firingcontinued for about two hoursin the area, he added.

District authorities inRajouri claimed ceasefire vio-lation was reported atManjakote and Chingus areasat 6.20 am on sundaymorning.

According to them PakArmy shattered peace inChhotibakri village in Doongiarea where at least 30 shellsexploded near habitations.No loss of life or injury wasreported. Three cattle werereported dead in the area. InTarkudi area 14-15 shells land-ed from across the line of con-trol, however, no loss wasreported.

In Niaka-Panjgrain villageof Manjakote 3-4 shells weredropped in cross-bordershelling. More than 40 shellslanded in various areas ofManjakote where 3 houseswere damaged.

Due to prevailing securitysituation in the forward areas1114 persons of 298 familieshave been accommodated in 5different relief camps estab-lished in Nowshera.

Eight villages of Nowsherahave been badly affected byheavy shelling which include

Khamba, Sarya, Bhawani,Kalsian, Manpur, Danaka,

Khori and Ganya. More than1000 people have been shifted

to camps in last 24 hours.Deputy Commissioner, Dr

Shahid Iqbal Choudhary saidmore than 2694 families com-prised of 10,042 persons havebeen affected in shelling.

Two civilians including aminor girl were killed onSaturday while 6 others wereinjured. 65 livestock were alsoreported dead. Standing cropsand green forest suffered heavydamages during intenseshelling.

Deputy CM Prof NirmalSingh visited Nowshera andinteracted with border resi-dents camping in relief camps.He directed the district author-ities to provide basic necessitiesto these people.

Killers of Kannur RSS

leader identified: Cops

Police said theyhad received

clear informationabout the

identities of allthe seven

members of thekiller gang

People evacuated rom their village following cross-border shelling PTI

Situation remains grim along LoC

MOHIT KANDHARI n JAMMU

Jammu & Kashmir DeputyChief Minister Prof Nirmal

Singh Sunday said victims ofcross-border firing in the Statewould receive `5 lakh com-pensation in the form of fixeddeposit as approved by theCentre in August 2016.

Reacting to the news reportpublished in The Pioneer onMay 14, the Deputy ChiefMinister told this correspondentthat funds have been released bythe State Government to com-pensate these victims of cross-border firing as per the existingnorms of the Central AssistanceScheme.

Commenting on the rea-sons behind delay caused inclearing these payments earli-er Nirmal Singh said, “wecould not do it because theCentre had not released fundsto the State Government.”

He said, “I have been

informed by the DivisionalCommissioner Jammu that hehad discussed the matter withthe chief secretary and home sec-retary and they have agreed to

release the money. He said soonthe compensation amount wouldbe handed over to the next of kinof cross border firing victims inthe form of fixed deposit.”

The decision to enhancethe Central assistance to thetune of `5 lakh was taken bythe Union Cabinet headed byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin August 2016. Since then thecross-border firing victimsentitled for the compensationwere not given single penny.

A total number of 15 peo-ple have died so far acrossJammu region in cross-borderfiring incidents after the com-

pensation amount wasenhanced by the Centre.

The district developmentcommissioners could notprocess their cases as they wereawaiting fresh guidelines andfunds from the StateGovernment. In the wake offresh firing along the line of con-trol three civilians have lost theirlives in Rajouri district alone.

Deputy Commissioner,Rajouri, Dr Shahid IqbalChoudhary told The PioneerDeputy CM Prof Nirmal Singhvisited the families of cross-bor-der firing victims in Nowsheraon Sunday and took stock of thesecurity situation and directeddistrict authorities to ensurebasic amenities are organised forborder residents camping in therelief camps. Prof Singh alsocriticised Pakistan Army for tar-geting civilian areas and said theCentre has given free hand tothe Army to give befitting replyto Pakistan.

Victims of cross-border

firing to get `5L soon: Min

impactpioneer

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

Upcoming Marathi filmproducer Atul Tapkir com-

mitted suicide in his room at aleading hotel in Pune in theearly hours of Sunday, afterposting a suicide note on hisFacebook page.

In FB post, Tapikar saidthat he was ending his life byconsuming poison. He attrib-uted his suicide to the financiallosses suffered in the making ofhis critically acclaimed Marathifilm Dhole Taashe Pathak andthe mental harassment he wasallegedly facing at the hands ofhis wife Priyanka.

Taikar was staying in HotelPresident off Karve Road inPune. As he did not open the

hotel room on Sunday morn-ing, the hotel managementcalled the police who brokeopen the room. He was foundlying dead.

The body of Tapikar, whois suspected to have consumedpoison, was sent to the State-run Sassoon General Hospitalfor post-mortem.

The Deccan Gymkhanapolice station have registered acase and are investigating thecase.

Tapikar is survived by hiswife, son Vishwajit, daughterSakshi, father Bajirao Tapikarand sisters Ujwala and Nirmala.

In his suicide note, Tapikarallleged “Since my film wentinto losses, I was debt trapped.As a consequence, my wife

started harassing me.... I wasdriven out of my own home bymy wife and she also distancedme from my children. She alsostarted defaming me amongmy neighbours and friends. Tothat extent, my friends stopped

interacting with me.... Becauseof the harassment, I beganconsuming liquor.”

Tapkir also alleged thatwhile father and sisters weresupporting him, his wife washarassing him to no end andthat she had also complained tothe police demanding his arrest.

Dhole Taashe Pathak ,which is the first Marathi polit-ical drama that revolve aroundthe culture related to peoplewho play drums and instru-ments in cultural processions inMaharashtra was released inJuly 2015. Though well-made,the film – directed by AnkurKakatkar and starring AbhijeetKhandkekar, Hrishitaa Bhattand Jitendra Joshi starring—bombed at the box office.

Marathi film producer ends life

Atul Tapkir

DEPRIVED OF WATER...Veterinary doctor Dr

Basavaraj, who conducted thepost-mortem said that the croc-odiles were facing food scarci-ty due to lack of water in theriver. “They are coming to thebanks of the river in search offood. But, being cold-bloodedanimals, crocodiles are unableto bear the temperature whichis as high as 40 degrees Celsius.As a result, their body temper-ature goes up and the crocodilesare dying due to multi-organfailure,” he explained. Accordingto official sources Krishna Riverdried up completely after 3.27Thousand Million Cubic Feet ofwater was released toNarayanpur reservoir lastmonth. “Moreover, deficientrain in the region too has addedto the woes,” he added. BilagiRange Forest OfficerHanumantha Doni said that fivecrocodiles had recently enteredthe sugarcane fields on thebanks of the river in search offood and they have been res-cued. He said, “The carcass ofthe crocodile found dead onFriday was buried in the riverbed on Saturday after a post-mortem.” However, there is a rayof hope for both humans andanimals as water resourcesdepartment officials have con-firmed that Maharashtra hasagreed to release water fromKoyna reservoir to KrishnaRiver, which might help savehumans as well as these endan-gered species from dying.

PM TO OPEN...It has been designed to

withstand the movement ofmilitary tanks. “Assam andArunachal Pradesh have hugestrategic value to the country.Since the bridge is located closeto our border with China, it willhelp quick movement of mili-tary troops and artillery intimes of conflict,” Sonowal said.The bridge is located 540-kmfrom Assam capital Dispur and300-km from ArunachalPradesh capital Itanagar. Theaerial distance to the Chineseborder is less than 100 km.

After Kaliabhomora bridgenear Tezpur, there is no bridgeover the Brahmaputra for thenext 375 km upstream tillDhola, where the new one hasbeen constructed. Currently,all transportion between the twobanks of the river is throughwater. The bridge, when openedto public, will cut down the trav-el time between Assam andArunachal Pradesh by as muchas four hours. As there is nocivilian airport in ArunachalPradesh and this bridge will helppeople of the state reach thenearest rail head in Tinsukiaand the airport in Dibrugarheasily.

Sonowal said the construc-tion of the bridge was expedit-ed after Modi assumed thecharge in 2014. The bridge wasoriginally scheduled to open in2015. The BJP Government inAssam will complete one year inoffice on May 24. The bridge isone of the key projects of theMinistry of Road Transportand Highways in the northeastand has been built in public-pri-vate partnership. PTI

ASSAM JUMPS...It feels good to help these

needy women,” said DrGoswami. Commending thescheme, she hoped that her fra-ternity will come forward todedicate at least one day amonth to helping pregnantwomen in rural areas in theState, who often die in childbirthdue to poor access to healthcare.“Among pregnant women, ane-mia tops the list followed byirregular menstruation, hyper-tension, diabetes, multiple preg-nancies, more than three mis-carriages and congenital abnor-malities,” she said, pointing outthat the list is long. For instance,Phulbano (19), who has comefor a check-up for the first timefrom nearby Lokhara Village, isacutely anemic. Her first childdied in the womb itself and nowshe’s taking iron tablets asadvised by the ASHA workeraccompanying her.

Like Phulbano, many oth-ers, belonging to the BPL cate-gory, have come from far offareas like Gualpada, Kamruprural and Managldoi village forcheck-up. Dr Pankaj Suthar,State maternal health consul-tant, UNICEF, is very opti-mistic. “The scheme is graduallypicking up. So far, gynecologistshave rendered services at PanduFirst Referral Unit, MahendraMohan Choudhury Hospital,Panbazar, and Dhirenpara FirstReferral Unit, to name a few. Wehave been constantly writing tothe private gynecologists. “SinceJune 2016, we have covered 1.50lakh pregnant women under theANC services in our 288 healthfacilities in 32 districts. Ouryearly target is 7.9 lakh pregnantwomen. We want to focus onhigh risk pregnancies to cutdown mortality rate.

“Though ultra-sonogra-phy facilities are only in 69 FirstReferral Units, we have identi-fied 288 sites for ANC servicesunder PMSMA. If needed, helpfrom other hospitals and privateclinic is also taken.”

As part of the scheme,women are tested for anemia,blood pressure, high bloodsugar (gestational diabetes), andother problems associated withpregnancy and provided freeultrasounds to track the healthand development of the baby in

the womb. A Das, a gynecolo-gist with the Pandu FirstReferral Unit stressed on creat-ing awareness about the schemeamong the targeted beneficiariesand holding regular meetingwith the private doctors to sen-sitize them. Dr JP Sharma, in-charge of the Dhirenpara FirstReferral Unit, echoed similarviews saying Assam registers notonly high MMR but also a veryhigh IMR of 48 per one thou-sand live births as against 41 allIndia average. “High MMR is incertain belts like tea pockets andrough terrain where facilities areout of bound,” he said andhoped that PMSMA would giveencouraging results.

Dr Sharma said that high-risk pregnant women are beingidentified and counseled aboutnutrition, family planning andoverall birth readiness for new-borns and postnatal care.

The programme has beeninitiated on the premises that ifeach and every pregnantwoman in India is examined bya physician and appropriatelyinvestigated at least once duringthe PMSMA and then appro-priately followed-up, it can helpin reducing the number ofmaternal and neonatal deaths inthe country.

FIREWORKS LIKELY...absolute majority in the

Assembly with 325 members,but the ruling party is in minor-ity in the 100-memberLegislative Council where ithas only eight members. In theCouncil, the principal opposi-tion party, the Samajwadi Party,has the majority with 66 mem-bers. Leader of Opposition andSP member Ram GovindChoudhury said that the oppo-sition was united against thegovernment on law and orderand other issues.

“We will not spare this gov-ernment, which is working onRashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh(RSS) agenda that is havingadverse impact on the society.The government also wants torevise school syllabus and saf-fronise education as per the RSSagenda. The goons of the sanghparivar and their affiliates havecreated havoc in the lives ofDalits and minorities,” theLeader of Opposition in theAssembly said.

Choudhury said: “Initially,we had announced to give theBJP government six months’time to perform, but the situa-tion has changed fast and seriesof incidents of crime and grow-ing tension in the society haveforced us to ensure the account-ability of the government.”

Bahujan Samaj Party statepresident Ram Achal Rajbhar,who is a member of theAssembly, said the party legis-

lators would raise the issue ofatrocities on Dalit during thisBJP regime. Congress leader inthe Assembly Ajay Kumar Lalusaid they would join theOpposition in highlighting thefailures of the Yogi Adityanathgovernment.

According to the AssemblySecretariat, the first session ofthe 17th Assembly will have sixsittings.

During the special session,the House will approve theGST Bill, besides holding afour-day-long debate on themotion of thanks to theGovernor’s address. Some Billsand Ordinances are also likelyto be tabled in the House.

For the first time in UP, theGovernor will be received as perthe new protocol when hecomes to address the joint sit-ting of the legislature.

As per the new protocol, theGovernor, who will arrive in aprocession amid blowing oftrumpets, will be received by theChief Minister and others at theentrance of the Assembly whileon his way to address the jointsitting. After welcoming theGovernor, the Chief Ministerand others will follow him in aprocession to the Assembly.The national anthem will beplayed twice — before the pro-ceedings begin and after theGovernor leaves.

After the special session, theYogi Adityanath governmentwill go for a month-long BudgetSession sometime in mid-June.

26/11 MASTERMIND...The Punjab Government

on January 30 had put these fiveunder house arrest in Lahore fortheir involvement in activitieswhich can be prejudicial topeace and security.

The Government has alsoplaced JuD and FIF under sec-ond schedule of the anti-ter-rorism act. The NawazGovernment had reportedlytaken action against Saeed afterthe US clearly told Islamabadthat in case of not taking actionagainst JuD and Saeed it mayface sanctions.

JuD is said to be the frontfor the banned Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT). The organisa-tion has been declared as a for-eign terrorist organisation by theUS in June 2014. Saeed and hisaides said in their petition thatthe Government detained themwithout any legal justification.They said the UN resolution fol-lowed by the government didnot seek detention of any citi-zen. “The detention of the JuDleaders is a simple case of malafide intention and ulteriormotive on part of theGovernment as it has beendone so to please India and theUnited States,” the petition said.

STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

Former Water Minister KapilMishra on Sunday accused

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal and his Aam AadmiParty (AAP) of an array offinancial irregularities. Givingthe presentation on documentsallegedly revealing irregulari-ties in the AAP’s finances, theMinister accused Kejriwal ofbeing involved in hawala trans-actions through hundreds ofshell companies, hiding finan-cial details from the Income-Tax Department and theElection Commission.

Demanding Kejriwal’s res-ignation, Mishra said that if hedidn’t step down, he woulddrag the Chief Minister by hiscollar and lock him up inDelhi’s Tihar Jail.

“It has now become clearthat Arvind Kejriwal is a cor-rupt man,” Mishra allegedbefore he swooned, apparent-ly weakened by five days offasting in protest against AAP’srefusal to disclose details of fiveparty leaders’ travels abroad.

Addressing the Press con-ference, the ex-AAP Ministersaid at his residence that theparty had received crores ofrupees from shell companiesrun by people close to Kejriwal,mentioning in particular AAPlegislators Charan Goel andNaresh Yadav. These shellcompanies, Mishra alleged,also had ghost directors whodonated money to the partyand converted black moneyinto white.

He said there were alsodiscrepancies in the moneyreceived by the AAP and theamount it declared before theElection Commission.

Presenting the power point

slide, Mihsra said, “The partydid not declare money that itreceived. They got 25 crores,but showed only 20 crores.Where have the 5 crores gone?

Earlier, referring to one ofthe cases of alleged discrepan-cies, Mishra said the AAPreceived `90 lakh as donationfrom a person identified asPriya Bansal of Bengaluru for2014-15 and 2015-16, but thetax payable on her income wasmerely `4,000. “In 2014-15, theparty had `65,52,40,752 in itsbank account, but the ElectionCommission was informedabout only `32,46,16,662 whilethe party put only`27,38,71,611 in the publicdomain and told its volunteersit had no money,” Mishra said.

He also held that the partyhad made 461 bogus entries.

“All this happened with theknowledge of Arvind Kejriwal

as these shell companiesdeposited money in AAP’sbank account on the same dayand time in January 2014,”Mishra said, brandishing asheaf of documents.

Mishra was accompaniedat the meet by a man identifiedas Neil Haslam, who he saidhelped in exposing the fund-ing. “This is why I have beendemanding foreign travel detailsof five AAP leaders,” Mishrasaid.

He added that he wouldalso approach the CBI onMonday with documents andwould soon expose another“scam” related to the AAP’smohalla or health clinics.

Meanwhile, the conditionof former Water and TourismMinister Kapil Mishra whowas admitted to Ram ManoharLohia Hospital (RMLH) afterhe fainted while addressing the

media on Saturday, is stable.“He is conscious and normalnow and is being monitoredcontinuously. He will be shift-ed to general wards,” an RMLdoctor said. “The Minister issuffering from a little weaknessand mild dehydration,” thedoctor said. Mishra, who hasbeen on a hunger strike for fivedays, fainted at around noon inthe midst of a Press conference.

On Saturday night, a teamof doctors from RML Hospitalhad examined Mishra and saidhis blood sugar level, pulse rateand blood pressure were nor-mal. The doctors had alsoadvised that he be hospitalised,but Mishra carried on with hishunger strike. The doctorssaid that the mild dehydrationsuffered by Mishra wasbecause of no salt intake for thelast few days, and described thecondition as starvation ketosis

‘Kejriwal hides details from I-T dept, EC’

AAP MLA Kapil Mishra, who fainted after his Press Conference, being taken to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, in New Delhion Sunday Pioneer

Hizbul...

From Page 1through rigorous arms

training in which he learnthandle AK 47, AK 56, SLRand assault rifles. He wasinvolved in a number of ter-rorist activities. In 2002, hesustained bullet injuries dur-ing an encounter with theArmy in Banihal.

He later settled in LalaMusa locality in Kharian tehsilof Gujrat in Pakistan andmarried Ashanaeem inPakistan and acquired aPakistani passport.

ATS sleuths said Naseeralong with an associate, MohdShafi, landed in Kathmanduon May 10 from Faisalabad inPakistan via Sharjah. Shafiseparated from him inKathmandu.

Assording to SSB, Ahmedwas residing in Pakistan sinceSeptember, 2003. He wasinvolved in many attacksagainst civilians and securityforces including an attack onan STF camp in India in 2003.He was sent to India by hishandler for a specific mission.

As per an official com-muniqué, the case has beentransferred to ATS on theinstruction of ADG (Law andOrder). The ATS sleuths havebeen asked to take Naseer onremand to interrogate him toget information about theman who was assisting himand find out his future planthe target for which he and hisaide were infiltrating the border.

The SSB spokespersonsaid that Naseer was appre-hended by the SashastraSeema Bal on its own intelli-gence inputs and profiling.

The SSB said Naseerreached the Indo-Nepal bor-der in a bus “with an intentionto sneak into Indian territoryand carry out terrorist activ-ities in India and was in touchwith a handler from India,who used to deposit money, inhis account, off and on.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

When one thinks of thetriple talaq debate logi-cally, there is no sense inthe arguments that it isan established religious

practice and is essential to the practiceof Islam. Not only have theocratic Islamicnations outlawed the practice but in atime where we as a society realise thatwomen have equal rights, just how canthis frankly barbaric insult to women’srights continue? This does not any wayattack the rights of people to practiceIslam, but like any other religion, thereneeds to be an understanding by religiousleaders that religion must evolve.

The great Bengali reformer andpatriot and founder of the BrahmoSamaj, Raja Ram Mohan Roy was one ofthe first to speak up against the terrify-ing practice of sati. After he saw hisbrother’s wife effectively murdered on hisfuneral pyre, he campaigned ferocious-ly against the practice.

Roy, a pioneer of the Hindu renais-sance and the revival of political poweramong Hindus, was a man who realisedthat the religion had to evolve. This wasdespite the fury that greeted some of hisproposals in Bengal. Yet, it was only 190years ago that the practice of sati was

abolished. While revivalist Hinduism stillhas some practices that need to bepurged out, the era of sati is considereda dark blot in history.

Similarly, triple talaq has to go,whether it happens judicially or inParliament. It is a practice rooted in reli-gious history, but from a time long agowhere society, and the human race for thatmatter, were far more backward. We livein a time where technology rules our livesand we know that women have equalrights. And it is not as if this is practisedby those from a backward educationalbackground. Stories of people who havehad a modern education indulging in prac-tice have also emerged.

The triple talaq issue thus has becomeone where reconciling between women’srights and religious freedom have becomeintertwined. Yet, there should be nodebate whatsoever, because human rightsscore above religion at all times. And thisis a lesson that the violent Gau rakshaksmust also heed. Vigilantism should notbecome the order of the day.

True, there is a serious problem of cat-tle-rustling across the country, and someof the vigilantes have formed gangs inresponse to that. Yet, if we are to show thatwe are a civilised society, there needs tofaith reposed in the rule of law. Just liketriple talaq is an abhorrent practice thatmust be consigned to history, there needsto be strict action against violent Gau rak-shaks and the like.

There are vestiges of much olderpractice that continue to dominate thepolitical discourse in India, such as thecaste system. There is no excuse for the

varna regime, and when you hear storiesof higher caste gangs attacking Dalit mar-riage parties because the groom ‘dared’ toride on a horse, you cannot but think thatit unfortunate that the work of Raja RamMohan Roy and Dayanand Saraswati is notbeing taken forward in this generation.

Indeed, the advent of mass media hasonly highlighted just how bad the casteproblem remains outside the richer partsof large metropolitan cities. Between tripletalaq and the caste system, India’s claimsto be a rising society sound hollow. Butunlike trying to address the social injus-tice of the caste system, the country has letinternal religious discrimination or hascondoned other practices.

For example, Sikh women are allowedto ride a two-wheeler without a helmetin Delhi because their religious leadershave gained for them an exemption.What is depressing is that many Sikhwomen really do not wear helmets ontwo-wheelers even though commonsense would make anybody realise thatwearing a helmet adds to safety. How canany ‘religious’ leader want to make suchan exemption? Because this valueshuman life below that of following a prac-tice. That is simply wrong.

And Parliament has to soon consid-er implement an Uniform Civil Codebecause such a code will codify a simplefact, Humanism and the respect of allhuman beings as equal before any reli-gious book. Keep in mind, every majorreligious text is over a millennia old, andsome of the older ones three or four mil-lennia old. You could not live in a timebefore the internal combustion engine,

flight, modern medicine and the inter-net? So how can you live by some rulescodified back then? A Uniform CivilCode will ensure that people — men orwomen — do not suffer legally or soci-etally because of the faith they profess,whether it is Islam, Hinduism,Christianity or any other religion.

Because when you think about it, welive in a time of instant gratificationthrough social media and online con-sumerism. We are but a click away frombeing to fly across 10,000 kilometresacross the face of the planet. We are achiev-ing things that were unimaginable to ourancestors so we must evolve. Among amajority of younger people in developedcountries religion’s importance is fadingaway. Yet, we are fighting wars and greatcivilisational wars in the middle east thatin essence are religious wars.

This is not to argue that faith or reli-gion is not important, some of the great-est scientists in the world have managedto reconcile their faith and the advance-ments. No matter how scientific onemight be, most births, marriages andfunerals are still highly religious events.Yet, a basic tenet of every faith is respectfor a fellow being. How can men andwomen of any faith reconcile themselveswith some of the practices which even ifthey do not profess, others in their faithdo? It is important for reformers to standup and force change. If we are to becomea truly secular country we have to be acountry which has one common law forevery man, woman and child.

(The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer)

Not every film is path-breaking. Not every film has a pan national viewer-ship. But Telugu magnum opus Baahubali has definitely the best of all —the artistic quality; the technical prowess and the grandeur scale.

Baahubali — The conclusion has indeed raised the bar for the Indian film indus-try by crossing the `1,000 crore mark. The sequel has called for an industry-wide improvement and has set a mammoth benchmark for it, as it has been lag-ging behind in the world of cinema due to technological constraints. The block-buster that was simultaneously released in three languages — Tamil, Malayalamand Hindi — has surpassed even the biggest Bollywood flicks like Dangal, PKand Bajrangi Bhaijaan. A record-shattering performance in sheer numerical termslike this is unbelievable. But what is even more interesting is the fact that a region-al language film has gained such national and even international popularity. Itis not nust the success but the scale that has been astounding. It can be arguedthat it was the plot that clicked, but the plot was clichéd. It was not even theleading actors who, though well-known, are not so famous nationally (they are

popular in the Telugu film industrythough) to have generated the kind ofrevenue the film has done. In fact, ithas been the other way round; the suc-cess has helped them in a big way. Itwas then surely the treatment; the larg-er than life depiction of characters; themagnificent saga; the tale of ancientkingdoms and bloody wars on the sil-ver screen. It is the craft and the tech-nological feat that compelled the audi-ence to not watch the film on a small-er screen and instead experience it onthe big screen. This explains the`250 crore budget. The funds havebeen spent the apt way — on comput-er-generated imagery and specialeffects, which were crucial to creatingthe film's larger-than-life canvas.

That said, it is not for the first time that an Indian film has spent so muchon technology and sought to sweep the audience into a different world. It is alsonot that we do not have the technology, though many actors have claimed so.But we simply did not know how best it could be utilised. Resultantly, old tech-nical tricks and computer-generated imagery seemed forced, and artificial. Thisis where Bahubaali scores a brownie point. The success can also be largely attrib-uted to the advertising strategy. The first part of the movie ended with an inter-esting question — why did Katappa kill Baahubali? This mystery had been tor-menting fans who had been eagerly waiting for the sequel and have now demand-ed for a Baahubali 3! In fact, it is this very question that led most viewers towatch the first part to get a context of the final plot. But the larger question is:Will Baahubali will be regarded as an all-time great, and not just at the box office?Time will only give an answer to this question. But what is sure is that this epicfilm is definitely not going to get dated.

Now that the Delhi High Court has refused to entertain Young Indian's pleain the National Herald case to quash the Income Tax Department's probeagainst it, senior Congress leaders must now prove their innocence. This

they must do through the due legal process and not by obfuscating the issuethrough allegations of political vendetta. It is at least clear from the court's orderthat the Income Tax proceedings were not mala fide and that the Congress lead-ers have to approach the department to get their grievances addressed (the mainof which is that the tax agency had no credible material to investigate). The courtalso refused to heed the Congress leaders' request that the High Court Benchsend a notice to the tax department. Once the petitioners realised that the courtwould not be brow-beaten, they hastily withdrew their plea. If the Congress lead-ership believes it has done nothing wrong in the National Herald issue and thatthe maze of its dealings is above board, surely it should be able to prove its case.It has a battery of eminent lawyers within the party too, who can competentlyhandle the matter. But the Congress is barking up the wrong tree by blamingthe media for distorting ‘facts' and also the Government for peddling ‘untruth'.

All through the investigation into thecase, Congress leaders connectedwith National Herald through differ-ent entities such as Young Indian andAssociated Journals Limited (AJL)have been less than cooperative withthe Income Tax Department — some-thing which the tax authorities haveplaced on record. When the tax agencyserved notices to these leaders —including party president Sonia Gandhiand vice president Rahul Gandhi —instead of adequately responding,they sought relief from the court. Thisis amazing. Why should these leadersduck a probe when they claim to be inthe clear? It may be recalled that aftera lower court, on a petition filed by BJPleader Subramanian Swamy, had sum-

moned the Congress top brass in a case related to the National Herald issue,the Income Tax authorities had swung into action and issues notices to the share-holders of Young Indian, prominent among them being the Congress presidentand the vice president.

Swamy, who has been doggedly pursuing the case for some time now, haslevelled grave allegations of funds misappropriation against the senior Congressleadership, saying it used Young Indian and AJL as vehicles for the fraud. Hehas claimed that the leaders appropriated National Herald property worth ̀ 5,000crore spread in parts of the country through their web of dealings. It would beinappropriate to arrive at conclusions when the matter is being still consideredby the Income tax Department. We must also keep in mind the fact that it willinvariably reach the courts for final adjudication. Nevertheless, there is enoughmaterial in the public domain for one to be suspicious. A significant part of thealleged fraud happened during the period when the Congress was in power atthe Centre. The Income Tax Department issued its notice for the assessment yearof 2011-12, when a Congress-led Government was at the Centre.

National Herald ghost

Congress leaders must stop ranting and face thetax authorities to prove their innocence

opinion 08LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017

When religion is made areason to be atrocious

One technological feat

Success of Baahubali sequel is astounding; andhas raised the benchmark for film industry

Anti-national conduct

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Grim Kashmir scenario” (May12). It is indeed unfortunate thatlocals in Kashmir obstructed theArmy from giving a state burial toLieutenant Ummer Fayaz, whileall streets were full when BurhanWani was being buried. If localscannot even show empathytowards their own man who wasserving the Army then, it is cer-tain that they do not want a pos-itive path for their future inspiteof both State and UnionGovernments asking them torestrain from violence and not bemisguided by militants who arebasically exploiting them.

Bal Govind Noida

Firm measures

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Grim Kashmir scenario” (May 12).The Indian Army needs to start asystematic military operation acrossthe entire Kashmir valley to destroyall militant cells. Pro-PakistaniKashmiri leaders have to be perma-nently put behind bars.

Internet and cellular phone ser-vices must be cut off or limited toofficial business in all affected areas.Even President’s Rule and dawn-to-dusk curfew with shoot-at-sightorders should be considered. Thatis the only way to stop Kashmir fromslipping away from Indian rule.

Marty MartelVia web

Be ruthless

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Grim Kashmir scenario” (May12). The problem is that a sub-stantial section of the valleyMuslims are jihadi sympathisersand previous regimes at theCentre have been mollycoddlingthem. We have to hit them thehardest with all our might. It mustbe a no holds barred fight and tothe finish.

Ashok MehtaVia web

Strike immediately

Sir — This refers to the article,“Kashmir’s problem and resolu-tion” (May 10) by SudipBhattacharyya. We cannot toler-ate local Kashmiri citizens toopenly defy militants.Government has to restore lawand order, instill confidence inadministration. Governmentmust tone up administration.

There is need for a shake-up,right from the Governor to theStation House Officer level. In theUnion Ministry of Home Affairs,we need some tough knowledge-able Ministers like former bureau-crat RK Singh, who can take careof the laggards and Pakistan-sympathisers that abound in largenumber in and outside offices.

ArunVia web

www.dailypioneer.com

p a p e r w i t h p a s s i o n

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

India’s neighbourhood

policy needs tweaking

This refers to the editorial, “Financial help and more” (May 11). There isno other two countries in south Asia like Nepal and India, with so muchof shared geography,history, religion, economy, social and cultural prac-

tices. Major destinations for pilgrimage under Hinduism and Buddhism arespread out in the two countries. Despite such proximity, the Indian establish-ment in Delhi has often been disliked there. However, Nepal is not the onlyneighbour that has problems with India.

The main issue with India lies in the establishment in Delhi whose grip onstate power is so immense that even the elected politicians — most of them rel-atively poorly educated — are forced to come under their spell. This cabal ofofficials suffered from the mindset of the British colonial rulers, seemed to swearby the ancient Monroe Doctrine of 1823, and took sadistic satisfaction in dictat-ing to those countries. India will hopefully change its attitude, given that the ModiGovernment wants to vastly improve relations with its neighbours. India and Nepalcan then be the best of neighbours in the years to come. Frequent visits by lead-ers of the two countries should help in the process.

Bihari KrishnaVia web

Send your feedback to: [email protected]

SOUNDBITE

The BJP's and RSS's

communal and reactionary

designs will be firmly

rebuffed by the people of

Tripura in Assembly election.

CPI(M) leader

—Prakash Karat

That's not a threat. President

Trump simply stated a fact

(on sacked FBI chief

Comey). The tweet

speaks for itself.

White House official

—Sean Spicer

We are rolling back the

job-killing regulations

that make it harder for

companies to grow and

hire in America.

US President

—Donald Trump

KUSHANMITRA

Whether it is triple talaq or cow vigilantism, the use of religious sentiment to wreakhavoc on victims through physical or psychological means cannot be condoned

David Beckham was fantas-

tic in King Arthur. He is fabu-

lous. As to his becoming a

star, I don't know yet: one

step at a time.

Director

—Guy Ritchie

The country has witnessed asignificant increase in healthinsurance coverage across pop-

ulation groups. A recent study byBrookings India, ‘Health andMorbidity in India: Evidence andPolicy Implications’, indicates that inthe decade from 2004 to 2014, thenumber of Indians insured throughsome mechanism increased from 55million to over 350 million. The cov-erage went from one per cent of thepopulation to 15 per cent in a decade.

While universal health coveragethrough insurance remains some waydown the road, the increased cover-age is welcome. India accounts forsome of the lowest health insurancecoverage in the developing and lowand middle-income countries cohort.

This along with low health spends asa percentage of the gross domesticproduct has meant that over sevenper cent of the population is pushedto poverty on account of catastroph-ic healthcare expenditures. This isnot only unpardonable but alsowholly addressable.

Researchers suggest that univer-sal health insurance along with astrengthened primary healthcareinfrastructure are the most importanttools to ensure that all Indians haveaccess to an equitable and affordablehealth system.

However, as the Brookings studyindicates,”Public health insuranceis not associated with lower out-of-pocket expenditure, probability offacing catastrophic health expendi-tures or impoverishment caused byhealth expenditures.”

While it would seem intuitive toassume that increased coverageshould lower out of pocket expens-es for health needs, this is not whatthe data alludes to. It may be conjec-tured that inadequate coverage, lackof quality at institutions servicing a

health insurance policy and asym-metric availability of healthcare facil-ities mean that out of pocket spend-ing for both inpatient and out patientcare remain high.

While health coverage itself is thetarget of most health insuranceschemes, adequate and comprehensivecoverage for a range of services anddiseases has remained elusive. Curativeand invasive interventions like surg-eries or inpatient care is covered inmost public health insurance policies.

However, with the rise of non-communicable diseases — now con-tributing to over 60 per cent of alldeaths in India — health insuranceschemes seem inadequately plannedto meet this disease burden. Lackofcoverage for outpatient care and pre-existing conditions act as impedimentsfor obtaining a comprehensive andaffordable health insurance scheme.

Similarly, coverage for diag-nostics and health tests remainspatchy. The Brookings study indi-cates that the latter has been thelargest contributor to health expens-es in urban India.

More than comprehensive cover-age, the lack of quality and outcomesremains a major source of worry. Indiamust move from an output-based toan outcome-basedparadigm. Oftenhealth insurance policies mandatecoverage at pre-determined empan-elled hospitals for its beneficiaries.These hospitals are selected adoptingthe ‘L1’ tendering process, wherelowest bids are considered ‘superior’and ‘cost effective’. Therefore, cost con-trols, rather than optimal health out-comes, are key considerations for bothpayers and providers.

The lack of co-relation betweencoverage and out-of-pocket expens-es could be explained by this preva-lent practice. The insured may lookat options beyond the empanelledproviders, mostly in the private sec-tor, which could drive up costs toadequately cover their health needs.Therefore, the need to build in qual-ity and outcomes into the coverageregime is an imperative.

Quality, unlike numerical pop-ulation coverage remains a challenge.Qualitative assessment of clinical

quality and outcomes has been dealtthrough models like the diagnosis-related group (DRG) reimburse-ment, pay-for-performance and out-come-based reimbursements theworld over. The need to evolve suchmodels in India will be important.Health insurers have relied on priceceiling as their preferred tool for costcontrols, especially for reimburse-ments for private providers.

However, this remains inade-quate for public providers and alsofor high-end tertiary care. Similarly,price controls on pharmaceuticalsand medical devices are the approachthat Governments are taking to con-trol costs. This too remains contro-versial and inadequate in ensuringoverall outcomes and in reducingDisability-Reduced Life Years(DALY) in India.

Further, quality assurancethrough institutional certificationslike the National Accreditation Boardfor Hospitals & Healthcare Providers(NABH) and National AccreditationBoard for Testing & CalibrationLaboratories (NABL) have been

mandated by insurers for reimburse-ments. But these serve only as cer-tifications; a more comprehensiveevaluation system for outcomes andperformance for all healthcareproviders needs to be created. Also,quality assurance and outcomeslinked performance assessment forthe primary healthcare networkremains unaddressed.

Costs and coverage remain twinchallenges. We must add quality andoutcomes to these overarching pillarson which a 21st century health sys-tem for India is to be created. As theBrookings Study indicates, cata-strophic health expenses continue torise in India, something that Indiacan ill-afford.

But mere price controls andincreased coverage alone too shallnot address this and other challenges.Quality, outcomes and reliabilitymust all be central to our combinedefforts for an accessible, equitable andeffective health system.

(The writer is general manager,Operation &Public Affairs,Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals)

Applying Chankaya niti to OBOR

3rdeye 09LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017

The National Herald has become something

of a family property now (in the hands of

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi).

—Union Minister

RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD

We are proud of our long association with

National Herald. Our rivals and the media

are misrepresenting the facts of the case.

—Congress leader

ABHISHEK MANU SINGHVI

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

More than two millenniaago, in his ingeniouspolitical treatise calledthe Arthashastra,Kautilya detailed the

notion of Raja-mandala or the ‘Circle ofstates’. An approach to foreign policy thatstill holds relevance, it classified king-doms among four different categories.A kingdom that wished to expand itsempire was called Vijigishu. The stateneighboring Vijigishu, and most likelyits enemy, was called Ari. Adjoining theterritory of these two states and strongerthan both of them was called Madhyamawhile the neutral kingdom lying outsidethe immediate region, yet holding astrong influence on all three, was calledthe Udasina. The theory was based onthe premise that in order for Vijigishuto expand its kingdom, it needed to part-ner with its neighbour’s neighbour.

The circle of states finds much res-onance in the current geo-political rela-tionships between India, China, Pakistanand other entities such as the US,Japan, the EU and Russia. These relation-ships (the four categories being inter-changeable depending upon whichcountry is Vijigishu) are bound tobecome starker in the context of China’sBelt and Road Initiative. India(Vijigishu), finds itself trapped in the cir-cle of states — Pakistan (Ari) andChina (Madhyama) as it raises concernsabout the credibility of China’s ambitiousOne Belt One Road (OBOR) project,especially in the context of the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Interestingly, in the same treatise,Kautilya also elucidated the key prin-ciples a state could employ whentrapped within this circle of states.India’s strategy towards the CPECand OBOR when viewed from theChanakya lens, is actually quite sound— but it can definitely be improved.Where does India’s argument againstthe validity of CPEC stand?

Many in the Indian establishmentview the OBOR as a unilateral nation-al initiative by China — its raison d’êtrebeing geo-political hegemony ratherthan Asian economic development.The China Pakistan Economic Corridor,a part of the OBOR, runs from Xinjiangin western China to the Gwadar port inBalochistan via Gilgit-Baltistan andother parts of Pakistan-occupiedKashmir. The Government of India’sargument can perhaps be best represent-ed by the recent statement from UnionMinister Arun Jaitley: “I have no hesi-tation in saying we have some seriousreservations about it, because of sover-eignty issues.” The remarks reveal almosta hint of confidence.

The CPEC comprises multiple pro-jects which are financed partly by theChina-led multilateral financial institu-tion, the Asian InfrastructureInvestment Bank (AIIB) and partly byother entities. In the affairs of the bank,

India holds a voting share of 8.0294 percent, second only to China’s 27.845 percent. India also holds a seat among thevice presidents of the AIIB. Additionally,the report on the Articles of Agreementof the AIIB clearly states, “A policy onoperations in disputed areas would pro-vide that, for financing in a disputedarea, member consent is obtained inaccordance with paragraph 3, and theBank does not take a position on terri-torial claims.” This is echoed in sectionIV of the bank’s Operational Policy onInternational Relations.

The particular CPEC project in con-tention here is the Thakot-Havelian sec-tion of the Karakoram Highway con-necting China and Pakistan. The officialwebsite of CPEC mentions the project’sfunding as “possibly through GCL”.Even though the particular project inquestion is not being directly funded bythe AIIB, it is part of the larger One BeltOne Road corridor in question whichreceives funds from the lending agency.India’s potential argument against theOBOR would be that it includes projectsthat pass through a disputed area, andif the AIIB were to fund projects inOBOR, which includes those passingthrough a disputed territory, it wouldimply the bank taking a ‘position on ter-ritorial claims’ and hence against thebank’s official stand.

Though quite strong, it is likely thatIndia’s clout in AIIB may not be suffi-cient to stop the CPEC from takingshape. Taking a cue from Kautilya, Indiamust continue to extend its influence inthe ‘circle of states’ and build tradingports and routes that foster India’s geo-political sovereignty. India’s $500 millioninvestment in the Chabahar port of Iran,approximately 75km away from the

Gwadar port, has seen repeated delays. India’s decision to not participate in

the Belt and Road Initiative Summit,being hosted in Beijing, has been readas a sign of its disapproval with theOBOR. In the coming of the ‘AsianEconomic Order’, as many pundits liketo call the times ahead, India must be apart of the larger shaping exercises andnot allow petulance to drive its policy.

Before New Delhi can counterChina with trade and energy corridorsof its own, it needs to build the neces-sary supporting infrastructure internal-ly. Chanakya niti dictates that before aruler can take on a neighboring state,it must augment itself by exploiting itsown resources. If one looks at the pro-jects proposed by India to the AIIB, theyreflect a similar stand. By the samepremise, in order for the Bangladesh,China, India and Myanmar (BCIM)Economic Corridor to bear fruit, Indiamust first build the necessary comple-menting infrastructure in its easternand northeastern regions.

Chinese Ambassador Lui Zhaohuihas been courting India to join theOBOR, and he recently came up with afour-point agenda for India. What ismissing is a similar sharing of agendafrom the Indian side. Though India isjustified in proceeding cautiously, itneeds to come up with an alternative.

One possible way forward for Indiato play a greater role in the Chinese ini-tiative is to first ask the Xi JinpingGovernment to drop the CPEC projectsin Pakistan-occupied Kashmir fromOBOR and re-route them as a separateChina-Pakistan initiative. Alternatively,India could also ask China to walk thetalk and allow India to expand trade withTibet. China has repeatedly claimed that

the One Belt One Road Initiative isaimed strictly to promote economicgrowth in Asia and not establish theChinese hegemony. If that were the case,India and China could work out anarrangement to expand border tradethrough the Nathu La pass into ‘tradeacross the border’ in the form of anestablished Kolkata-Siliguri-Gangtok-Lhasa corridor. As the situation standstoday, India has repeatedly requestedpermission for opening an official tradeoffice in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa but,as expected, it has been repeatedlydenied the same.

India’s response strategy must alsoinclude stepping up its foreign diploma-cy and engaging with its neighbours tohighlight the kind of debt trap some ofthe projects in OBOR could pose. TheGovernor of Pakistan’s own nationalbank has expressed doubts on Pakistan’sability to pay back the debt to China. InSri Lanka, Chinese investments areshowing poor returns and the SriLankan Government has fallen into adebt trap with China already. It is notsurprising that Sri Lanka’s debt-to-GDP ratio is approximately 75 per centand almost 95 per cent of itsGovernment’s revenue is slated to beused for repaying debts. Here, anotherChanakya lesson is in order: “There issome self-interest behind every friend-ship. There is no friendship without self-interest. This is the bitter truth.”

Before we throw the towel, Indiamust tread carefully and devise ways torespond to Chinese proposals withoutalienating itself from the grand initiative.

(The writer is a Yenching Scholarat Peking University, China, and ispresently working as a policy andstrategy consultant)

More than health insurance neededthinknow

Ihave naturally

formed the habit of

restraining my

thoughts. A

thoughtless word

hardly ever escaped

my tongue or pen.

Experience has

taught me that

silence is part of the

spiritual discipline of

a votary of truth. We

find so many people

impatient to talk. All

this talking can

hardly be said to be

of any benefit to the

world. It is so much

waste of time. My

shyness has been in

reality my shield and

buckler. It has

allowed me to grow.

—Mahatma Gandhi

H1-B issue is a

golden opportunity

One of the recent Billsre-introduced by theUS Congress aims to

tighten the existing H1-Bvisa norms that has shak-en the Indian IT industrycompletely. The amend-ments to the visa norms arein line with US PresidentDonald Trump's ‘America First’ strategy that would potential-ly jeopardise a good number of the information technology sec-tor jobs which are currently outsourced to India.

The US is the most important market for India's $110 bil-lion information technology services export industry. Some ofthe worst hit by this new Bill will be Indian companies suchas Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, and Wipro who togeth-er have around 3.5 million employees on their payrolls.

Besides Indian companies, global giants such as Apple,Facebook, Google, Accenture, Microsoft etc, who use the H1-B visa to hire non-Americans, would also be severely impact-ed. While this has prompted India to raise the concerns of itsinformation technology industry with the Donald TrumpAdministration, the American firms are also equally concernedas their costs of service delivery in the absence of their H1-BVisa enabled employees will shoot up.

So, could there be any beneficial outcome of this crisisas far as India is concerned? If the cards are played right, thenyes. Considering that today a lot of business activities can bein a virtual mode and on the ‘cloud', India must look at thisH1-B Visa issue as a boon in disguise.

Given our capabilities, India should not be lobbying withthe US or any other Government to take our highly trainedhuman assets out of India, who have the potential to be theengines of economic growth and prosperity in our-own coun-try. The Government of India should rather seriously attemptat having a plan to build a new India by recreating an environ-ment that has been fostered in the US. India will do well to,for example create an Indian ‘silicon valley'.

The task will not be easy, but who says achievements areattained easily. A virtuous cycle in the information technolo-gy sector linked with all other sectors of the economy needsto be nurtured with the objective to make India a global pow-erhouse hub to provide information technology services theworld over.

At a recently held India Today conclave in Mumbai, RelianceIndustries Ltd (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani echoed a sim-ilar sentiment. In his address he said, “It's high time that ourbrightest and the best work for the benefit of India and Indians.”When asked whether he sees a reverse brain-drain, he quipped,“without doubt”. He added, “By whatever fate they are broughtback to this country, they can help improve the lives of 1.3 bil-lion citizens and put together a new developmental model...therecannot be a better blessing in disguise than that.”

Ambani also said there is a need to retain data generateddomestically within the country as “keeping our data onshorewill ensure that talent, technology, know-how and investmentswill flow into the country rather than flow out, and will createmore jobs for us. Like the Digital India and Make in India cam-paigns, we need a Keep in India initiative to keep our data with-in our shores” and urged the Government to start a ‘Keep inIndia' initiative for this.

If India could develop its own navigation technology, thatwas an outcome of a US ban on India since 1996, which isthe core of, now famous, satellite launches by India as wellas the making of the very much Indian fighter jets, it is proofenough that India has the potential to cover the extra mile tomeet a challenge.

The Indian IT services companies need to play their partin this process, and could work towards finding strategic waysof bringing more work to India — suitable to national priori-ties and availability of resources.

Thus, instead of encouraging the exodus of the highly-trained Indians to foreign shores, they should be persuadedto become part of the badly needed economic, social and cul-tural resurgence in the country. Let us look forward to the emer-gence of an Indian Silicon Valley.

(The writer is director, Fore School of Management)

India may have reasons for not participating in China’s One Belt One Road project, but if itwants to promote its regional heft, it must get the internal fundamentals right

While India has witnessed a significant increase in health insurance coverage in the decade gone by, it’s enough to ensure

quality healthcare to the needy. Nor do drug price controls suffice. Quality and outcomes matter

RAVISHBHATIA

KARAN THAKUR

JITENDRA K DAS

India need not fret over the restrictions theUS has placed on Indian IT professionals

but learn to use the skilled manpower

MANY IN THE INDIANESTABLISHMENT

VIEW THE OBOR AS AUNILATERAL

NATIONAL INITIATIVEBY CHINA — ITSRAISON D'ÊTRE

BEING GEO-POLITICAL

HEGEMONY RATHERTHAN ASIANECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT. THECHINA PAKISTAN

ECONOMICCORRIDOR, A PARTOF THE OBOR, RUNSFROM XINJIANG TOTHE GWADAR PORT

IN BALOCHISTAN

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017 money 10

India’s renewable energy targetthat brings with it huge need toinvestors and also for projects.But, I think that there is lot ofconfidence in minister’s (PowerMinister Piyush Goyal’s)leadership. This ambitioustarget will be delivered anddelivered effectively

LSE CEO NIKHIL RATHI

In another two weeks we will beputting out the RCS (rules) with

amendments for publicconsultations. Our intention is to

decrease entry barriers andincrease competition. We wouldlike to bring as many players as

possible. We want to create alevel-playing field so that small

players can bid aggressively

CIVIL AVIATION SECY RN CHOUBEY

CORP & GOVT

FROM

BUZZ

PTI n NEW YORK

Eleven Indian-Americaninves tors fe ature in

Forbes magazine’s annuallist of the 100 best venturecapitalists who are behindsome of the highest- return-ing investments in the tech-nology sphere.

The ‘Midas 2017’ com-prises 100 best venture cap-italists in the world, takinginto account a five-yearlook-back at a partner’sportfolio, with exits by IPOor acquisition of $200 mil-lion or more and privateholdings that raised moneyat valuations of $400 millionor more over that time peri-od.

The list has been toppedby Jim Goetz, Partner inSequoia Capital. He retainsthe top spot three years after

the monumental sale of mes-saging giant WhatsApp toFacebook for nearly $22 bil-lion.

Goetz, the only investorin the company, transformed$60 mi l l ion over t hre erounds into more than $3billion in Facebook stock.

The list includes 11 ven-ture capitalists who are ofIndian-origin and have beenbehind some of the highest-returning investments in thetechnology sphere in theUS.

Neeraj Agrawal, GeneralPartner in Battery Ventureson the 17th spot leads thepack of Indian-origin ven-ture capitalists on the list,followed by Sameer Gandhi,Partner in Accel Partners(23) , Asheem Chandna,Partner in Greylock Partners(28) , Sa l i l D eshpande,

Managing Director in BainCapital Ventures (33), AneelBhusri CEO and Cofounderof Workday (37).

Gaurav Garg, FoundingPartner of Wing VentureCapital (48), Promod Haque,Senior Managing Partner of

Norwest Venture Partners(67) , Hemant Taneja ,Managing Direc tor ofGeneral Catalyst Partners(70) , Navin Chaddha,Managing Direc tor ofMayfield Fund (73), RaviMhatre , Par tner inLightspeed Venture Partners(76) and Deven Parekh,Managing Director of InsightVenture Partners (99).

Agrawal returns to theMidas List for the 7th consec-utive time. Two of Agrawal’ssoftware companies, Coupaand Nutanix, went public in2016, and another,AppDynamics, was about to gopublic in early 2017 before itwas scooped up by Cisco for$3.7 billion.

Taneja, who holds fivedegrees from the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology, debutson the Midas List due to an

early investment in Snap, thesocial platform that went pub-lic at a market capitalization of$25 billion in February 2017.

Haque, an alumnus ofDelhi College of Engineering,has served as senior managingpartner at Norwest VenturePartners since 2013, where hefocuses on enterprise andhealthcare IT.

In his more than 15 yearsof venture capital experience,Haque has invested in morethan 70 companies that haveproduced more than $40 billionin exit values.

Forbes said while micro-blogging site Twitter stillaccounts for 12 Midas investorsand Facebook another 10,they’re now making way forSnap, the social app that wentpublic in February 2017, and itseight investors in the 2017Midas ranks.

BENGALURU: Executive searchfirm Head Hunters India onSunday said the job cuts in ITsector will be between 1.75 lakhand 2 lakh annually for nextthree years due to under-pre-paredness in adapting to newertechnologies.

“Contrary to media reportsof 56,000 IT professionals to losejobs this year, the actual job cutswill be between 1.75 lakh and 2lakh per year in next three years,due to under- preparedness inadapting to newer technolo-gies,” Head Hunters IndiaFounder-Chairman and MD KLakshmikanth told PTI,analysing a report submitted byMcKinsey & Company at theNasscom India LeadershipForum on February 17.

McKinsey & Companyreport had said nearly half of theworkforce in the IT servicesfirms will be “irrelevant” over thenext 3-4 years.

McKinsey India ManagingDirector Noshir Kaka had alsosaid the bigger challenge aheadfor the industry will be to retrain50-60 per cent of the workforceas there will be a significant shiftin technologies.

The industry employs 3.9million people and the majori-ty of them have to be retrained.

“So, when we analyse thesefigures, it is clear that 30 to 40 percent of the workforce cannot beretrained or re- skilled. So,assume that half of this work-

force can continue to work onold skills, then balance willbecome redundant.

“So, the number of peoplewho will become redundant in

the next three years will beabout five to six lakhs. This willworkout to, on a average,between 1.75 lakh to 2 lakh peryear for next three years,”

Lakshmikanth explained.However, he said job cuts

will not take place in major citieslike Mumbai or Bengaluru, butcities like Coimbatore or a few

remote places, he said.Lakshmikanth further said

the IT services industry is pass-ing through an uncertain timeas the growth in digital tech-

nologies like cloud-based ser-vices is happening at a muchfaster pace and the companiesare combining learning of someof the new technologies andreskilling.

“Because of the changingtechnology, the most affected willbe the professionals aged 35and above, for it would be verydifficult for them to get jobs,”Lakhsmikanth said.

Asked if it is fair to blame USPresident Donald Trump’s poli-cy for job cuts, Lakshmikanthsaid it is not fair because he hasfulfilled the promise after win-ning the elections.

“How can we blame Trump,for he has fulfilled the electionpromise of giving jobs to localpeople including IT profession-als by tightening H1-B visanorms, which were being mis-used by companies by paying lessto foreign professionals workingin US. It is for companies to tack-le the situation, and such situa-tion they have undergone in pre-vious years. It is not new forthem. They know to tide over it,”he said.

Lakhsmikanth also said itis not fair even to target theIndian Government as the ITindustry grew on its own inIndia, but at later stages respec-tive State Governments andCentral Governments provid-ed them facilities like land orcreating special economiczones, among others.

‘IT to layoff up to 2 lakh

engineers annually for next 3 years’

NEW DELHI: As digitisation andautomation become the newnormal, IT biggies like Infosys,Cognizant and Tech Mahindraare seeing a spate of layoffs andthis trend may continue for thenext 1-2 years, say experts.

The pink slips are beinghanded out to thousands ofemployees as part of their per-formance appraisal process, butit is believed that these aredirected more towards costcontrol amid pressure on bot-tom line due to a rising tide ofprotectionism in most targetmarkets.

Indian software exportersin particular are facing head-winds in the business environ-ment and stricter work permitregime in countries like the US,Singapore, Australia and NewZealand.

Moreover, with newer tech-nologies in artificial intelli-gence (AI), robotic processautomation and cloud com-puting, which help complete thejob with less manpower, soft-ware companies are now hav-ing to reconsider their strate-

gies.“It’s a situation wherein

the available talent haven’t keptup with the pace at which theindustry was evolving andhence, many of them findthemselves redundant,” saidRituparna Chakraborty,TeamLease Services ExecutiveVice-President and co-founder.

Executive search organisa-tion GlobalHunt MD SunilGoel said: “This rationalisationdoes happen in every 3-5 yearsin the industry through new-age technologies, but this hasimpacted it more this time as

the US also has changed poli-cies for foreign IT workers.”

Goel further noted that“the consolidated trend maycontinue for next 1-2 years”, butsees it as an opportunity for ITprofessionals to upgrade them-selves and get into the new–agetechnologies where demand isgoing to be huge.

Pink slips are likely forjobs in manual testing, tech-nology support and systemadministration since these areincreasingly going to be man-aged by AI and robotics processautomation based systems.

However, there is surge indemand for latest and innova-tive technologies like data sci-ence, artificial intelligence anddigital domain specific skills.

“It is a painful transitoryphase. However, things wouldlook up in the next two quar-ters as each of the IT servicescompany successful steerstowards a stable growth phase,”Chakraborty said.

Talent management solu-tions provider KellyOCG IndiaCountry Director FrancisPadamadan said, “We will con-tinue to see some amount ofrationalisation happeningamong IT companies though itis difficult to put a number.”

Japanese brokerage firmNomura, in a research note, saidthat the job cuts of 2-3 per centof the overall headcount ofnearly 7,60,000 by Infosys,Cognizant, Tech Mahindra andWipro are not material.However, this kind of rational-isation is likely to be a contin-uing phenomenon until theworkforce realignment towardsdigital skills is complete. PTI

Layoffs in Indian IT may continue for 1-2 yrs: Experts

11 PIOs in Forbes’s list of best venture capitalists

PTI n LONDON

India is scouting for globalinvestors as there is a huge

demand for infrastructureinvestment in the country,LSE CEO Nikhil Rathi hassaid.

“So, India is a fastestgrowing economy in G-20,growing at 7 per cent a year.There is huge demand forinfrastructure investment inIndia, and it is going globaland looking for globalinvestors and London is prov-ing to be natural place for it,”Rathi said.

The London StockExchange (LSE) saw listing ofbonds worth `7,000 crore onThursday and Friday.

Road Transport MinisterNitin Gadkari launched Rs5,000 crore worth of NHAIbonds on Thursday.

Power, Coal andRenewable Energy MinisterPiyush Goyal on Fridaykicked off trading of papersworth `2,000 crore fromIndia’s biggest power genera-tion utility NTPC.

“We have seen thatprogress built year after year.More money being raised atlower prices to invest direct-ly in Indian infrastructure,whether that’s power, roads,housing, renewable energy.Indian companies are findingwelcome opening,” he said.

Asserting that Indianpower sector is one of thefastest growing power sec-tors in the world, Rathi saidthat the country will certain-ly achieve its ambitious renew-

able energy target of 175 GW.“India’s renewable energy

target that brings with it hugeneed to investors and also forprojects. But, I think thatthere is lot of confidence inminister’s (Power MinisterPiyush Goyal’s) leadership.This ambitious target will bedelivered and delivered effec-tively,” he said.

He asserted that more andmore investors are sensingthat Indian growth story ishugely exciting one, and arelooking at platform likeLondon Stock Exchange(LSE)with global reach to provideaccess to these opportunities.

The Indian Governmentbelieves that London will con-tinue to remain the premierglobal financial centre and theplace where India will look for-ward to in a bid to finance forinfrastructure, he said.

“We are global. We havelarge number of investors fromUS, Europe, Middle Wast andAsia. We are seeing that recur-ring issuance coming fromIndian bond issues. We have avery large US manager comingto our market. So, we are glob-al and that will continue to bethe case,” he said. PTI

India looking for globalinvestors to fund infraprojects, says LSE CEO

NEW DELHI: A one-stop shop fordetails on all financial transac-tions of lenders, informationutilities under the insolvencyand bankruptcy law are likelyto be operational in next threemonths, a top official said.

These “unique” institutions-- governed by the Insolvencyand Bankruptcy Code (IBC) -- would act as repository ofinformation about lending andborrowing activities done by allfinancial institution.

“They will provide readyinformation for resolution pro-fessionals and courts likeNCLT. It will help them savetime as information would bereadily available for expeditiousclearance of cases,” Insolvencyand Bankruptcy Board of India(IBBI) Chairman MS Sahootold the news agency.

Having such institutionsmight also help fight against thebad loans menace amid theGovernment empowering RBIto direct banks to initiate insol-vency and bankruptcy pro-ceedings against defaultersunder the IBC.

Under the Insolvency andBankruptcy Code (IBC), infor-mation utilities can have amaximum of 49 per cent for-eign holding and rules for set-ting up such entities are alreadyin place.

“One company has appliedfor in-principal approval...AndFDI beyond 49 per cent is notallowed. Information utilitycompany should become areality in next 2-3 months,”Sahoo said.

An information utilitywould be storehouse of finan-cial information that helpsestablish defaults as well as ver-ify claims expeditiously. Havingsuch a system would facilitatecompletion of transactionsunder the Code in a timebound manner.

“It is going to be big IT-intensive system... We arelooking at operationalisinginformation utilities, anorganisation that will give

financial information likelending, borrowing all that isrequired in transaction,” hesaid.

Emphasising that there isno parallel of this in theworld, Sahoo said informationutility would be set up by mar-ket and this would be some-thing unique to India.

It would be a public com-pany with a net worth of atleast `50 crore, among otherrequirements, and more thanhalf the directors of its gov-erning board should be inde-pendent.

Its promoters, directors,key managerial personnel andpersons holding over 5 percent of its paid-up equityshare capital or total votingpower, would be considered asfit and proper persons.

Sahoo said utilities “con-stitute a key pillar of the insol-vency and bankruptcy ecosys-tem, the other three being theAdjudicating Authority(National Company LawTribunal and Debt RecoveryTribunal)”. PTI

IBC: First information utility to be operational in 3 months NEW DELHI: Keen to increase

non-aeronautical revenues,Airports Authority of India(AAI) is preparing new set ofregulations for monetisation ofits land assets in a “transparentmanner”.

The move also comes at atime when the Government isworking on amending the AAIAct which would do away withcertain regulatory restrictionsfor land utilisation.

The national airports oper-ator -- which is estimated tohave garnered over `12,000crore revenue in 2016-17 -- isin possession of large swathesof land in different parts of thecountry but these assets havenot been effectively exploited asa source of revenue.

Elaborating on the effortsto ensure optimal use of landassets, AAI ChairmanGuruprasad Mohapatra saidmore revenues from such assetswould help in reducing thedependence on aeronauticalsources.

“We are preparing a set ofland regulations which willmake the process of puttingland into commercial use eas-ier and transparent,” he told the

news agency in an interview.For the land norms, AAI is

in discussions with the CivilAviation Ministry and afterfinalising the contours, theywould be sent for approval ofthe Cabinet.

“Once land regulations arein place, we do not have to goto Cabinet for every small par-cel of land for decisions.Cabinet will lay the boardguidelines, purposes, proce-dures everything on disposingoff land,” Mohapatra said.

Airports Authority of India(AI) manages a total of 125 air-ports, including 81 domesticand 11 international ones.Besides, it provides Air TrafficManagement Services (ATMS)over entire Indian air space andadjoining oceanic areas.

Charges levied from airlineoperators for landing, parkingand air navigation services,among others, fall under aero-nautical revenues bracket.

Non-aeronautical revenuesrefer to those coming frommonetising land resources aswell as from sale of duty freeproducts, food and beverages,among others inside the ter-minal building. PTI

NEW DELHI: As they battle theNPA menace, banks are set to see“huge ramifications” next fiscalwith the implementation of newaccounting norms that willrequire the lenders to makehigher provisioning for loans.

The Indian AccountingStandard (Ind AS) 109, set to beeffective from April 1, 2018, islikely to have an impact on the“banking numbers”, ICAIPresident Nilesh Shivji Vikamseysaid.

The Institute of CharteredAccountants of India (ICAI) isthe apex body of charteredaccountants in the country.

While the new accountingstandard is broadly aimed atensuring that there are no cred-it shocks like those seen duringthe global financial crisis in2008, it would have an effect onthe “banking numbers”.

Converged with theInternational Financial ReportingStandard (IFRS), Ind AS 109would be applicable for all enti-ties, including banks and non-banking finance companies.

Indian Accounting Standard(Ind AS) is converged with IFRS.

“It (Ind AS 109) is anaccounting policy that has to befollowed and that will have huge

ramifications on the numbers.The provisioning will be moreand P&L (Profit & Loss) will beimpacted,” Vikamsey told thenews agency in an interview.

There might be a “hit on thebanking numbers, including thecapital adequacy provisioningwhere the RBI and the govern-ment may have to come withsome moratorium or so,” henoted.

From the current accountingsystem that focuses on ‘incurredcredit loss’, entities would bemoving to ‘expected credit loss’proposition with Ind AS 109.

The transition would alsocome against the backdrop ofmounting NPAs (NonPerforming Assets) estimated tobe worth over ̀ 7 lakh crore in thebanking system. The governmentand the RBI have been workingon ways to deal with the menace.

Vikamsey said the biggestchallenge for the banking sectorwould be when banks go for IndAS 109, with prior year numbers.

The new accounting stan-dard would be applicable worldover from January 1, 2018while it would be effective inIndia from April 1 that year.Ind AS 109 is converged withIFRS 9. PTI

NEW DELHI: An inter-ministe-rial panel being constituted tosuggest a policy prescriptionfor the failing financial healthof the telecom sector willconsult banks and operatorsbefore finalising its views inthree months.

The committee is expect-ed to have representationfrom the Departments ofEconomic Affairs, Revenueand Financial Ser vices,besides the TelecomDepartment, an official famil-iar with the matter told thenews agency.

The panel is expected tofinalise its recommendationsin the next three months.

Some of the recommen-dations could be placed beforethe Telecom Commission -the highest policy-making

body in the TelecomDepartment - for an approval.For the other proposals moot-ed by the panel, a Cabinet go-ahead may be necessary.

“The internal plan is thatthe views of banks, telecomoperators and also the largeinvestors in the sector will besought,” the official said.

The Department ofTelecom is attaching top pri-ority to the issue, the officialsaid adding that the firstmeeting of the panel membersis likely to be held this monthitself.

The extent of financialstress in the telecom sectorcan well be gauged from thefact that the industry has adebt of Rs 4.6 lakh crore.

The sector has beenunder severe pressure since

the entr y of newcomerReliance Jio, last year.

In September 2016, bil-lionaire Mukesh Ambani’sventure Jio stormed into theIndian telecom market (inci-dentally, the second largestmarket globally with 1.2 bil-lion subscribers) with freevoice and data services, forc-ing established operators toslash rates to protect theirturf.

This put revenue andprofitability of all telcos undersevere pressure, although sub-scribers benefited from attrac-tive data and voice packs.

Even after launching itspaid services post-March2017, Jio continues to beaggressive, offering data atrock-bottom prices whilevoice calls are free. PTI

Banks set to see higherprovisioning on new norms next fiscal

Telcos’ financial woes: Govtpanel to give views in 3 months

AAI working on normsfor monetising land assets

They will provideready information forresolutionprofessionals andcourts like NCLT. Itwill help them savetime as informationwould be readilyavailable forexpeditious clearanceof cases

Insolvency andBankruptcy Board ofIndia (IBBI) ChairmanMS Sahoo

Neeraj Agrawal, General Partner inBattery Ventures on the 17th spotleads the pack of Indian-originventure capitalists on the list

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017 money 11

{usp}

Mr Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister of Assam, DharmendraPradhan, Minister for Petroleum andNatural Gas (I/C), accompanied by Dinesh K Sarraf CMD, ONGC dedicated the ONGC multi-specialtyhospital ‘ChaolungSukaphaa’ to the people of Assam, with an investment of `313 crore by ONGC. TheBoomi Pujan ceremony took place amidst a huge gathering of locals from different parts of Upper Assamand peoples’ representatives atRajabari, Sibsagar District, Assam.

REC signed MoUs with TANGEDCO and TANGEDCO and TANTRANSCO for financial assistance of `60,063crore and `25,660 crore respectively in the august presence of Thangamani, Minister of Electricity, Govt.of Tamil Nadu and Principal Secretary (Energy), Govt. of Tamil Nadu on 12.05.2017 at Chennai. Thefinancial assistance is towards Implementation of various Generation, Transmission and Distributionprojects in the State of Tamil Nadu during the next five years. Dr. PV Ramesh, IAS, CMD, REC also handedover the Sanction letter for Rupee Term Loan (RTL) of `10,453 crore for implementation of 2x660 MWUdangudi Super Critical Thermal Power

ADMISSION OPEN FOR JULY 2017 CYCLE IN IGNOUThe Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) invites online applications for admission to its 173programmes for July 2017 session. The applications are invited for master, bachelor, diploma andcertificate programmes of the university. Last date to submit the admission form online is 30th June 2017.Programmes on offer belong to the disciplines of sciences, social sciences, humanities, computer science,health science, agriculture, management, education, social work, tourism, law, performing and visual arts,inter and trans-disciplinary studies, translation, engineering and technology, extension and developmentstudies, foreign languages, journalism and new media studies and vocational education and training.Details of the academic programmes on offer in the university for the July 2017 session can be viewed inthe university website www.ignou.ac.in. Admission form for different programmes can be filled online athttps://onlineadmission.ignou. ac.in by making online payment through net banking/ debit card/ creditcard and getting instant confirmation on submission of admission form.

NEW DELHI: THE INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING ( IPO ) OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVEL-OPMENT CORPORATON ( HUDCO ) SAW BUMPER DEMAND AS THE ISSUE GOT SUB-SCRIBED 79.47 TIMES ON THE FINAL DAY OF THE BIDDING PROCESS ON THURSDAY.THE OFFER RECEIVED BIDS FOR 16,21,62,88,000 SHARES, THE DATE TILL 7.00 PMSHOWED. QIB SECTION WAS SUBSIBED 55.45 TIMES, WHILE NII QUOTA GOT SUB-SCRIBED 330.36 TIMES. TETAIL INVESTORS PUT BIDS AT 10.60 TIMES AND EMPLOY-EE PORTION WAS SUBCRIBED 0.74 TIMES. PNS

B E R N E / N E W D E L H I :

Switzerland may be knownin popular perception as anal leged haven for blackmoney, but it is the fakeIndian rupee notes whichseem to have seen a hugesurge in the Alpine nation.

The quantum of fakeIndian currency seized bythe Swiss authorities saw anover four-fold increase dur-ing 2016, making it thethird most seized counter-feit foreign currency inSwitzerland after euro andthe US dollar.

The fa ke c ur renc ieswere in the denominationsof `500 and `1,000 -- bothof which have been with-d r aw n by t h e In d i anGovernment from the list oflegal tenders. There was noseizure of any counterfeit`2,000 note, which wereintroduced as part of theambitious demonetisationdrive late last year to checkthe menace of fake notesand the black money prob-lem.

According to the latest

data released by the SwissFederal Office of Police(Fedpol), as many as 1,437fake `1,000 notes wereseized in Switzerland during2016, while there were alsofive counterfeit `500 notes.

This marks a huge surgefrom 342 fake Indian cur-rency notes seized by Swissauthorities during 2015 --five were counterfeits of`500 notes, 336 for `1,000

and one for `100.Over the years, coun-

terfeits have been found inSwitzerland mostly for `500and `1,000 notes, whilet h e re h ave b e e n s om einstances for other denom-inations such as `10 and`100 notes as well.

As per the latest Fedpoldata, the number of coun-terfeit local currency, Swissfrank, seized during 2016

was 2,370. Among foreigncurrencies, the maximumamount of counterfeits wasin case of Euro at 5,379,while it was 1,443 for theUS dollar -- just one morethan that for the Indianrupee.

The number of coun-terfeit British pound foundduring 2016 was 65, amongmajor currencies.

An analysis of the coun-

terfeit statistics released bythe Fedpol over the yearsshows that the maximumnumber of fake Indian cur-rency was seized duringthe year 2012 when it stoodat 2,624, but fell sharply to403 in the subsequent year2013 and even further tojust 181 in 2014.

E ar l ier in 2011, thenumber of fake rupee noteswas 1,144 -- up from 212 in2010. Prior to that, thenumber were in single dig-its mostly except for 25 in2007 and 100 in the year2000. No such notes werefound in the year 1999 andagain in 2003.

Fake currency has beena major concern for India aswell as many other coun-tries, due to which theykeep improving securityfeatures to make it difficultfor them to be counterfeit-ed. Still, there have alreadybeen some instances ofnewly introduced `2,000notes getting counterfeitedand found in some parts ofIndia. PTI

Fake rupee notes seizure

up four-fold in Switzerland

MUMBAI: Pitching for rapidmovement towards digitisa-tion of the economy, Unionminis ter Ar jun R amMeghwal on Sunday said theGovernment’s digital initia-tive is crucial to curb theblack market.

“In this country, 22-26per cent is shadow economy(ie illicit economic activitieslike black market transac-tions and undeclared incomeexisting alongside the officialeconomy),” the minister ofstate for finance said here.

“This is a large percent-age and it is not good for anation. As and when shadoweconomy is constrained thegross domest ic product(GDP) of the country willgrow,” he added.

Noting post-demoneti-sation of high value curren-cy notes, the country hasrapidly moved towards digi-tisation which has helpedkeep a check on the shadoweconomy, Meghwal said ‘dig-ital India’ is a necessary ini-tiative to “hurt” the illiciteconomic activities.

“When we have a largeshadow economy, digitalIndia will help curb it and wewill be able to account forthe illicit transactions. Thiswill result in growth of con-

sumption, investments andexport and as a result GDPwill also grow.”

The minis ter wasaddressing the ‘Digital IndiaSummit – Role ofC o op erat ive B anks inAdopting and Advancing thePrime Minister’s FlagshipDigital India Programme’.

Meghwal observed that2017 “would be known inhistory as the year of eco-nomic reforms” on accountof various government ini-tiatives, including imple-mentation of goods and ser-vices tax (GST).

“This year we made var-ious changes to budget likemerging the railways withUnion budget and passedthe finance bill before March

31 for the first time. Now wewill roll out the goods andservices tax from July 1which will make it easier todo business in the country,”Meghwal said.

“GST will help it easier todo business. For instance inIndia, logistic charges arehigh compared to US andCanada but with GST thesecharges will come to parwith these developed coun-tries.”

Hailed as the biggest taxreform since India’s inde-pendence, GST will replacean array of central and statelevies with a national salestax, thereby creating a singlemarket and making it easi-er to do business in thecountry. PTI

Digitisation will curb shadoweconomy: Arjun Ram Meghwal

NEW DELHI: NPCI is planningto launch a mega campaignacross the country to educatemasses on how to go cash-lessby using mobiles and RuPay-enabled Jan Dhan debit cardsfor day-to-day transactions.

The exercise is part of thedigital drive of the NationalPayments Corporation ofIndia (NPCI), which is at theforefront of the campaign tomake India less dependent oncash.

The intent is to make dig-ital money popular and be lessdependent on cash, A P Hota,managing director and chiefexecutive officer of NPCIsaid.

During demonetisationperiod, debit card usagejumped by almost six timesand e-commerce platforms

witnessed five times moretransactions, Hota said.

“After February, we sawthe number going down fromJanuary level but it has againstarted picking-up. I believeMay would be pretty muchbetter and come back toJanuary level and from Juneonwards it will be much high-er,” he added.

“The optimism is onaccount of the fact that we willbe shortly starting a big pub-licity campaign in the countryon use of RuPay (debit) cardas well as the BHIM app asalso the Aadhaar Pay,” Hotasaid during an interaction.

It is to publicise differentdigital products and to educatethe masses, he added.

Hota said NPCI so far hasissued close to 37 crore RuPay

debit cards, of which about 25crore are Pradhan Mantri JanDhan (PMJDY) cards.

“A many as 12 crore cardsare mainstream cards and theusage has been growing. Thepoint of sale (PoS) terminalshave now expanded to 3 mil-lion due to Government’s spe-cial push from a mere 1.5 mil-lion earlier.

“On Bharat QR codeacceptance infrastructure, Ibelieve another 1 million PoSterminals would be addedduring next six months,” hesaid.

During demonetisationphase, what customers used todo because of unavailability ofcash, they will now do it outof choice, he said, adding it isbetter to use the digital plat-form. PTI

NPCI plans mega campaignto promote digital transactions

NEW DELHI: Markets will seestock-specific action this week,with sentiment being shaped byquarterly earnings of bluechipslike SBI and HUL, experts said.

Bourses may also react toIIP and inflation data whichwere announced post markethours on Friday.

“We believe market isalready trading at high and to gofurther, we need to have bettercorporate earnings as well assomething positive for bankNPAs,” said Abnish KumarSudhanshu, Director andResearch Head, Amrapali AadyaTrading and Investments.

“In absence any majorglobal events coming up in thenear future, we will continue towitness stock-specific actionthis week.

“Currently, market is wit-nessing profit-taking and slow-down in momentum at regu-lar intervals. However, stockspecific activity should con-tinue to dominate. Overall,we do not expect any big cor-rection coming in anytimesoon,” said Vijay Singhania,Founder-Director, Trade SmartOnline.

Several companies are

scheduled to announce theirearnings this week, includingPunjab National Bank, TataSteel, Hindustan Unilever,Bajaj Auto, Bank of Baroda,State Bank of India and TataPower.

“Markets are currentlytrading at fair valuations andhence sustainability of earningsgoing forward is very impor-tant at current levels.

“Any disappointment onthe earnings front and theoutlook could result in profitbooking,” said Teena Virmani,Vice President, PCG Research,Kotak Securities.

Over the past week, theSensex ended up by 329.35points (1.10 per cent) while theNifty gained 115.60 points(1.24 per cent).

“This week as there are nomajor events we feel marketswould remain range-boundwith stock specific movements,”said Foram Parekh, ResearchAnalyst, Bonanza Portfolio Ltd.

On the macro front, indus-trial output rose at a slower rateof 2.7 per cent in March, com-pared to 5.5 per cent a year ago,according to data based on therevised base year of 2011-12. PTI

AFP n ATHENS

The Greek Government onSunday slashed GDP growth

forecast for 2017 as it movedtowards submitting new auster-ity measures, including a widertax net, for approval by lawmak-ers.

The Government loweredthe GDP growth target for theyear to 1.8 per cent from a pre-vious estimate of 2.7 per cent, thestate news agency ANA report-ed.

The latest estimate also fallsshort of the EuropeanCommission’s projection of 2.1per cent growth, set in February.

The downward revisionappeared in the government’sbudget proposal for 2017-2021,handed to parliament last night,along with a bill proposing atighter budget, ANA said.

Greece is seeking to meetthe demands of creditors in anarduous bailout process, with aproposed new law projecting taxincreases for 2019 and 2020,even for income just above thepoverty level.

That along with pensioncuts -- for the 14th time since thebeginning of the crisis -- is pro-jected to earn 4.5 billion euros($4.9 billion), according to ANA.

Part of a July 2015 bailoutdeal with the EU and IMF toprovide debt relief for the coun-try, the new proposals are set foradoption Thursday night,according to the parliamentaryofficials.

Lagging in the polls forbeing seen as caving to creditordemands, Prime Minister AlexisTsipras will need full backingfrom his small majority of 153out of 300 seats in parliament.

PTI n LONDON

The Government is explor-ing the possibility of

putting under the hammeraround seven to eight morecoal blocks for commercialmining by private players,taking the total number ofmines to be auctioned to upto 12.

“So we are examiningthe possibility of addingsome more mines for com-mercial mining which aresmaller, and some work hasalready happened on them.So the process can start fasterand bring in more flexibili-ty in availability of coal,”Coal and Power MinisterPiyush Goyal, who was on avisit to Austria and the UKfrom May 10-13 for anEnergy Dialogue, told thenews agency.

India is in the process ofthrowing open commercialmining to private firms forthe first time in four decades,with the aim of shifting the

world’s third-biggestimporter towards self-suffi-ciency.

“That could be about 7-8 mines which are smaller innumber. So, in total, fourlarge mines and 7-8 smallmines would be auctioned,”the minister said.

The Government hadearlier said that opening upof commercial coal mining toprivate companies will bringin completion in the coal sec-tor and reduce power tariff.

The Centre had said itwanted to convey to poten-tial investors that sustainableand efficient mining, not

revenue maximisation, is theidea behind commercialmine auction.

As per the Coal MinesSpecial Provision Act of2015, the Government canopen up commercial coalmining for private players.

With a chunk of popula-tion going without electrici-ty, the Government had saidthat it would ensure thatthese people get power.

A group of secretarieshad earlier suggested thatthe government should cre-ate competition for CoalIndia by opening up com-mercial coal mining.

Commercial coal mining:Eight more blocks on auction list

NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bankhas initiated an exercise ofupgrading measures for securedstorage and movement of cur-rency at over 4,000 chests acrossthe country in view of height-ened threat perception.

In recent times, severalinstances of looting of cashvans and banks, as well asATMs dispensing fake curren-cy notes have been reportedfrom different parts of thecountry.

The RBI has already con-stituted a High LevelCommittee on CurrencyStorage and Movement (HLCC-SM) to review the existing secu-rity arrangements relating tostorage, movement and pro-

cessing of currency.The RBI is now seeking

global expertise to assist theCommittee in matters relatingto security aspects, movementand storage of currency,automation of currency pro-cessing and handling.

Expression of interest from

experts has been invited for“identifying international bestpractices in movement, modesof transport, storage systemsand processing of currencynotes from the point of view ofsecurity, process efficiency andcost efficiency”.

The selected expert will

also help the panel in devisinga Standard Operating Procedure(SOP) for movement of cur-rency.

HLCCSM was set up in thecontext of “changes in securityenvironment”, availability oftechnological tools and aids toenhance security, superior andmore secure modes of transportand increasing volumes of cur-rency.

The bank notes printed atfour security presses and coinsminted are received at 19 IssueOffices of the RBI from wherethese are further distributed toover 4,000 currency chests oper-ated by banks.

The soiled and not fit forcirculation notes are withdrawn

by banks and deposited in thechests.

The old `500/1000 noteswhich were deposited by pub-lic in banks following demon-etisation too were deposited inthe chests.

On the day of demonetisa-tion (November 8, 2016) therewere 17,165 million pieces of`500 and 6,858 million pieces of`1,000 notes. These two types ofnotes amounted to about 87 percent of the total currency in cir-culation.

As part part of remonetisa-tion, the RBI (till March 3, 2017)had injected `9.26 lakh croreinto the system, thus taking thetotal notes in circulation to`11.73 lakh crore. PTI

RBI goes for security upgrade for note storage, transportation

Quarterly earnings to dictatemarket trend this week

Greece slashes GDPforecast in new budget plans

OPEN-ENDED

(GROWTH)

AXIS MUTUAL FUND

Enhanced Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 10.829

Enhanced Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 12.2665

Enhanced Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 10.4837

Enhanced Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 11.987

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 15.33

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 22.87

Equity Fund - Dividend 14.58

Equity Fund - Growth 21.84

Equity Saver Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 11.39

Equity Saver Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.87

Equity Saver Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 10.97

Equity Saver Fund - Direct Plan - Regular Dividend 10.59

Equity Saver Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 11.15

Equity Saver Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.67

Equity Saver Fund - Regular Plan - Quarterly Dividend 10.76

Equity Saver Fund - Regular Plan - Regular Dividend 10.82

Focused 25 Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 23.72

Focused 25 Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 24.02

Focused 25 Fund - Dividend Option 17.7

Focused 25 Fund - Growth Option 22.78

Midcap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 26.19

Midcap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 30.47

Midcap Fund - Dividend 22.53

Midcap Fund - Growth 28.92

BARODA PIONEER MUTUAL FUND

Banking And Financial Services Fund - Plan A - Bonus Option 19.88

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Plan A - Div Payout Option 16.9

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Plan A - Growth Option 19.88

Banking And Financial Services Fund - Plan B (Direct) - Bonus Option 14.75

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Plan B (Direct) - Div Payout Op 17.57

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Plan B (Direct) - Growth Option 20.6

GROWTH FUND - Plan A - Dividend Option 35.39

GROWTH FUND - Plan A - Growth Option 92.59

GROWTH FUND - Plan B (Direct) - Dividend Option 34.87

GROWTH FUND - Plan B (Direct) - Growth Option 96.15

Large cap Fund - Plan A - Dividend Option 12.14

Large cap Fund - Plan A - Growth Option 13.19

Large cap Fund - Plan B (Direct) - Dividend Option 12.5

Large cap Fund - Plan B (Direct) - Growth Option 13.55

Mid-cap Fund- Plan A - Dividend Option 8.81

Mid-cap Fund- Plan A - Growth Option 8.81

Mid-cap Fund- Plan B (Direct) - Growth Option 9.1

Mid-cap Fund-Plan B (Direct)-Dividend Option 9.1

BIRLA SUN LIFE MUTUAL FUND

Advantage Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 131.29

Advantage Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 399.32

Advantage Fund - Regular Growth 387.19

Advantage Fund -Regular Dividend 105.2

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 21.52

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 25.41

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 17.32

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 24.66

Buy India Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 40.63

Buy India Fund - Dividend - Regular Plan 35.91

Buy India Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 92.57

Buy India Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 90.93

Commodity Equities Fund - Global Agri Plan - Dividend - Direct Plan 16.4691

Commodity Equities Fund - Global Agri Plan - Dividend - Regular Plan 16.1358

Commodity Equities Fund - Global Agri Plan - Growth - Direct Plan 21.3425

Commodity Equities Fund - Global Agri Plan - Growth - Regular Plan 20.9517

Dividend Yield Plus - Dividend - Direct Plan 25.06

Dividend Yield Plus - Dividend - Regular Plan 17.16

Dividend Yield Plus - Growth - Direct Plan 174.23

Dividend Yield Plus - Growth - Regular Plan 168.44

Enhanced Arbitrage Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 11.0594

Enhanced Arbitrage Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 17.352

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND - INSTL PLAN - DIVIDEND 10.1628

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND - INSTL PLAN - GROWTH 0

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND - REGULAR PLAN - DIVIDEND 10.878

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND - REGULAR PLAN - GROWTH 16.9756

Equity Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 129.25

Equity Fund - Dividend - Regular Plan 104.23

Equity Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 668.65

Equity Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 644.55

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 11.97

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 12.94

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 11.66

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 12.59

Frontline Equity Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 46.13

Frontline Equity Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 206.77

Frontline Equity Fund-Dividend 27.18

Frontline Equity Fund-Growth 198.84

Frontline Equity Fund-Plan B (Dividend) 12.5

Frontline Equity Fund-Plan B (Growth) 12.5

Index Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 12.1904

Index Fund - Dividend - Regular Plan 12.0431

Index Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 92.0319

Index Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 91.8912

India Gennext Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 28.64

India Gennext Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 73.32

India Gennext Fund-Dividend Option 25.37

India Gennext Fund-Growth Option 70.39

India Opportunities Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 36.27

India Opportunities Fund - Dividend - Regular Plan 26.47

India Opportunities Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 130.86

India Opportunities Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 127.44

India Reforms Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 18.68

India Reforms Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 18.67

India Reforms Fund-DIVIDEND 14.29

India Reforms Fund-GROWTH 18.17

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 23.69

Infrastructure Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 34.53

Infrastructure Fund-Dividend 16.56

Infrastructure Fund-Growth 33.51

Infrastructure Fund-Plan B (Dividend) 10.97

Infrastructure Fund-Plan B (Growth) 11.43

International Equity Fund - Plan A - Dividend - Direct Plan 16.6382

International Equity Fund - Plan A - Dividend - Regular Plan 13.1853

International Equity Fund - Plan A - Growth - Direct Plan 16.6261

International Equity Fund - Plan A - Growth - Regular Plan 16.2511

International Equity Fund - Plan B - Dividend - Direct Plan 17.1852

International Equity Fund - Plan B - Dividend - Regular Plan 15.1467

International Equity Fund - Plan B - Growth - Direct Plan 17.1941

International Equity Fund - Plan B - Growth - Regular Plan 16.8048

Long Term Advantage - Dividend - Direct Plan 23.45

Long Term Advantage - Growth - Direct Plan 25.37

Long Term Fund- Growth Option 24.78

Long Term Fund-Dividend Option 18.46

Manufacturing Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 12.17

Manufacturing Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 13.19

Manufacturing Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 11.87

Manufacturing Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 12.9

Midcap Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 57.01

Midcap Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 303.31

MIDCAP Fund-Dividend 38

MIDCAP Fund-Growth 292.88

MIDCAP Fund-Plan B (Dividend) 12.51

MIDCAP Fund-Plan B (Growth) 12.51

MNC Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 232.39

MNC Fund - Dividend - Regular Plan 164.52

MNC Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 685.21

MNC Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 659.05

New Millenium Fund - Dividend - Regular Plan 16.99

New Millenium Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 35.81

New Millennium Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 18.93

New Millennium Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 36.92

Pure Value Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 49.3198

Pure Value Fund - Dividend Option 32.4023

Pure Value Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 56.3497

Pure Value Fund - Growth Option 54.3772

Small & Midcap Fund - DIVIDEND 26.5109

Small & Midcap Fund - GROWTH 37.4857

Small And Midcap Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 37.6784

Small And Midcap Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 38.8902

Special Situations Fund - Dividend 17.2265

Special Situations Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 22.9203

Special Situations Fund - Growth 22.3304

Special Situations Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 22.9368

Top 100 Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 31.0969

Top 100 Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 54.5881

Top 100 Fund -Dividend Option 18.1304

Top 100 Fund -Growth Option 52.4608

BNP PARIBAS MUTUAL FUND

Equity Fund-Dividend Option 17.96

Equity Fund-Growth Option 77.59

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 18.8

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 80.97

Dividend Yield Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 18.178

Dividend Yield Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 45.46

Dividend Yield Fund-Dividend Option 16.957

Dividend Yield Fund-Growth Option 42.8

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND -DIRECT PLAN -DIVIDEND OPTION 10.296

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND DIRECT PLAN MONTHLY DIVIDEND 10.014

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND DIRECT PLAN QUARTERLY DIVIDEND 9.999

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND REGULAR PLAN MONTHLY DIVIDEND 10.012

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND REGULAR PLAN QTRLY DIVIDEND 9.998

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND- REGULAR PLAN- GROWTH OPTION 10.275

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND-DIRECT PLAN-GROWTH OPTION 10.297

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND-REGULAR PLAN-DIVIDEND OPTION 10.275

Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 33.437

Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 33.591

Mid Cap Fund-Dividend Option 30.737

Mid Cap Fund-Growth Option 31.952

BOI AXA MUTUAL FUND

Equity Fund Direct Plan- Quarterly Dividend 12.39

Equity Fund Direct Plan- Bonus 17.41

Equity Fund Direct Plan-Growth 33.62

Equity Fund Direct Plan-Regular Dividend 14.37

Equity Fund Eco Plan- Growth 33.42

Equity Fund Eco Plan-Bonus 33.42

Equity Fund Eco Plan-Quarterly Dividend 12.22

Equity Fund Eco Plan-Regular Dividend 14.21

Equity Fund Regular Plan- Growth 32.07

Equity Fund Regular Plan- Quarterly Dividend 12.52

Equity Fund Regular Plan- Regular Dividend 12.56

Equity Fund Regular Plan-Bonus 32.07

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 15.83

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Quarterly Dividend 15.62

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Regular Dividend 15.06

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Growth 15.07

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Quarterly Dividend 13.6

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Regular Dividend 13.97

MID CAP EQUITY & DEBT FUND - DIRECT PLAN DIVIDEND 11.82

MID CAP EQUITY & DEBT FUND - DIRECT PLAN GROWTH 11.86

MID CAP EQUITY & DEBT FUND - REGULAR PLAN DIVIDEND 11.76

MID CAP EQUITY & DEBT FUND - REGULAR PLAN GROWTH 11.76

CANARA ROBECO MUTUAL FUND

Emerging Equities - Regular Plan - GROWTH 84.72

Emerging Equities-Direct Plan-Dividend Option 59.46

Emerging Equities-Direct Plan-Growth Option 88.23

Emerging Equities-Regular Plan - DIVIDEND 44.62

Equity Diversified - Regular Plan - Dividend 35

Equity Diversified - Regular Plan - Growth 110.7

Equity Diversified-Direct Plan -Growth Option 113.39

Equity Diversified-Direct Plan-Dividend Option 48.19

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 31.03

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 33.4

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Institutional Plan - Growth Option 24.57

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 23.76

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 32.27

Infrastructure - Regular Plan - DIVIDEND 29.23

Infrastructure - Regular Plan - GROWTH 47.79

Infrastructure-Direct Plan - Dividend 35.38

Infrastructure-Direct Plan - Growth 49.18

Large Cap+ Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 21.39

Large Cap+ Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 21.53

Large Cap+ Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 16.2

Large Cap+ Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 20.73

DHFL PRAMERICA MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Annual Dividend 11.1212

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 12.1796

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.6619

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 10.8717

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Regular Dividend 11.6278

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Annual Dividend 10.9503

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 12.0005

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.5459

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Quarterly Dividend 10.7472

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Regular Dividend 11.358

Balanced Advantage Fund - BONUS OPTION 16.6

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 24.16

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 67.18

Balanced Advantage Fund - Dividend Option 15.3

Balanced Advantage Fund - Growth Option 63.97

Balanced Advantage Fund Wealth Plan- Dividend Option 20.63

Balanced Advantage Fund Wealth Plan- Growth Option 28.94

Balanced Advantage Fund-Direct Plan-Monthly Dividend Option 24.26

Balanced Advantage Fund-Direct Plan-Quarterly Divdend Option 16.36

Balanced Advantage Fund-Monthly Dividend Option 24.05

Balanced Advantage Fund-Quarterly Dividend Option 16.26

Diversified Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 12.63

Diversified Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 12.63

Diversified Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 12.45

Diversified Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 12.45

Equity Income Fund - Annual Dividend option 15.1945

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Annual Dividend 15.9686

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 29.6753

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 12.2026

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 12.1821

Equity Income Fund - Growth Option 28.475

Equity Income Fund - Monthly Dividend option 11.8535

Equity Income Fund - Quarterly Dividend 11.656

Large Cap Fund - BONUS OPTION 19.88

Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Bonus 20.66

Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 21.71

Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 155.08

Large Cap Fund - Dividend 18.88

Large Cap Fund - Growth 147.61

Large Cap Fund Wealth Plan - Growth Option 30.81

Large Cap Fund Wealth Plan -Dividend Option 14.1

Midcap Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option - Payout 16.85

Midcap Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 19.33

Midcap Opportunities Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option - Payout 15.28

Midcap Opportunities Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 18.95

DSP BLACKROCK MUTUAL FUND

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 73.148

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 35.448

Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 58.731

Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 34.516

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 11.151

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 11.723

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 11.184

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 11.487

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Quarterly Dividend 11.04

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 10.949

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 11.58

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend 11.04

Focus 25 Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 21.539

Focus 25 Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 21.539

Focus 25 Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 14.268

Focus 25 Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 20.952

India T.I.G.E.R. Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 33.028

India T.I.G.E.R. Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 91.783

India T.I.G.E.R. Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 89.753

India T.I.G.E.R. Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 19.15

Micro Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 38.358

Micro Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 63.178

Micro Cap Fund - Regular - Dividend 37.255

Micro Cap Fund - Regular - Growth 61.356

Natural Resources and New Energy Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 18.888

Natural Resources and New Energy Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 31.305

Natural Resources And New Energy Fund - Regular - Growth 30.548

Natural Resources And New Energy Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 18.477

Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 48.702

Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 203.748

Opportunities Fund-Regular Plan - Dividend 28.178

Opportunities Fund-Regular Plan - Growth 197.805

Small and Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 42.071

Small and Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 53.999

Small and Mid Cap Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 24.6

Small and Mid Cap Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 52.406

Technology.com Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 23.406

Technology.com Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 50.317

Technology.com Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 29.733

Technology.com Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 51.55

Top 100 Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 23.818

Top 100 Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 190.085

Top 100 Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 22.002

Top 100 Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 185.166

Top 100 Equity Fund - Institutional Plan - Dividend 14.341

EDELWEISS MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund- Direct Plan- Dividend Option 10.6785

Arbitrage Fund- Direct Plan- Growth Option 12.4479

Arbitrage Fund- Regular Plan -Bonus Option 12.275

Arbitrage Fund- Regular Plan- Dividend Option 10.572

Arbitrage Fund- Regular Plan- Growth Option 12.2748

Dynamic Equity Advantage Fund - Direct Plan-Dividend Option 14.85

Dynamic Equity Advantage Fund - Dividend Option 13.08

Dynamic Equity Advantage Fund - Growth Option 20.72

Dynamic Equity Advantage Fund -Direct Plan-Growth Option 21.24

Economic Resurgence Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 12.503

Economic Resurgence Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 12.628

Economic Resurgence Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 12.39

Economic Resurgence Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 12.389

Equity Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 16.595

Equity Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 27.618

Equity Opportunities Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 15.894

Equity Opportunities Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 26.401

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Bonus Option 12.2026

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 11.3185

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 12.2043

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Regular Plan - Bonus Option 12.0846

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 10.6965

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 12.0841

Large Cap Advantage Fund - Direct Plan-Dividend Option 21.87

Large Cap Advantage Fund - Direct Plan-Growth option 30.12

Large Cap Advantage Fund - Dividend option 19.63

Large Cap Advantage Fund - Growth option 29.36

Large Cap Advantage Fund -Plan B - Dividend option 29.87

Large Cap Advantage Fund -Plan B - Growth option 29.51

Large Cap Advantage Fund -Plan C - Dividend option 23.8

Large Cap Advantage Fund -Plan C - Growth option 29.13

Mid and Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 24.906

Mid and Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 25.877

Mid and Small Cap Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 22.919

Mid and Small Cap Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 24.861

Prudent Advantage Fund - Growth Option 22.31

Prudent Advantage Fund- Plan B-Growth Option 22.02

Prudent Advantage Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend Option 18.55

Prudent Advantage Fund-Direct Plan-Growth Option 22.68

Prudent Advantage Fund-Dividend 18.2

Prudent Advantage Fund-Plan B- Dividend Option 22.45

ESCORTS MUTUAL FUND

Growth Plan-DIVIDEND OPTION 18.7406

Growth Plan-DIVIDEND OPTION-Direct Plan 18.9181

Growth Plan-GROWTH OPTION 152.7204

Growth Plan-GROWTH OPTION-Direct Plan 153.3853

High Yield Equity Plan - Bonus Option 36.1954

High Yield Equity Plan - Bonus Option-Direct Plan 36.1954

High Yield Equity Plan - Dividend Option 24.4093

High Yield Equity Plan - Dividend Option-Direct Plan 19.3923

High Yield Equity Plan - Growth Option 36.1702

High Yield Equity Plan - Growth Option-Direct Plan 36.5328

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend 7.9716

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend Option-Direct Plan 8.0304

Infrastructure Fund - Growth Option 7.9983

Infrastructure Fund - Growth Option-Direct Plan 8.0136

Leading Sectors Fund - Dividend Option 22.7409

Leading Sectors Fund - Dividend Option-Direct Plan 18.1517

Leading Sectors Fund - Growth Option 28.3352

Leading Sectors Fund - Growth Option-Direct Plan 28.0313

Opportunities Fund-Dividend 17.6837

Opportunities Fund-Dividend Option-Direct Plan 17.6837

Opportunities Fund-Growth 49.9613

Opportunities Fund-Growth Option-Direct Plan 50.2195

Power & Energy Fund - Dividend Option 17.7103

Power & Energy Fund - Dividend Option-Direct Plan 17.3992

Power & Energy Fund - Growth Option 24.7315

Power & Energy Fund - Growth Option-Direct Plan 25.4974

FRANKLIN TEMPLETON MF

Asian Equity Fund - Direct - Dividend 13.5985

Asian Equity Fund - Direct - Growth 19.5942

Asian Equity Fund - Dividend Plan 13.2159

Asian Equity Fund - Growth Plan 19.0503

Build India Fund - Direct - Dividend 24.81

Build India Fund - Direct - Growth 39.5276

Build India Fund Dividend Plan 23.3801

Build India Fund Growth Plan 37.6135

India Bluechip Fund- Direct - Growth 438.2302

India Bluechip Fund- Direct -Dividend 43.0815

India Bluechip Fund-Dividend 41.1703

India Bluechip Fund-Growth 422.6687

India FLEXI CAP FUND - Direct - Dividend 17.7095

India FLEXI CAP FUND - Direct - Growth 74.7292

India Flexi Cap Fund-Dividend Plan 17.0396

India Flexi Cap Fund-Growth Plan 72.4588

India High Growth Companies Fund - Direct - Dividend 26.5981

India High Growth Companies Fund - Direct - Growth 37.8265

India High Growth Companies Fund - Dividend Plan 25.2304

India High Growth Companies Fund - Growth Plan 36.119

India INDEX FUND NIFTY PLAN - Direct - Dividend 75.5007

India INDEX FUND NIFTY PLAN - Direct - Growth 75.5007

India Index Fund- Nifty Plan - Dividend Plan 74.3374

India Index Fund- Nifty Plan - Growth Plan 74.3374

INDIA OPPORTUNITIES FUND - Direct - Dividend 21.0652

India Opportunities Fund-Dividend 20.4451

INDIA OPPORTUNITIES FUND - Direct - Growth 69.2583

India Opportunities Fund - Growth 67.4605

India PRIMA FUND - Direct - Dividend 72.8539

India PRIMA FUND - Direct - Growth 939.6053

India Prima Fund-Dividend 69.0443

India Prima Fund-Growth 897.7144

India PRIMA PLUS - Direct - Dividend 40.2743

India PRIMA PLUS - Direct - Growth 556.1586

India Prima Plus-Dividend 38.4258

India Prima Plus-Growth 534.2775

India Smaller Companies Fund - Direct - Dividend 30.7008

India Smaller Companies Fund - Direct - Growth 56.4273

India Smaller Companies Fund-Dividend 29.0078

India Smaller Companies Fund-Growth 53.8327

INFOTECH FUND - Direct - Dividend 22.7283

INFOTECH FUND - Direct - Growth 119.9567

Infotech Fund-Dividend 22.1619

Infotech Fund-Growth 117.0695

India EQUITY INCOME FUND - Direct - Dividend 16.6236

India EQUITY INCOME FUND - Direct - Growth 42.9248

India Equity Income Fund-Dividend Plan 16.128

India Equity Income Fund-Growth Plan 41.8415

India Growth Fund - Direct - Growth 247.2312

India Growth Fund-Direct - Dividend 72.0482

India Growth Fund-Dividend Plan 69.6662

India Growth Fund-Growth Plan 240.2344

HDFC MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 19.795

ARBITRAGE FUND RETAIL PLAN DIVIDEND OPTION 14.427

ARBITRAGE FUND RETAIL PLAN GROWTH OPTION 19.427

ARBITRAGE FUND RETAIL PLAN QUARTERLY DIVIDEND OPTION 13.807

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE PLAN DIV OPTION DIRECT PLAN 10.763

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE PLAN GROWTH OPTION 19.802

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE PLAN GROWTH OP DIRECT PLAN 12.487

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE PLAN MONTHLY DIV OPTION 10.902

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE PLAN MONTHLY DIV OP DIRECT PLAN 10.513

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE PLAN NORMAL DIVIDEND OPTION 10.526

Arbitrage Fund-Direct Plan - Dividend Quarterly Option 15

Capital Builder Fund - Dividend Option 27.743

Capital Builder Fund - Growth Option 254.408

Capital Builder Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 28.912

Capital Builder Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 262.493

Core & Satellite Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 21.231

Core & Satellite Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 77.66

Core and Satellite Fund - DIVIDEND 20.08

Core and Satellite Fund - GROWTH 75.041

Equity Fund - Dividend Option 53.631

Equity Fund - Growth Option 571.209

Equity Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 55.943

Equity Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 590.534

Equity Savings Fund - DIVIDEND 11.896

Equity Savings Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 12.323

Equity Savings Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 34.131

Equity Savings Fund -GROWTH 33.113

Growth Fund - Dividend Option 30.62

Growth Fund - Growth Option 165.033

Growth Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 31.521

Growth Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 168.873

IDBI MUTUAL FUND

DIVERSIFIED EQUITY FUND Dividend - Direct Plan 17.71

DIVERSIFIED EQUITY FUND Dividend - Regular Plan 17.24

DIVERSIFIED EQUITY FUND Growth Direct 20

DIVERSIFIED EQUITY FUND Growth Regular 19.48

India Top 100 Equity Fund Dividend 18.93

India Top 100 Equity Fund Dividend Direct 19.61

India Top 100 Equity Fund Growth 22.86

India Top 100 Equity Fund Growth Direct 23.6

Midcap Fund Dividend Direct 10.96

Midcap Fund Dividend Regular 10.87

Midcap Fund Growth Direct 10.96

Midcap Fund Growth Regular 10.87

Nifty Index Fund Dividend 16.6418

Nifty Index Fund Dividend Direct 17.1706

NIFTY Index Fund Growth 17.4513

NIFTY Index Fund Growth Direct 18.0041

Nifty Junior Index Fund Dividend 20.4414

Nifty Junior Index Fund Dividend Direct 21.1831

Nifty Junior Index Fund Growth 20.4414

Nifty Junior Index Fund Growth Direct 21.1831

IDFC MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund-Direct Plan- Growth 21.3159

Arbitrage Fund-Direct Plan-Monthly Dividend 13.0371

Arbitrage Fund-Regular Plan- Growth 20.8518

Arbitrage Fund-Regular Plan-Monthly Dividend 12.6717

Arbitrage Fund - Plan B - Dividend 14.86269632

Arbitrage Fund - Plan B - Growth 21.25167644

Arbitrage Fund-Direct Plan- Annual Dividend 11.481

Arbitrage Fund-Regular Plan- Annual Dividend 10.4966

Arbitrage Plus Fund -B-DIVIDEND 12.36084532

Arbitrage Plus Fund -B-GROWTH 16.0114

Arbitrage Plus Fund- Regular Plan- Annual Dividend 10.6454

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Direct Plan- Annual Dividend 10.9283

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 18.7644

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Direct Plan-Monthly Dividend 12.3481

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 18.3513

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Regular Plan-Monthly Dividend 12.0579

Classic Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 16.769

Classic Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 43.1811

Classic Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 15.1989

Classic Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 41.0342

Classic Equity Fund-Plan B- Dividend 14.49790104

Classic Equity Fund-Plan B- Growth 29.49102237

DEF_Direct Plan_Dividend 10.8459

DEF_Direct Plan_Growth 11.9791

DEF_Regular Plan_Dividend 10.517

DEF_Regular Plan_Growth 11.6036

Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 16.6398

Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 29.1028

Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 13.8243

Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 27.7223

Equity Fund -Plan B- Dividend 13.7189908

Equity Fund -Plan B-Growth 21.45998959

Focused Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 16.1558

Focused Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 34.3771

Focused Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 13.3268

Focused Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 32.743

Imperial Equity Fund-Plan B - Dividend 12.36902351

Imperial Equity Fund-Plan B - Growth 25.02172287

Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 16.7782

Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 16.7887

Infrastructure Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 15.9463

Infrastructure Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 15.9397

Nifty Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 19.2266

Nifty Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 19.064

Nifty Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 19.1509

Nifty Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 19.0015

Premier Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 34.7224

Premier Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 88.5785

Premier Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 33.7625

Premier Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 85.8774

Premier Equity Fund-Plan B - Dividend 26.12841142

Premier Equity Fund_Plan B - Growth 57.52899532

Sterling Equity Fund -Regular Plan-Dividend 19.8733

Sterling Equity Fund -Regular Plan-Growth 47.7317

Sterling Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 20.7275

Sterling Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 49.4784

IIFL MUTUAL FUND

India Growth Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 13.8062

India Growth Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 12.0575

India Growth Fund -Regular Plan - Growth 13.6307

India Growth Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 13.985

INDIABULLS MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 12.0258

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.1177

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend Option 10.5919

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 11.8348

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.1054

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend Option 10.4742

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Quarterly Dividend Option 10.1064

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Yearly Dividend Option 10.1064

Blue Chip Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 16.46

Blue Chip Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 19.43

Blue Chip Fund - Direct Plan - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.93

Blue Chip Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend Option 10.95

Blue Chip Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend Option 10.95

Blue Chip Fund - Dividend Option 15.68

Blue Chip Fund - Growth Option 18.22

Blue Chip Fund - Regular Plan - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.91

Blue Chip Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend option 10.81

Blue Chip Fund - Regular Plan - Quarterly Dividend Option 10.88

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 13.8143

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 13.8377

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Half Yearly Dividend Option 11.1621

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend Option 11.1617

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend Option 11.1611

Value Discovery Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 13.3003

Value Discovery Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 13.2999

Value Discovery Fund - Regular Plan - Half Yearly Dividend Option 11.0659

Value Discovery Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend Option 10.3446

INVESCO INDIA MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund - Annual Bonus 20.2561

Arbitrage Fund - Bonus Option 13.5041

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Annual Bonus 20.7776

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Bonus Option 13.8516

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 13.3505

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 20.778

Arbitrage Fund - Dividend Option 12.8967

Arbitrage Fund - Growth Option 20.2551

Banking Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 27.67

Banking Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 48.48

Banking Fund - Retail Dividend 25.88

Banking Fund - Retail Growth 45.5

Business Leaders Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 18.09

Business Leaders Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 25.55

Business Leaders Fund - Dividend 17.16

Business Leaders Fund - Growth 24.01

Contra Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 27.16

Contra Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 41.47

Contra Fund - Dividend 24.06

Contra Fund - Growth 39.14

Dynamic Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 20.17

Dynamic Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 27.2

Dynamic Equity Fund - Dividend 19.66

Dynamic Equity Fund - Growth 25.55

Growth Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 16.22

Growth Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 29.47

Growth Fund - Dividend 15.09

Growth Fund - Growth 27.66

Infrastructure Fund - Direct Pan - Dividend Option 16.96

Infrastructure Fund - Direct Pan - Growth Option 17.02

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend Option 15.98

Infrastructure Fund - Growth Option 15.97

Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 27.51

Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 46.06

Mid Cap Fund - Dividend Option 25.44

Mid Cap Fund - Growth Option 43.18

MID N SMALL CAP Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 42.69

MID N SMALL CAP Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 47.13

MID N SMALL CAP Fund - Dividend Option 40.23

MID N SMALL CAP Fund - Growth Option 44.37

PSU Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 16.33

PSU Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 20.16

PSU Equity Fund - Dividend 15.39

PSU Equity Fund - Growth 19.01

Index Fund Nifty Plan-Direct Plan 84.2805

Index Fund-Nifty Plan(FV Rs 10.326) 83.6588

Index Fund Sensex Plus Plan-Direct Plan 416.7458

Index Fund-Sensex Plus( FV-Rs32.161) 411.3972

Index Fund Sensex Plan-Direct Plan 265.1322

Index FundSensex Plan( FV Rs 32.161) 262.712

Infrastructure Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 18.414

Infrastructure Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 20.092

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND-DIVIDEND OPTION 14.606

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND-GROWTH OPTION 19.39

Large Cap Fund - Direct Dividend Plan 24.048

Large Cap Fund - Direct Growth Plan 102.443

Large Cap Fund - Regular Dividend Plan 21.328

Large Cap Fund - Regular Growth Plan 101.603

Mid Cap Opportunities Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 37.503

Mid Cap Opportunities Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 54.084

MID-CAP OPPORTUNITIES FUND - Dividend Option 32.05

MID-CAP OPPORTUNITIES FUND - Growth Option 52.274

Premier Multi-Cap Fund-Dividend 14.387

Premier Multi-Cap Fund-Growth 52.118

Premier Multicap -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 14.864

Premier Multicap -Direct Plan - Growth Option 53.453

Retirement Savings Fund - Equity Plan - Direct Plan 15.111

Retirement Savings Fund - Equity Plan - Regular Plan 14.807

Small Cap Fund - Direct Dividend Plan 25.258

Small Cap Fund - Direct Growth Plan 38.142

Small Cap Fund - Regular Dividend Plan 23.887

Small Cap Fund - Regular Growth Plan 36.575

Top 200 Fund - Dividend Option 51.983

Top 200 Fund - Growth Option 417.76

Top 200 Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 53.803

Top 200 Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 429.431

HSBC MUTUAL FUND

Dividend Yield Equity Fund - Dividend 19.921

Dividend Yield Equity Fund - Growth 19.921

Dividend Yield Equity Fund-Dividend Direct 20.5457

Dividend Yield Equity Fund-Growth Direct 20.5457

Dynamic Fund - Dividend 15.7444

Dynamic Fund - Growth 15.7444

Dynamic Fund-Dividend Direct 16.242

Dynamic Fund-Growth Direct 16.242

Equity Fund - Dividend 29.8371

Equity Fund - Dividend Direct 31.0625

Equity Fund - Growth 181.2612

Equity Fund - Growth Direct 187.2115

India Opportunities Fund - Dividend 25.2621

India Opportunities Fund - Dividend Direct 27.703

India Opportunities Fund - Growth 79.3296

India Opportunities Fund - Growth Direct 81.9269

Infrastructure Equity Fund - Dividend Direct 19.9555

Infrastructure Equity Fund - Growth 22.7293

Infrastructure Equity Fund - Growth Direct 23.4575

Infrastructure Equity Fund- Dividend 19.3335

Midcap Equity Fund - Dividend 22.4662

Midcap Equity Fund - Dividend Direct 26.8459

Midcap Equity Fund - Growth 52.2407

Midcap Equity Fund - Growth Direct 53.9723

ICICI PRUDENTIAL MUTUAL FUND

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 19.48

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 32.23

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 15.2

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 12.45

Balanced Advantage Fund - Dividend 16.34

Balanced Advantage Fund - Growth 30.69

Balanced Advantage Fund - Monthly Dividend 14.4

Balanced Advantage Fund - Quarterly Dividend 11.95

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Dividend 36.57

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Growth 55.14

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 51.36

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 57.53

Blended Plan A - Dividend 13.5898

Blended Plan A - Direct Plan Bonus 10.9152

Blended Plan A - Growth 22.7587

Blended Plan A-Direct Plan - Dividend 13.6408

Blended Plan A-Direct Plan - Growth 23.0933

Child Care Plan Gift - Cumulative 123.88

Child Care Plan Gift - Direct Plan - Cumulative 127.97

Dividend Yield Equity Fund Direct Plan Dividend Option 15.21

Dividend Yield Equity Fund Direct Plan Growth Option 16.41

Dividend Yield Equity Fund Dividend Option 14.9

Dividend Yield Equity Fund Growth Option 16.09

Dynamic - Direct Plan - Dividend 26.3283

Dynamic - Direct Plan - Growth 239.903

Dynamic - Dividend 23.0394

Dynamic - Growth 232.0857

Dynamic Plan- Institutional Growth Option 22.6261

Dynamic Plan-Institutional Option - I 38.491

Equity - Arbritrage Fund-Institutional Growth Option 22.1214

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Bonus 11.808

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 14.6102

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 22.3855

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan Bonus 12.1796

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Dividend 13.7895

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Growth 21.8689

Equity Income Fund - Cumulative option 12.2

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Cumulative option 12.46

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Half Yearly Dividend 11.9

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 11.9

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 11.66

Equity Income Fund - Half Yearly Dividend 11.68

Equity Income Fund - Monthly Dividend 11.22

Equity Income Fund - Quarterly Dividend 11.5

Exports and Other Services Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 39.51

Exports and Other Services Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 54.94

Exports and Other Services Fund - Dividend 28.54

Exports and Other Services Fund - Growth 53.3

FMCG Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 93.06

FMCG Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 197.35

FMCG Fund - Dividend 69.04

FMCG Fund - Growth 191.88

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 30.84

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 36.61

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Dividend 22.19

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Growth 35.26

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Institutional Option - I - Growth 38.17

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Dividend 18.13

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Growth 25.79

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 26.37

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 26.38

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Institutional Growth 25.8

Infrastructure Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 17.63

Infrastructure Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 50.39

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend 15.1

Infrastructure Fund - Growth 49.02

MidCap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 32.29

MidCap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 93.58

MidCap Fund - Dividend 27.21

MidCap Fund - Growth 90.31

Multicap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 32

Multicap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 266.96

Multicap Fund - Dividend 25.06

Multicap Fund - Growth 258.12

Nifty Index Fund - Cumulative Option 90.132

Nifty Index Fund - Direct Plan Cumulative Option 91.6667

Nifty Index Fund - Direct Plan Dividend Option 12.3258

Nifty Index Fund - Dividend Option 12.0012

Nifty Next 50 Index Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 24.0844

Nifty Next 50 Index Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 24.0908

Nifty Next 50 Index Fund - Growth 23.6134

Nifty Next 50 Index Fund -Dividend 23.6134

Select Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 27.21

Select Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 28.09

Select Large Cap Fund - Dividend 19.18

Select Large Cap Fund -Growth 26.95

Technology Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 39.17

Technology Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 41.91

Technology Fund - Dividend 27.31

Technology Fund - Growth 40.6

Top 100 Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 23.55

Top 100 Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 310.51

Top 100 Fund - Dividend 18.2

Top 100 Fund - Growth 299.29

US Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 21.1

US Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 21.1

US Bluechip Equity Fund - Dividend 20.36

US Bluechip Equity Fund - Growth 20.36

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 51.27

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 140.9

Value Discovery Fund - Dividend 31.95

Value Discovery Fund - Growth 135.04

Scheme NAV

funds 12LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017

TROTTINGTROTTINGGLOBE

world 13

FIRST SIKH OFFICER JOINSINDIANAPOLIS POLICENew York: A 26-year-old Sikh-American has made history bybecoming the first police officerfrom the community to join thepolice department in Indianapolis,the capital of the US state ofIndiana, a media report has said.

IRAN:QUAKE KILLS TWO,INJURES HUNDREDSTehran: A 5.7 magnitudeearthquake near Iran's border withTurkmenistan killed two people,injured hundreds and causedwidespread damage, state mediareported on Sunday. The quake,which struck at 1800 GMTSaturday in and around the city ofBojnurd, North Khorasan province,killed a 54-year-old woman and ateenage girl, ISNA news agencyreported.

ITALY RESCUES 480MIGRANTSRome: Over 480 asylum seekersand refugees were rescued in theMediterranean on Saturday as theyattempted the perilous crossingfrom north Africa, with sevenbodies also recovered, Italy'scoastguard said on Sunday.

MUSLIM MEN HAULEDOFF UK-BOUND FLIGHTLondon: Two Muslim men wereforced to get off a plane in Turkeyand made to go through securitychecks again after passengers on aflight operated by a British airlinecomplained that they were "makinggestures" to each other and "goingto the toilet to use their phones".

WOMAN KICKED OUT OFBANK FOR WEARING HIJABNew York: A Muslim-Americanwoman was allegedly kicked outof a bank in the US for ‘wearing ahijab' - with staff threatening to callpolice if she did not ‘remove herhood'.

THOUSANDS MARCH TOEND BULLFIGHTINGMadrid: Tens of thousands ofpeople from all parts of Spainmatched through the centre of theSpanish capital of Madrid onSaturday to demand an end to thetradition of bullfighting, localmedia reported.

OVER 145 CIVILIANSEXECUTED IN MOSULBaghdad: The ISIS has executedmore than 145 civilians for tryingto flee the western part of the Iraqicity of Mosul, according to a topsecurity official.

PALESTINIAN SHOT DEADBY ISRAELI POLICEJerusalem: Israeli police said thata Palestinian man was shot deadafter he stabbed and moderatelyinjured a police officer in EastJerusalem's Old City on Saturday.

AFP n PARIS

The unprecedented globalcyberattack affected "more

than 75,000 victims" in dozensof countries, French policesaid in a statement on Sunday,the day after the ransomwarehit Russia's banks, British hos-pitals and European car facto-ries among others.

"This is a provisional figureof the number of infected com-puters and could rise signifi-cantly over the coming days,"Valerie Maldonado, deputy headof the French police's anti-Cybercrime Office told. Europoldescribed Friday's cyberattack as"unprecedented".

The attacks used ran-somware, which locks users'files unless they pay the attack-ers a designated sum in the vir-tual Bitcoin currency.

Images appeared on victims'screens demanding payment of$300 in Bitcoin, saying: "Ooops,your files have been encrypted!"

AFP n LONDON

International investigatorshunted for those behind an

unprecedented cyber-attackthat affected systems in dozensof countries, including atbanks, hospitals and govern-ment agencies, as securityexperts sought to contain thefallout.

The assault, which beganFriday and was beingdescribed as the biggest-evercyber ransom attack, struckstate agencies and major com-panies around the world —from Russian banks andBritish hospitals to FedEx andEuropean car factories.

"The recent attack is at anunprecedented level and willrequire a complex interna-tional investigation to identi-fy the culprits," said Europol,Europe's police agency.

Europol said a special taskforce at its EuropeanCybercrime Centre was "spe-cially designed to assist insuch investigations and willplay an important role in sup-

porting the investigation".The attacks used ran-

somware that apparentlyexploited a security flaw inMicrosoft operating systems,locking users' files unless theypay the attackers a designatedsum in the virtual currencyBitcoin.

Images appeared on vic-tims' screens demanding pay-ment of USD 300 in Bitcoin,saying: "Ooops, your files havebeen encrypted!"

Payment is demandedwithin three days or the priceis doubled, and if none isreceived within seven days the

files will be deleted, accordingto the screen message.

But experts and govern-ment alike warn against ced-ing to the hackers' demands.

"Paying the ransom doesnot guarantee the encryptedfiles will be released," the USDepartment of HomelandSecurity's computer emer-gency response team said.

"It only guarantees thatthe malicious actors receivethe victim's money, and insome cases, their bankinginformation."

Experts and officialsoffered differing estimates of

the scope of the attacks, but allagreed it was huge.

Mikko Hypponen, chiefresearch off icer at theHelsinki- based cyber securi-ty company F-Secure, toldAFP it was the biggest ran-somware outbreak in history,saying that 130,000 systems inmore than 100 countries hadbeen affected.

He said Russia and Indiawere hit particularly hard,largely because Microsoft'sWindows XP — one of theoperating systems most at risk-- was still widely used there.

French police said therewere "more than 75,000 vic-tims" around the globe, butcautioned that the numbercould increase "significantly".

The virus spread quicklybecause the culprits used adigital code believed to havebeen developed by the USNational Security Agency --and subsequently leaked aspart of a document dump,according to researchers atthe Moscow-based computersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab.

Kathmandu: Voting began inNepal today in its first local-level polls in two decades thatare crucial for cementingdemocracy amid political tur-moil in the country.

The first phase of localelections are peacefully takingplace at 281 local units out of283 in province 3, 4 and 6, saidthe office ElectionCommission.

It said as the candidateshave been elected unopposedin two local units, polls are tak-ing place in remaining localunits only.

Altogether 4.9 million vot-

ers are eligible to cast their votesin the first phase of elections.

Nearly 50,000 candidatesare vying for the position ofmayor, deputy mayor, wardchairman and ward member in281 local municipalities.

The second round of pollsin provinces 1, 2, 5 and 7 willbe held on May 14 and June 14respectively.

The absence of elected rep-resentatives in the local bodiesfor more than 15 yearsobstructed development in thevillages and towns across thecountry including the capitalcity Kathmandu. PTI

Damascus: Civilians and rebelsbegan evacuating a third oppo-sition-held district of Damascuson Sunday, bringing theGovernment closer to cementingits control over the Syrian capital.

An AFP correspondentinside Qabun saw around 10buses carrying out residents andfighters in the morning, after adeal for the neighbourhoodwas announced late Saturdayfollowing heavy fighting.

The agreement mirrorsthose implemented earlier thisweek in the nearby rebel-helddistricts of Barzeh and Tishrin.

State media announced theevacuation had started, and anactivist inside the remainingopposition-held part of thedistrict earlier confirmedpreparations for the operationwere underway.

"The buses are being pre-pared, they are waiting in theareas controlled by the regime,"Odai Awdeh told AFP.

"The names of those whowant to leave, whether civiliansor fighters, are being regis-tered," he added. AFP

AFP n SANAA

Acholera outbreak in war-torn Yemen has killed 115

people and left 8,500 ill as hos-pitals struggle to cope with aninf lux of patients, theInternational Committee ofthe Red Cross said on Sunday.

"We now are facing a seri-ous outbreak of cholera," saidICRC director of operationsDominik Stillhart at a newsconference in the capital Sanaa.

Citing figures compiledby the Yemeni health ministry,Stillhart said 115 people haddied of cholera between April27 and yesterday.

More than 8,500 suspect-ed cases of the waterborne dis-ease were reported in the sameperiod in 14 governoratesacross Yemen, Stillhart said, upfrom 2,300 cases in 10 gover-norates last week.

This is the second out-break of cholera in less than ayear in Yemen, the Arabworld's poorest country.

Yemen is witnessing a dev-

astating war between theSaudi- supported governmentand Iranian-backed Huthirebels, and less than half of thecountry's health facilities arefunctioning two years intothe conflict.

Stillhart said hospitalswere filled beyond capacitywith patients displaying symp-toms of cholera, a bacterialinfection contracted throughingesting contaminated foodor water.

"There are up to fourcholera patients in one singlebed," Stillhart said.

"There are people in thegarden, and some even intheir cars with the IV driphanging from the window."

The World HealthOrganisation now classifiesYemen as one of the worsthumanitarian emergencies inthe world alongside Syria,South Sudan, Nigeria and Iraq.

Critical food imports arealso at an all-time low asmany of the country's Red Seaports are blockaded.

PTI n HOUSTON

Abomb-sniffing dog is beinghailed as a hero after he

took a bullet meant for his han-dler during a shootout.

K9 Kasper, who has pro-tected President Donald Trumpin the past, is recovering afterbeing shot in the side whendeputies with the Palm BeachSheriff 's Office (PBSO)exchanged gunfire with a want-ed man who was killed.

Phillip Oshea was accusedof a shooting and robbery onFriday in Jupiter, Florida. Laterthat day, deputies came toapprehend him, and he firedshots at them, Fox 13 Newsreported.

"During the gunfire, PBSOK9 Kasper was shot while pro-tecting his handler," the sher-iff 's office said in a Facebookpost that included a photo ofthe wounded dog on a veteri-narian's operating table.

Deputies had pursuedOShea to Jupiter following ashootout off Okeechobee

Boulevard in which a policeofficer was injured while div-ing for cover.

Details of the finalshootout were scant, but policesaid it took place in a parkinglot.

During the encounter,Kasper was struck in the lefthip by gunfire. The bulletmissed his vital organs, and itwas removed with surgery atPalm Beach VeterinarySpecialists, according to a videoposted on Twitter by the sher-iff 's office.

The bullet was out andKasper had recovered fromanesthesia. The video showedhim walking out of the clinicwith relative ease.

"He's on antibiotics and iswalking fairly well, all thingsconsidered," said MicheleTucker, the veterinary center'smanaging director of patientservices, on the video.

Kasper, a bomb-sniffing,patrol and street crimes dog,has protected Trump during hisvisits to Florida.

AFP n PARIS

Emmanuel Macron wasinaugurated as France's

youngest ever president today,saying the country had chosen"hope" and promising torelaunch the flagging EuropeanUnion.

Macron, a 39-year-old cen-trist, took the reins of powerfrom Francois Hollande a weekafter he won a resounding vic-tory over far-right leaderMarine Le Pen in a tumultuouselection.

After a warm welcomefrom Hollande at the ElyseePalace, the two men held aclosed-doors meeting duringwhich Macron was handed thecodes to launch France'snuclear arsenal.

In a moment heavy withsymbolism, 62-year-oldHollande - who launchedMacron's political career byappointing him first as advisorand then economy minister -was then driven away from thepalace to applause from his staffand the new president.

The former investmentbanker who had never evencontested an election beforewas then proclaimed presi-dent by Laurent Fabius, presi-dent of the ConstitutionalCouncil.

"In order to be the man of

one's country, one must be theman of your time," Fabius toldhim.

"You are now the man ofyour time... And by the sover-eign choice of the people, youare now, above all ... The manof our country."

In his first speech, Macronsaid the French people hadchosen "hope" and shown awillingness to change in the

election.He promised that the EU,

hit by the imminent departureof Britain, would be "rejuve-nated and relaunched" duringhis time in office.

"The world and Europeneed France now more thanever and they need a strongFrance with a sense of its owndestiny."

To underline his European

ambitions, Macron will visitGerman Chancellor AngelaMerkel in Berlin on Monday inhis first foreign trip.

The new president's wifeBrigitte, a 64-year-old who washis high school drama teacher,listened to his sombre 12-minute speech wearing a lightblue Louis Vuitton outfit.

At the end of the formali-ties, a 21-gun salute rang out

from the Invalides militaryhospital on the other side of theRiver Seine.

Macron was later to be dri-ven to the Arc de Triomphe tolay a wreath at the tomb of theunknown soldier.

The new president faces ahost of daunting challengesincluding tackling stubbornlyhigh unemployment, fightingIslamist-inspired violence anduniting a deeply divided country.

Socialist Hollande's fiveyears in power were plagued bya sluggish economy and bloodyterror attacks that killed morethan 230 people and he leavesoffice after a single term.

Security was tight, witharound 1,500 police officersdeployed near the presidentialpalace and the nearby ChampsElysees avenue and surround-ing roads blocked off.

After a formal lunch,Macron will visit Paris's townhall, a traditional stop for anynew French president in his"host" city.

Macron's first week will bebusy. On Monday, he is expect-ed to reveal the closely-guard-ed name of his prime minister,before flying to Berlin.

It is virtually a rite of passagefor French leaders to make theirfirst European trip to meet theleader of the other half of the so-called "motor" of the EU.

AFP n TEHRAN

Iran's reformist ex-presidentMohammad Khatami on

Sunday endorsed PresidentHassan Rouhani in a videomessage, calling on voters togive him another term in thisweek's election.

"Mr Rouhani'sGovernment has been a suc-cessful one, despite all the lim-itations, problems and the greatexpectations," he said in thevideo posted on social media.

"We should all go and votefor Rouhani, for freedom inthought, logic in dialogue, lawin action, securing the rights ofcitizens and enforcing socialand economic justice."

Khatami praised the gov-ernment for taming rampantinflation of above 40 per cent in2013 to below 9.5 per cent and the"steps" taken against stagnation.

Unemployment hasincreased in the past four yearsfrom 10.5 per cent to 12.5 percent, while youth joblessnessstands at 27 per cent.

"Many issues have beenresolved but bigger issuesremain, which we must allhelp to solve," he said in thevideo published on hisTelegram messenger account.

Khatami, the de factoleader of the reformist camp,has been under a media banduring the past few years forsupporting the GreenMovement protesters in the2009 presidential election thatsaw hardliner Mahmoud

Ahmadinejad re-elected.In 2016, he released a video

that played a crucial role in help-ing pro-Rouhani candidates todefeat ultra- conservatives inparliamentary and Assemblyof Experts elections. The videobecame well-known for his useof the phrase "I repeat".

"This time, it is you whoshould repeat. Repeat the vote fordear Rouhani, to boost hope forfuture," he said today, referringto Friday's presidential election.

Manhunt for hackers begin

GLOBAL CYBERATTACK

IANS n SEOUL/WASHINGTON

North Korea on Sundaylaunched a ballistic missile

which flew around 700 km, theSouth Korean Joints Chief ofStaff (JCS) said.

This is the first provocativemove from North Korea sinceSouth Korea appointed MoonJae-in as the country's newPresident on Wednesday.

The US calculated that themissile landed in water 60miles south of Russia'sVladivostok region, anAmerican security official toldCNN. Vladivostock is home tothe Russian Pacific Fleet.

The US called for reper-cussions from the internation-al community.

"Let this latest provocationserve as a call for all nations to

implement far stronger sanc-tions against North Korea,"White House Press SecretarySean Spicer said in a statement.

"North Korea fired an

unidentified missile at around5.27 a.m. today (Sunday) froman area in the vicinity ofKusong, North Pyonganprovince," Yonhap NewsAgency quoted the JCS as say-ing in a statement.

A US defence official con-firmed that it flew that far, butsaid Washington was still inves-tigating to determine the typeof missile.

In response, South KoreanPresident Moon has stronglycondemned North Korea forthe launch, describing it as agrave threat to regional securityand a clear violation of the UNSecurity Council resolutions.

IANS n LONDON

Another major cyber-attackis imminent after Friday's

global hit that infected morethan 125,000 computer systemsand could come on Monday, asecurity researcher warned onSunday.

The UK security researcher"MalwareTech", who helped tolimit the ransomware attack,predicted "another one com-ing... quite likely on Monday",the BBC reported.

The virus, which took con-trol of users' files, spread to 100countries, including Spain,France and Russia.

In England, 48 NationalHealth Service (NHS) trusts fellvictim, as did 13 NHS bodiesin Scotland.

Some hospitals were forcedto cancel procedures andappointments, as ambulanceswere directed to neighbouringhospitals free from the com-puter virus.

After taking computers

over, the virus displayed mes-sages demanding a payment of$300 in virtual currency Bitcointo unlock files and return themto the user.

MalwareTech, who wantsto remain anonymous, washailed as an "accidental hero"after registering a domainname to track the spread of thevirus, which actually endedup halting it.

"We have stopped this one,but there will be another onecoming and it will not be stop-pable by us," the 22-year-oldtold the BBC on Sunday.

"So there's a good chancethey are going to do it... maybenot this weekend, but quitelikely on Monday morning."

He also warned hackerscould upgrade the virus toremove the "kill switch" thathelped to stop it.

"Version 1 of WannaCryptwas stoppable but version 2.0will likely remove the flaw.You're only safe if you patch assoon as possible," he tweeted.

Next global cyber-attacklikely on Monday: Experts

Over 75K

global victims:

French police

Macron takes power as French president

Outgoing French President Francois Hollande, center left, welcomes incoming French President Emmanuel Macron beforeMacron's inauguration ceremony as French President at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Sunday AP

Nepal votes in first local

election in 20 years

N Korea fires ballistic missile

Hero dog takes bullet meant

for police officer in US

Iran's reformist ex-president

Khatami endorses Rouhani

Supporters of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, who is running for a second termin office, gather to watch a live televised debate outside Rouhani's campaignheadquarters in Tehran, Iran on Friday AP

115 dead as Yemen choleraoutbreak spreads: ICRC

EVACUATION OFREBEL DAMASCUSDISTRICT BEGINS

A South Korean soldier walks by a TV newsprogramme showing a file image of missilesbeing test-launched by North Korea at theSeoul Railway Station on Sunday AP

Ramallah: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah partywas ahead in most of the West Bank's main cities after munic-ipal elections that highlighted persistent divisions with its rivalHamas, results showed on Sunday.

Voting took place yesterday only in the occupied West Bank,controlled by Fatah, and not in the Gaza Strip, which is run bythe Islamist movement Hamas.

Attempts to hold the first joint elections in the West Bankand Gaza since 2006 failed after the two movements were notable to reach an agreement.

Hamas did not present candidates under its party label inthe vote.

Official figures showed turnout at 53.4 per cent, or nearlythe same as local elections in the West Bank in 2012, electoralcommission chief Hanna Nasser told journalists in Ramallah.

However, turnout was far lower in large cities than in sur-rounding communities, with the lowest in Nablus, the main cityin the northern West Bank, where it was less than 21 percent.

AFP

AFP n MOSCOW

Thousands of people protest-ed in central Moscow on

Sunday against the city's planto tear down Soviet-era apart-ment blocks as part of a con-troversial urban redevelop-ment programme.

The measure, announcedin February by Moscow MayorSergei Sobyanin, prompted anoutcry from many residents whosee a ploy to funnel state fundsinto construction companies.

It would also rideroughshod over propertyrights, they say, while forcingmany homeowners to move toneighbourhoods with lowerproperty values.

Muscovites yelled "Handsoff Moscow" and "No to demo-lition" while shouting downenvoys from the office of themayor, a staunch supporter ofPresident Vladimir Putin whohad served as his chief of staff.

"Let us keep our houses!"fumed Svetlana Ilyina, a 59-year-old engineer. "It 'sSobyanin who should bedemolished. This is in theinterest of developers and theauthorities who will receivehuge kickbacks."

IANS n LONDON

Afirst international retro-spective exhibition on the

world-famous rock band PinkFloyd which recalls how theBritish group became a cultur-al icon since it was born in the1960s, opened in London.

"Pink Floyd is one of thebiggest bands of the last cen-tury. They came to promi-nence in the mid-60s whenthey were in the vanguard ofthe psychedelic movement,when music was really chang-ing," the exhibition's curatorVictoria Broackes told Xinhuanews agency on Saturday whenthe exhibition -- Pink Floyd:Their Mortal Remains --opened at the Victoria andAlbert Museum in London.

Pink Floyd, formed byyoung architecture students --Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, RickWright and Nick Mason, chosethe name by amalgamatingthe names of two AmericanBlues musicians PinkAnderson and Floyd Counsel.

The band's living membersWaters and David Gilmour wholater joined the band as the leadguitarist and vocals after Barrett'sdeparture, and Mason, all ofwhom offered items for display.

Int’l retrospective

Pink Floyd exhibit

opens in London

Thousands rally inMoscow againstplan to raze Soviet-era flats

Fatah leads local pollsin West Bank cities

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017

1414

With the kind of wicket this was, itwas chaseable. Had one of thebatsmen batted till the end, we

would've got there. Just irrespon-sible shots, batsmen were tryingto throw their bats at everything

— KKR skipper G Gambhir

FULLTIMEO U T S I D E I P L

HARIKA SUFFERS FIRST LOSSMALMO: Indian Grand Master HarikaDronavalli dropped her first point in the TePeSigrman & Co. Chess tournament after shewent down fighting to Swedish GM ErikBlomqvist in the third round here late onFriday night. "After good performances in thefirst two rounds of the tournament, I made ablunder in the third one which cost me pre-cious points," Harika said after the match.With two draws and one loss so far in thecampaign, Harika is in the sixth place on theleaderboard. She will now take on table top-per, GM Baadur Jobava from Georgia in hernext round game.

SUMIT BAGS SILVER IN WRESTLINGNEW DELHI: India ended its successful cam-paign at the Asian Wrestling Championshipwith a silver medal as Sumit went down toYadollah Mohammadkazem Mohebi of Iran inmen's 125kg freestyle gold medal bout on thefinal day of the competition, here on Sunday.The Indian wrestlers finished with 10 medals,including a gold, five silver and four bronze,bettering their tally of nine medals in the lastedition of the Asian Championship atBangkok, Thailand. In men's freestyle catego-ry, Iran defended their title, while Japan andUzbekistan finished second and third respec-tively.

BAGAN WIN KOLKATA DERBY IN FED CUP CUTTACK: Arch-rivals Mohun Bagan defeatedEast Bengal 2-0 in a Kolkata derby to enter thesummit clash of the Hero Federation Cup foot-ball touernament at the Barabati Stadium, hereon Sunday. Darryl Duffy's 35th-minute headerand Balwant Singh's 84th-minute strikeproved to be the difference between the twosides as the defending champions progressedto the final, where Bengaluru FC wait them.Sanjoy Sen's men grew into the match andtook the lead in the 35th minute when Duffy'sdeft header off a Norde cross crept into theback of the net. Balwant doubled Bagan's leadin the 84th minute when he scored afterKatsumi Yusa found him in the box.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY: INDIA LOSS TO NZPUKEKOHE (NZ): : India were outplayed 1-4by New Zealand in their opening game of afive-match women's hockey series whichbegan here on Sunday. New Zealand foundtheir first breakthrough in the 13th min whenJordan Grant converted a field goal to end thefirst quarter with a 1-0 lead. Olivia Merryscored a 23rd minute goal to put further pres-sure on India. Anupa Barla (31') converted afield goal only 40 seconds into the third quar-ter to narrow the goal difference to 1-2.Rachael McCann scored New Zealand's thirdgoal in the 43rd min to end the third quarter at3-1. New Zealand's Deanna Ritchie scored thefourth goal in the 55th minute. Agencies

S I N G L E SV I C T O R Y M A R C H

Q U O T E U N Q U O T E

expertopinion

SLEDGEHAMMER

PACE FOUNDATION

PRADEEPMOHANTYPRESIDENTSLEDGEHAMMER

PACE FOUNDATION

For me there is nothing to say about KingsXI Punjab's batting performance. RisingPune Supergiant's bowling wasoutstanding and it was a great team effortto restrict KXIP to such a low score.Jaydev Unadkat and Shardul Thakur wereparticularly impressive with the ball asPunjab struggled to deal with the duo.Later while batting, Pune reached theirtarget very easily.

NEW DELHI: Royal ChallengersBangalore beat Delhi Daredevils by 10runs in the final league game of IndianPremier League at Feroz Shah Kotla sta-dium here on Sunday.

Delhi required 12 runs off the lastover, but Pawan Negi bowled a brilliantover, giving away only two runs to sealRCB’s win.

Earlier, Delhi Daredevils were ableto restrict Royal Challengers Bangaloreto a modest score of 161/6 . CaptainVirat Kohli opted to bat first after win-ning the toss. Opener Chris Gayle, whohas had a very modest season so far,looked in good touch and seemed toenjoy the ball coming on to the batwhich has been the main characteristicof the Kotla pitch this season.

Zaheer Khan, opening the bowling,got some early swing but Gayle flickedhim for a couple of boundaries in thevery first over. While Gayle was show-ing aggressive intentions and timing theball well, his partner at the other end,Vishnu Vinod, couldn't get the ball awayas the Delhi bowlers attacked him withback-of-a-length deliveries without anyroom. Eventually Vinod was dismissedtrying to break the shackles with a pullshot off Pat Cummins but instead got aninside edge onto the stumps in the fifthover.

Kohli walked in to huge cheers andhe too, like Gayle, was enjoying the paceof the wicket and looking in good touch.He played a dazzling lofted off-drive forsix that would have pleased all Indian

fans with the Champions Trophy com-ing up soon.

Pat Cummins, though, was bowlingwell and with assistance from otherbowlers was able to keep Gayle and RCBrelatively quiet. At the midway point inthe innings, RCB had just 66 runs on theboard.

Corey Anderson was brought intothe attack and there seemed to be a spe-cial plan in place for Virat Kohli. Hebowled to the RCB captain round thewicket, wide of off-stump with a point,backward point and short third man andit almost worked when Kohli got a lead-ing edge which flew over these fielders.

The 50 run partnership came up in41 balls between Gayle and Kohli.Gayle, after being sedate, decided tobreak the shackles in the 12th over bysmashing Amit Mishra over mid-wick-et for six. Kohli did the same thing inthat over when he got on strike and thenhit another boundary to make it a bigover for his team.

Gayle, who in earlier seasons wasable to compensate for a slow start withbig hitting later on, failed to do so onthis occasion and was out in the 15thover, going for a big hit of ShahbazNadeem's bowling. He scored 48 in 38balls.

The new batsman, Travis Head wasrun-out in the next over. Delhi lookedto be in danger of stumbling but Kohlilooked in pristine touch and reached his50 in 39 balls.

The duo of Kohli and Kedar Jadhav,which created a memorable partnershipagainst England earlier this year in anODI to win the game, were now look-ing to press the accelerator and take theirteam towards a good score.

Kohli played a magnificent writyflick off a full-toss from Zaheer in the17th over for six but was dismissed offthe next ball attempting to clear long-off. He was dismissed for 58 off 45 balls.

Jadhav tried to up the ante with alofted hit down the ground for four butwas soon dismissed. Delhi were bowl-ing well, especially Pat Cummins whoseextra pace and accurate yorkers weremaking things difficult for RCB.Mohammad Shami assisted him well.

Surprisingly, Shane Watson came into bat only in the 18th over and could-n't do much as RCB struggled to get bighits. Thanks to three boundaries struckin the final over, which included twooutside-edges, by Pawan Negi, RCBmanaged to get past 150 and ended upwith 161 on a pitch which looks goodfor batting.

PTI n PUNE

Rising Pune Supergiant captainSteve Smith on Sunday said

the team will miss Ben Stokes inthe IPL play-offs after they com-fortably beat Kings XI Punjab ina do-or-die match here.

In a potential knock-outclash, Pune defeated Kings XIPunjab by nine wickets to finishsecond in the points table behindMumbai Indians, which meansthey will get two shots for a placein the summit clash.

It was complete dominationby the home team, which firstskittled out Kings XI Punjab fora paltry 73 and then knocked offthe runs in only 12 overs.

"It was a nice day. Thebowlers did a terrific job," saidSmith.

"We were searching a bit inthe first few games. We had new

players coming in, we have agood balance now. Really goodto finish second and have bitesat the cherry. Yeah, we have acouple of options for Stokes. Hehas been magnificent and will bea big loss. Hopefully, the otherguys will stand up for us," he

added.Stokes, the costliest player of

IPL who will leave for nationalduty after Sunday's match,scored 316 runs from 12 gameswith 103 not out being his high-est. With the ball the English all-rounder picked up 12 wicketsfrom as many games.

Smith said toss played acrucial in deciding the outcomeof the match.

"We were fortunate to winthe toss, the ball was stopping.It was an easy decision today, thewicket was sticky. Shardul(Thakur) was outstanding,(Jaydev) Unadkat again was out-standing," he said.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjabskipper Glenn Maxwell saiddespite failing to qualify for theplay-offs there were a lot of pos-itives to take from this edition ofthe IPL.

PTI n KOLKATA

Mumbai Indians bats-man Saurabh Tiwary

feels that his side have gotthe momentum goingahead of the IPL play-offsas they have topped theleague table and also test-ed their bench strengthwith success.

Playing his first matchof the season, SaurabhTiwary, who opened theinnings in place of ParthivPatel, sparkled with a 43-ball 52, while AmbatiRayudu was their top-scorer with a 37-ball 63 asMumbai Indians defeatedKolkata Knight Riders bynine runs. "It's a goodthing that our bench wastested. We will have ourbest XI for the play-off.

The momentum is with us,and it's a big advantagethat we will have the play-off (Qualifier 1) at home,"he said.

By virtue of being thetable toppers, Mumbai willhave the cushion of fea-turing in the Qualifier 1

between the toptwo sidesthat will give both theteams two shots at makingthe Final.

"There's very littlemargin of error in play-offs. But the good thingabout us is, if we havesomeone injured, we

would not have someoneto play his first match. Itbecomes difficult espe-cially in a stage like play-off where there's very lit-tle room for error," hesaid.

Captain Rohit Sharmaopted to rest six of hisside's regulars — Patel,Nitish Rana, HarbhajanSingh, Jasprit Bumrah,Lasith Malinga andMitchell McClenaghan –but it did not affect theirperformance as they fin-ished with 20 points.

"This was like a secondstring Mumbai Indiansside. We have a very goodbench strength. The cred-it goes to our preparationin the build-up to the sea-son," said the Jharkhandplayer.

AFP n ROSEAU

Departing stalwarts Younis Khan and captainMisbah ul Haq failed to make an impact in their

farewell international innings but Pakistan werepoised to press for a series-clinching victory over theWest Indies at stumps on the fourth day at WindsorPark in Dominica.

Following the tedium of the first three days whichsaw a total of 15 wickets falling, 14 tumbled on thepenultimate day of the series, ending with the homeside at seven for one after being set a daunting vic-tory target of 304.

Mohammad Abbas claimed his first five-wick-et haul in Test cricket to trigger a West Indies firstinnings collapse to 247 all out in the morning after

they resumed at 218 for five with the match appear-ing at the start of the day to be dragging towards adreary draw. "Eight seasons of first-class cricket bowl-ing long spells prepared me for this opportunity," saidAbbas. "I dedicate this performance to both Misbahand Younis because it is my great fortune to play withthem but also unfortunate for it to be their last series."

In attempting to build on that considerable leadof 129 Pakistan crashed to 90 for seven before YasirShah, with a Test-best 38 not out, and a determined27 from Mohammad Amir allowed Misbah the lux-ury of a second innings declaration at 174 for eightlate in the day.

Shah and Amir put on 61 for the eighth wicketand benefited from the continuing West Indian epi-demic of errors in the field. Shah was caught behindoff a no-ball from leg- spinner Devendra Bishoo andtwo catches were missed as the tail wagged and thehome side wilted. Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph claimedthree wickets but the West Indies' failure to presshome the advantage after getting Younis and Misbahcheaply proved costly.

PTI n PUNE

Rising Pune Supergiantcruised into the Indian

Premier League play-offswith a thoroughly one-sidednine-wicket victory overKings XI Punjab in a do-or-die final group leaguematch, here on Sunday.

It was complete domi-nation by the home team,which first skittled outKings XI Punjab for a pal-try 73 and then knocked offthe runs in only 12 overs tofinish second in the eight-team table with 18 points.

Young Rahul Tripathiblasted 28 off 20 balls tomake a mockery of thechase in an encounter whichturned out to be an anti-cli-max of sorts.

It was the ninth time in

10 seasons of the IPL that ateam involving MahendraSingh Dhoni made it to thefinal four stage.

In the first eight seasonswith the Chennai SuperKings, Dhoni was a part ofthe last four on all occasions.

The only other player toachieve this feat in 10 sea-sons is Suresh Raina (CSKand Gujarat Lions).

It was only last seasonthat a team involving theformer India skipper could-n't make it to the last four.

The victory also givesSupergiant, the cushion oftwo shots at a place in thefinal. They will be playingMumbai Indians inQualifier 1 while SunrisersHyderabad (3rd with 17points) will meet KolkataKnight Riders (4th with 16

points) in the 'Eliminator'.The match as a contest

was over by the time KingsXI Punjab skipper GlennMaxwell (0) got out with thescoreboard reading 32 for

five. The chase was a mereformality with Tripathiblasting the three Sharmas— Mohit, Ishant andSandeep — for four bound-aries before hitting a six over

deep mid-wicket off RahulTewatia.

The run-rate pressurewas non-existent whichmade it easier for AjinkyaRahane (34 not out) andskipper Steve Smith (15 notout) to knock off the runsafter Tripathi got out.Rahane finished the matchwith a six off Maxwell.

Put into bat, Kings XIPunjab put up their worstbatting performance of theseason when it matteredthe most.

After the high of scor-ing 230 against MumbaiIndians in the last game,their campaign hit the worstnote as it became a virtualno-show.

They were all but out ofthe game after being shotout in only 15.5 overs. Axar

Patel was the top-scorerwith 22 runs whileWriddhiman Saha's 13 wasthe next best.

Shardul Thakur (3/19 in4 overs) was the pick of thebowlers and he got fantas-tic support from JaydevUnadkat (2/12 in 3 overs),Adam Zampa (2/22 in 3.5overs) and Dan Cristian(2/10 in 2 overs).

Even Ben Stokes (0/10in 3 overs) looked danger-ous as he beat the bat anumber of times.

Martin Guptill (0)uppishly drove to ManojTiwary at short cover off thevery first delivery fromUnadkat.

Shaun Marsh (13) hit acouple of boundaries beforehe failed to clear Steve Smithat mid-off.

RCB end campaign with win

M W L T/NR P NRR

MI 14 10 4 0 20 +0.784

RPS 14 9 5 0 18 +0.176

SRH 14 8 5 1 17 +0.599

KKR 14 8 6 0 16 +0.641

KXIP 14 7 7 0 14 -0.009

DD 14 6 8 0 12 -0.512

GL 14 4 10 0 8 -0.412

RCB 14 3 10 1 7 -1.299

pointstable

SUPERGIANT SLAY KINGS, ENTER PLAY-OFFS

We'll miss Stokes in play-offs: Smith We have got momentum: Tiwary

Departing Younis,Misbah fall butPak in command

Misbah ul Haq walks out to a guard of honour

sport 15LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017

AP n MONTMELO

Lewis Hamilton beat SebastianVettel to win the Spanish GrandPrix on Sunday, tightening

Formula One's intense title fight.Vettel edged past the pole-sitting

Hamilton at the first corner, but theBritish driver overtook Vettel's Ferrariwith more than 20 laps left while run-ning on a faster set of tires as Mercedes'pit strategy paid off.

"What can I say? Fantastic job. Thestrategy was on point with the pit stops,"Hamilton told his team via radio aftercrossing the finish line. Hamilton's sec-ond win in five races this season cutVettel's lead from 13 points to six head-ing into the Monaco GP.

It was the three-time world cham-pion's 55th career victory and his sec-ond at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after first winning here in2014.

Daniel Ricciardo brought his RedBull across in a distant third place tocomplete the podium, his best result ofthe season.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and 2016race winner Max Verstappen of RedBull collided on the first turn, knock-ing both drivers out of the race.Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottasalso dropped out after his Mercedesengine failed midway through the race.

Vettel had a great jump from sec-ond on the grid, going past Hamiltonto the first right-hand turn and stayingin front just as his Ferrari partner's raceended.

Starting from fourth and fifth,Raikkonen and Verstappen cametogether when trying to squeeze aroundthe first turn with Bottas alongsidethem. Bottas nudged Raikkonen intoVerstappen, with the contact damagingthe front suspensions of the Ferrari andRed Bull.

"It all started when I got hit, my carjumped a bit and you cannot controlafter that," Raikkonen said.

Before he broke down, Bottas gaveHamilton some critical help by holdingVettel up through a thrilling lap-longduel. Vettel eventually got by, but by

then Hamilton had clawed back a fewvaluable seconds.

The two title rivals jousted afterVettel came out of his second pit stopjust inches ahead of the hard-chargingHamilton. They brushed going throughthe first of two turns, with Hamiltongoing off momentarily as Vettel defend-ed his position.

The teams' tire strategy then cameinto play. While Vettel used his two setsof faster tires first before finishing onthe more long-lasting but slower ones,Hamilton used his more conservative

tires after his first pit stop, allowing himto finish on the faster set.

Moments after Bottas saw his hopesof adding to a maiden win in the pre-vious round go up in smoke, Hamiltonclosed in on Vettel on his faster tires andnever looked back after blowing by onlap 43."I was surprised that when I cameout we were so close," Vettel said. "I wasdoing what I could to say in front, butas soon as I was alone he just flew past."

FORCE INDIA’S SEASON BESTForce India recorded their best

result of the 2017 season so far as SergioPerez and Esteban Ocon finished fourthand fifth respectively in the SpanishGrand Prix here on Sunday. Theupgrades brought for the weekendhelped the team significantly in the 66-lap race after Perez and Ocon had qual-ified eighth and 10th in the qualifying.

Personally, it was a memorablerace for Ocon, who achieved his bestever finish in Formula One.

The team amassed 22 points fromthe race, taking its overall tally to 53after five rounds.

AP n MADRID

Novak Djokovic remains opti-mistic despite yet another dis-

appointing result in what has beena frustrating season.

Djokovic's struggles continuedwith an overwhelming loss to RafaelNadal in the semifinals of theMadrid Open on Saturday, a resultthat extended his streak of five con-secutive tournaments without anappearance in a final.

Still, the second-rankedDjokovic left Spain with reason tofeel good about his game.

"It was a positive week, a posi-tive experience," he said. "I take morepositives than negatives into the nextweek in Rome. As I go along, I hopeto continue getting better and gettingstronger. I felt like I was playing wellthroughout the week."

He blamed his elimination most-ly on Nadal's good form.

"I could have played better,"Djokovic said. "But, again, I just hadan opponent that was too good. Ihave to move on. Semifinals is a goodresult. Hopefully I'll have anothergood result in Rome."

Rome will be Djokovic's lasttournament before he defends histitle at the French Open.

"It was really good to play in thesemifinals of a big event, and to playagainst one of the top rivals I have

in my life," Djokovic said. "I haven'thad that feeling in months, so it'sgreat to feel that."

Djokovic hadn't made it to asemifinal since he won in Doha inthe beginning of the season. Hereached the last four in Madrid afterKei Nishikori withdrew before thequarterfinals because of an injury.

Djokovic has won only 14matches this year. Last year he was31-2 after winning the title inMadrid, which was his fifth of theseason at the time.

The disappointing straight-setloss to Nadal was his fifth defeat thisyear. He had won seven straight

matches against the fifth-rankedSpaniard before Saturday's semifinal,dating back to the 2014 French Openfinal.

"I felt comfortable hitting the ballthe last few days, physically ready,mentally sharp as well. I was tryingmy best," Djokovic said. "But it's justone of these days where your oppo-nent is just playing better than you,and you have to be able to say, 'con-gratulations,' and move on. He didget the better of me in most of thestats, most of the shots. But, youknow, I have lots of good things totake out of this week."

Among Djokovic's losses thisseason was a second-round defeat toDenis Istomin at the AustralianOpen. He lost to Nick Kyrgios in thequarterfinals in Acapulco and in theRound of 16 in Indian Wells. And inhis first clay-court tournament of theyear, in Monte Carlo, Djokovic waseliminated by David Goffin in thequarterfinals.

"This drop in level for Djokovichas to do with his fight to be No 1and to win as many matches as pos-sible," Nadal said. "Let's respect hislevel right now because it's true thatperhaps it's not as high as it used tobe, but I'm telling you, it's been a lotof years, and I know because I'vebeen in his skin, being up there everysingle week, being No 1 every sin-gle week, it's nearly impossible."

PTI n MUMBAI

All set to spearhead India's cam-paign in the upcoming

Sudirman Cup world mixed teambadminton championships slated tobe held in Australia, ace shuttler PSindhu is confident of a good showby the team.

"I think we have a good chance,it's a mixed team event so girls andboys both have to perform well. Weare playing Indonesia and Denmark,so I hope we can win," Sindhu saidhere Saturday night after beingconferred with the honorary lifemembership of the Cricket ClubIndia.

India, ranked No 9, is placed inGroup 1D with Denmark andIndonesia in the preliminary stageof the competition, scheduled fromMay 21-28. The team had finished9th in the previous edition of thechampionships.

India will depend a lot on theworld no 4-ranked Rio OlympicGames silver medallist in the event,from which another top womanshuttler and London Games bronzemedal winner Saina

Nehwal has pulled out due tofamily reasons.

Since only one woman couldplay as it's a mixed team event,Sindhu said Saina's absence shouldnot be an issue.

"Yes, Saina isn't playing, butwhen it comes to one singles anddoubles only one player is required,so that shouldn't be any issue," said

the 21-year-old shuttler after havinginteracted with the CCI badminton-playing children at the club's courtsearlier.

Sindhu has slipped down fromthe world no 2 ranking she achievedafter winning the Indian Open, andis eager to move up the ladder.

"Currently I'm on fourth (rank)and I expect to see myself in topthree by the end of the year.

"But I have already been in toptwo so I would definitely like to seemyself as world number one, butbefore that I think you have to playwell and if you do that ranking willautomatically come," she said.

On current no 1 Tai Tzu Ying ofChinese-Taipei whom she had beat-en on way to the silver medal in Rio,Sindhu said, "We haven't playedmuch recently. The last was Rio and

All England. So I haven't faced herrecently."

"But she is winning a lot ofmatches and doing well for herself.But when it comes to me playingagainst her, I feel it's going to be agood match," she said.

Asked about the high points forher after winning the silver in Rio,the lanky shuttler said: "WinningChina Open and Indian Open. I hadalways wanted to win a Super Series(event) and by fulfilling that I feelvery happy and it gives me a lot ofconfidence."

"After the Olympics I've seen alot of change, kids picking up bad-minton and also then a lot of acad-emies have come up.

"So, it's a good sign and bad-minton as a sport is getting muchmore encouragement," she saidwhen asked about the changes shehad seen in the shuttle game afterher historic silver medal winningeffort at Rio.

Earlier during her interactionwith the younger lot of club players,Sindhu evoked admiration when shesaid that she trained daily for 7-8hours.

She also said that players canlearn a lot after losing a game bythinking back to the match and pin-ning down the errors they hadmade.

"When I lose a point I don'tthink about it (at that stage) asthinking over it would make youlose the next 2-3 points," said theIndian shuttler.

AP n MANCHESTER

The swagger has returned totheir play. The wins and the

goals are piling up. ArseneWenger, a target of abuse formuch of the season, was evengreeted with rapturous applauseas he walked toward the fans.

Things are looking up forArsenal as the team makes its tra-ditional end-of-season chargefor Champions League qualifi-cation from the English PremierLeague. The question is: Havethey left it too late?

If fourth-placed Liverpoolfails to beat West Ham away onSunday, Arsenal knows that vic-tories over Sunderland onTuesday and Everton on the finalday will earn the team a place inthe Champions League for the20th straight season.

On Saturday, as Wenger wasmaking his way along the touch-line toward the dressing roomafter the final whistle, Wengergave a wave to Arsenal's visiting

supporters and they roared theirapproval.

"At the moment, we haveconsistency," Wenger said. "Let's

finish well."The pressure on Liverpool

was ramped up even further byManchester City beating Leicester

2-1 to move into third place,above the Reds.

City has 72 points, Liverpool70, and Arsenal 69. ManchesterUnited is on 65 points in sixthplace, with a game in hand.

Here's a look at the othergames on Saturday:

STOKE 1-4 ARSENALOlivier Giroud tapped in

two close-range finishes, whileAlexis Sanchez netted his 50thPremier League goal for Arsenalin the team's fifth win in its lastsix games.

Mesut Ozil also scored, fin-ishing off a slick team move thatshowed the confidence Arsenal isstarting to play with.

MAN CITY 2-1 LEICESTERCity got two big breaks on its

way to victory over the deposedchampions.

The team's first goal, scoredby David Silva. Gabriel Jesusmade it 2-0 from the penalty spot,Shinji Okazaki reduced the deficit

with an acrobatic volley, beforeCity's second piece of fortune.

Leicester was awarded apenalty in the 76th minute whenRiyad Mahrez was fouled.Mahrez took it himself butslipped as he shot, kicking the ballagainst his standing foot and intothe net. The referee disallowedthe goal and awarded City a freekick, holding up two fingers toshow that Mahrez took two con-secutive touches.

SUNDELAND 0-2 SWANSEASwansea could be celebrating

another season in the league onSunday. This win, achieved cour-tesy of first-half goals byFernando Llorente and KyleNaughton, lifted Swansea fourpoints above the relegation zone.

Third-to-last Hull will joinSunderland and Middlesbroughin being relegated if it loses atCrystal Palace on Sunday. Evena draw probably won't be enoughfor Hull because of its inferiorgoal difference.

AP n LISBON

Benfica routed Vitoria Guimaraes 5-0 towin a club-record fourth straight

Portuguese league title on Saturday.Benfica lifted the trophy with one round

to go by opening an eight-point lead over FCPorto, which hosts Pacos Ferreira on Sundayand can only get within two points of the rivalif it wins both of its remaining matches.

It is the 36th league title for Benfica,which led the league since the fifth round.

"We reached our goal after being in front

for so long," Benfica coach Rui Vitoria said."These players were fantastic. They areheroes and deserve this title."

Benfica cruised to victory after FrancoServi and Raul Jimenez scored less than 20minutes into the game at the Stadium of Light.Pizzi added to the lead before halftime andJonas netted twice in the second half to sealthe victory and the title celebration in frontof the home fans.

Porto was the last team to win four con-secutive titles, from 2006-09. It also won fivein a row, from 1995-99.

KYUT’S FEYENOORD WIN EREDIVISIE THE HAGUE (NETHERLANDS): Veteran cap-tain Dirk Kuyt scored a hat trick Sunday asFeyenoord beat Heracles Almelo 3-1 towin its 15th Dutch Eredivisie title and thefirst in 18 long years for its fervent fans.

Kuyt, 36, who returned to Feyenoord inthe twilight of his career saying he wantedto lead the team to the Dutch championship,scored his 100th goal for the club in the firstminute to settle nerves throughoutRotterdam. He doubled the lead in the 12th,then put the result beyond doubt with apenalty kick shortly before the end.

Hamilton wins Spanish GP

‘India have good chance in Sudirman’ Djoker upbeat despite yet

another setback in Madrid

Arsenal, City pile on pressure in Top 4 raceBENFICA SEAL 4TH BACK-TO-BACK PRIMEIRA TITLE

SHRADHHA, GARVIT WIN C’SHIPSShradhha Yadav and Garvit Kalra won the

District Under-19 Chess Championship atCapitol Centre on Sunday. Garvit and nine-year-old Medhansh Saxena bagged 4.5 points eachto finish at top, but Garvit emerged victoriousin a tie-breaker. Medhansh settled for secondspot while Nirbhay Singh finished third. In thegirl’s category, Shivani Sachan and AkanshaSrivastava finished second and third respectively.RESULTS:Boy’s; Garvit (4.5), Medhansh (4.5), Nirbhay(3.5), Satyam (3.5)Girl’s: Shraddha (3), Shivani (2), Akansha (1)

DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR PRANJALIPranjali Prajapati bagged the Under-12 and

Under-14 girl’s singles title in the Little ChampsTennis League on Sunday. In the Under-14 boy’scategory, Abhishek Kumar won the title whileReyan Singh claimed the Under-12 trophy.

KANPUR OVERALL CHAMPIONWith seven

golds, three sil-ver and fourbronze medals,Kanpur wonthe Inter-District JudoChampionshipsat RamswaroopM e m o r i a lPublic School.A l l a h a b a dstood secondwith four golds, five silver and 11 bronze medals.Lucknow Lucknow finished 3rd with three golds,five silver and 12 bronze medals. Sales tax com-missioner Mukesh Meshram gave away theawards.RESULTS: Boy’s: (-35 kg) 1-Nikhil Bharduwaj,2-Zeya Mustafa, 3-Aniket Kumar Vimal and

Harshit Sahu; (-40kg) 1-Shreyansh Gupta, 2-Abhinash Chandra, 3-Prajil Pandey, AadityRajput; (-45kg) Abhishek Kumar, 2-TarangPrakash, 3-Pranav Rawat, Mohd Azim; (-50kg)1-Abhishek Shukla, 2-Yogesh Mishra, 3-KamalGupta, Mohd Nazim; (+ 50kg) 1-SanskarSharma, 2-Ajay Chauhan, 3-Abhay Mishra,Gaurav Soni.

LUCKNOW COLTS BEAT IPRKLucknow Colts thrashed IPRK by eight

wickets in a league match of Shivpal Sawaria T20Cricket League at Rahas Bihari Tiwari Stadiumon Sunday.BRIEF SCORES:IPRK: 126 (Aman 26, Uttam 22, Aryan 20;Basheer 6/2, Noman 20/2, Shalabh 23/2)LC: 128 (Anuj 58, Ajay 41; Abhishek 24/1)

UNITY ACADEMY ENTER SEMISUnity Academy defeated CMS, Kanpur

Road by six wickets to enter the semi-finals ofYorker Under-14 Cricket Tournament on Sunday. BRIEF SCORES:CMS: 119 (Avindra 29, Jai 20; Saqlain 12/4, Tanun7/2, Aman 9/2)UCA: 122 (Saqlain 53, Mohd Razi 25; Prince21/2, Dhruv 2/1)

777 CLUB CRUSH STPL777 Club crushed STPL by seven wickets in

a league match of Lucknow Premier League atPaarth ground on Sunday.BRIEF SCORES:STPL: 109 (Anup 45, Lovekush 33; Arvind 14/2)777: 110 (Dharmendra 51, Jeet 25; Richard 26/2)

MILANI FC WINMilani FC blanked Invincible FC 2-0 in

aleague match of the 3rd ND Rajak MemorialFootball Tournament at La Martiniere groundon Sunday. Nihaal was the lone scorer withstrikes in the 22th and 50th minute.

LOCAL EVENTS

Supermodel MIRANDA KERR andher Snapchat founder and fiancéEVAN SPIEGEL are set to marrysoon.“Kerr and her fiancé are poised toget married imminently. Thesupermodel's family has alreadyflown into Los Angeles fromAustralia,” said a source.

The former Victoria's SecretAngel, 34, and theSnapchat founder, 26,announced theirengagement in July2016 after more thana year of dating.

Kerr revealedthe news byposting aphotograph ofher classic rounddiamond ring. “Isaid yes!” shecaptioned it. Thecouple met in2014. This will be thesecond marriage forKerr, who waspreviously married toactor Orlando Bloomfrom 2010 to 2013.They co-parent theirsix-year-old son, Flynn.

Sushant to givea pep talk

SUSHANT SINGH RAJPUT hasreceived invitation from variouscolleges across the country todeliver a talk on livinghis dream and achiev-ing life and careergoals.

Apparently, the actorwill soon give aguest lecture atsome of the col-leges that alsoincludes the insti-tute where hepassed out from.“When hedropped out of IITDelhi, his friendswould mock himfor having left col-lege mid-way. Now,the actor is beinginvited by his owncollege to conduct asession for their stu-dents,”says a source.The actor is consider-ing the invitation andwill soon be conduct-ing these sessions.

Veteran actressGOLDIE HAWN saysher daughter andactress Kate Hudsondid have a briefdalliance with singerNick Jonas.The 71-year-oldSnatched star even called her38-year-old daughter's formerflame a very nice guy. “Oh, that'stoo funny,” Hawn said when acaller asked about the rumouredromance on a TV show. She added: “Let me tell yousomething, as long as the kidsare having fun I don't care,(Nick)'s a very nice guy.”

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | MAY 15, 2017vivacity 16

Miranda-Evangetting married?

Update yourself with thenew arrivals in the market

TECH

TAKE

Hold that phone

Varun Krishnan

‘It was lovelyto watch ourfilm (You aremy Sunday)with anaudience inoverall thespirit of thefilm

celebrated. I noticemany new things in thefilm with everyscreening and it'sexciting to see howevery audience makeyou watch your ownfilm differently.’—RASIKA DUGAL

Jio launches JioFiber previewJio which disrupted the mobile market in India is set to dis-rupt the broadband market soon. It is planning to launch highspeed broadband services under the JioFiber brand across thecountry. The company has officially started the preview offerfor JioFiber in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Ahmedabad, Jamnagar,Surat and Vadodara. While the company would initially offerspeeds up to 100Mbps on the service, one can expect speedsup to 1Gbps in the near future. While pricing for JioFiber isnot revealed, it is expected to be competitive.

Xiaomi introduces it’sfirst Mi Home store inIndia Xiaomi which initiallysold its products exclu-sively online is nowbetting big in Indiaand is planning tolaunch several Mi-branded stores acrossthe country known asMi Home to tap theoffline market. Thecompany has launchedthe first such store atPhoenix Market City inBengaluru and plans toopen similar MiHomes in Delhi,Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai. The stores will stock allproducts sold on the company’s website and consumers couldeven reserve products. We can also expect to see products whichare not yet launched in India at the store. Xiaomi has Mi homesacross China where the company is head quartered. The storein Bengaluru will open for business on May 20.

Honor 8 Lite with 4GBRAM and 4G VoLTElaunched Huawei is looking to tap thesub-20K price segment withthe launch of the Honor 8Lite. It packs a 5.2-inch FullHD display, powered by aKirin 655 processor, runsAndroid 7.0 (Nougat) withEMUI 5.0, has a 12-megapix-el rear camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing cam-era. It has a fingerprint sen-sor on the glass back,brushed metal finish on thesides. The Honor 8 Lite ispriced at `17999 and will beavailable through all Honorpartner stores offline across India this week.

Nokia phones from HMD Global to hurl in IndiaThe much-awaitedAndroid poweredNokia phones couldlaunch in India inthe month of June.HMD Global whichcalls itself the homeof Nokia phones isexpected to launchthe Nokia 3, 5 and 6devices in anattempt to reclaimthe lost glory of theNokia brand in amarket where it once was the leading player. The rehashed Nokia3310 is also expected to go on sale in the coming weeks.

Changhua city in Taiwan liter-ally doesn’t generate paper

waste. Its senior citizens operatetheir lives on a digital platformand there are bicycle aggregatorsfor easy rides within the city,ensuring a low carbon footprint.

The dynamic changes inphysical, economical and techno-logical environment across theglobe have resulted in cities usingsmart elements to improve thequality of life of their citizens.

Taiwan’s New SouthboundPolicy, introduced by PresidentTsai Ing-wen is seeking to pro-mote the country’s ties with the10 ASEAN nations, includingIndia.

Michael Lin, Director ofthe Taipei World Trade Centreliaison office said, “The com-ponent of a smart city restslargely on critical ICT solu-tions that have the power togive a boost to smart living.Taiwan has been boasting an

array of great smart ICT solu-tions around the world for

many years.” Taiwan is looking to pro-vide its expertise for India’s

Smart Cities mission becausethe country believes that Indiahas a huge regard for innovationand cutting-edge technologyproducts, he adds. “We are eagerto join hands with India and shareour experience in technologyand smart living tools which canbenefit government agencies, theenvironment and residents,” hesays.

There are Taiwanese brandswhich are eager to have

long term partnerships withIndia. Ming-ku Wei said,

“Changhua has plenty experi-ence of renewable energy man-agement and would like to coop-erate with the government ofChennai especially on the smartvehicle parts, smart city manage-ment, and energy saving.

In both technological capabil-ities and local implementation,

Taiwan is taking the lead insmart city development. Taiwanalready has one of the world’sleading technology manufactur-ing sectors. Changhua’s adminis-trative results in energy-savingand carbon-reduction, including“Turn Animal Manure Into CashProject;” the implementation of

YouBike, which establishedChanghua as the first city in cen-tral Taiwan to have public bicy-cles; the promotion of the inter-nal online document submissionand approval system, whichreduces two million piece ofprinting paper annually, achiev-ing the goal of energy-saving

and carbon-reduction effectively;the promotion of internet since2008 to reduce the digital divideand create employment opportu-nities, enabling elderlies to learnhow to use the internet to enrichtheir lives; and also, the promo-tion of the national exclusive“Social Welfare at your Door”project, which allows the house-hold registration system to alsohandle passport and health cardapplications. The administrativemeasures done by the ChanghuaCounty Government in recentyears were not only heart-felt bythe people but also affirmedinternationally. It is hoped that,the future of Changhua can beeven more magnificent and thelives of people more convenientusing smart technology.

Changhua established a safeand secured environment

via promoting the construction ofa smart policing protection net-work. Free Wi-Fi hotspots, whichwould be able to reach 500hotspots at the end of the year,and estimated to reach of goal of1000 hotspots by the middle ofthe following year, enabling thepublic to enjoy the conveniencesof internet.

Director of the Taipei WorldTrade Centre liaison office said,“The component of a smart cityrests largely on critical ICT solu-tions that have the power to givea boost to smart living.”

Taiwanese-based companiesare already collaborating withgovernments across the world toprovide smart solutions in vari-ous areas ranging from increas-ing carbon usage efficiency torenewable energy and hardware

solutions. About India’s aspira-tion to build 100 smart cities,Yang Kuang-Ming, DeputyExecutive Director, strategic mar-keting department, TAITRA said,“The new policy is importantespecially when India has hugepopulations with immense mar-ket potential. The global compet-itiveness of the country in thesoftware space is also very well-known. Taiwan has expertise inhardware production and its awin win situation for both coun-tries.”

The Taiwan excellence award,an initiative of the Taiwan Bureauof Foreign Trade and managed bythe Taiwan External TradeDevelopment Council(TAITRA), represents the inno-vative and technological image ofTaiwan’s most competitive indus-tries and it is a symbol of out-standing reliability, innovationand value.

For Taiwanese brands coop-eration by the Indian governe-ment is essential to develop/assistsmart cities, “The attitude ofany governemen is essential todevelope a smart city. They haveto think beforehand to provideuseful solutions to fulfill the cit-izens’ needs. Show your empathyfor understanding the situation,and build the relationship withtrust to create a win-win state,”said Yang Kuang-Ming

Taiwan Excellence had set upan exclusive pavilion at SmartCities Expo, Pragati Maidan thatshowcased a group of 40 brandswith 86 products in smart ICT,smart healthcare products, inter-net of things (IoT) solutions andsmart-life devices.

Brooding, intense, thinkingwoman’s sex symbol, addscomplexity and depth to

the characters are some descrip-tions that pepper any conversa-tion around the actor IrrfanKhan. But it is not a broodingcharacter that he plays nor inten-sity that he displays in his newmovie, Hindi Medium, whichreleases this week. The actorwould be unfurling his flair forcomedy and his impeccable tim-ing with the movie. “I was dyingto do comedy. After this too, Iwould be doing two more,” saysthe actor, who answers questionspatiently minus any tantrums.

He took on this movie as hewas attracted by the way it dealtwith the topic of parents aspiringto put their children in Englishmedium schools. “The subjectwas not preachy. It is comic. Evenin an issue based film, peopledon't want to be preached to.They go to a movie to be enter-tained. And it's your job as a filmmaker or a story teller as to howyou penetrate the layer, ratherthan putting the issue on the sur-face,” he says. Khan is in the cap-ital where he learnt the nuancesof his craft at National School ofDrama during the 1980s, to pro-mote his movie.

Saba Qamar, a Pakistaniactor, whom Indian audienceshave seen in some popular seri-als like Maat and Waqt Ne KiyaKya Haseen Sitam on the Zindagichannel stars opposite him in themovie. Khan is glad that hismovie has been released withoutmuch brouhaha over the castingof an actor from across the bor-der and is all praise for her. Hesays, “She is very experienced andhas done many series. She tooka little time to adjust as in seriesthere are long takes unlike cine-ma where there are several takesjust for one dialogue Whatworked for her was her sense ofhumour and her comic timing -she has both in ample measure.”

Khan has also bagged yetanother Hollywood project withMarc Turtletaub. He will be star-ring in Puzzle, based on anArgentine movie, Rompecabezas.But this is not the first time that

he would be a part of an interna-tional venture. Inferno (2016),Life of Pi (2012), SlumdogMillionaire (2008) and JurrasicWorld, were some of his previousoutings. “Kelly Macdonald is inthe movie which is a story abouta relationship. It is something thatI have been wanting to do. Thisis a new area for me and I want-ed that some other aspect of mineshould be explored,”

But that is Khan for you.Despite his unconventional looksand the absence of a godfather inan industry which is known tothrive on nepotism, Khan hasmade sure that he makes hismark in every movie that he is apart of. During the screening ofSlumdog Millionaire (2008), JuliaRoberts stepped out of the the-atre to complement him on hisportrayal of a police inspector.

One is naturally curious toknow where he learnt to getunder the skin of the character.Khan says there is no place inIndia where realistic acting istaught. His portrayals are borneout of trial and error. InHollywood there are schools toteach you the way to approach acharacter. He says, “The situa-tions in a movie are not foreign.You have to personalise them andwhen you personalise the char-acter, situation and story you startreflecting on life and behavingaccording to the situation. That'swhen even your breathing comesin sync with the character.”

Khan has always been metic-ulous. The son of a wealthyzamindar from Tonk inRajasthan, before joining movies,Khan tried many different thingsfrom business to service butsoon realised that these did notinterest him. “I understood thattill the time I enjoy doing some-thing I cannot do it continuous-ly. If you are bored out of yourwits within six months, how canyou continue to do it for the restof your life?” he says.

He watched a lot of moviesand found it engaging. “I was fas-cinated by the craft. I watchedDilip Kumar sahib andNaseeruddin Shah and was fas-cinated by their performance

and not by style or glamour. Soit was important for me to learnthe craft," he says. Someone toldhim about the National School ofDrama and also that Shah hadgraduated from the place. Khangot obsessed by acting and theidea that he had to get into NSD.And heavens did conspire tofinally make sure that he got intothe course. “If NSD wasn’t thereI wouldn’t have been here. It hasgiven me everything,” he says.

After graduation Khan want-ed to hone his skills rather thanentering the industry immediate-ly. But things worked out a littledifferently for him as comparedto the average Bollywood strug-gler. “I was in drama school andsome small offers started comingto me. Perhaps they weren’t to myliking, but were enough to sur-vive. I was planning to stay inDelhi and work with Repertorytill the time I felt I was ready. Butit didn't work out that way,” saysKhan, whose first role was inMira Nair’s Salaam Bombay!(1988) - which was chopped atthe editing table.

Since then he has played avariety of characters, many ofwhich he feels, were importantmilestones in his career. FromHaasil where he played RanvijaySingh, a character which gothim the Filmfare Award for BestPerformance in a Negative Roleto Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool(2003) where he was pittedagainst stalwarts like PankajKapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, OmPuri and Tabu. Pan Singh Tomar(2011) , a biopic grabbed eyeballsas did Life in a Metro (2006) andPiku (2014), where he displayedhis flair for comedy.

In Piku he felt the directorwas important as he was notaffected by star presence. “All ofus completely trusted him. It wascollective trust that made itenjoyable. For me the discoveryof Deepika (Padukone) as anactor was pleasing. I will alwayscherish those memories,” he says.

But then there are thosemovies which did not work too.“There are few which have givenme some very special momentsBut then there are so many

movies that I did and I believedin but they didn’t work. But thatis what is mysterious about thisindustry. You can’t say what willwork,” he says. He recalls thatwhen he saw The Namesake(2006) for the first time, he neverthought it would have so much ofimpact but when he saw it for thethird time it threw up a complete-ly different perspective. “Thereare few films that grow on you,”he says with a quiet confidence.

Khan has worked in differentfi lm industries - Hindi,Hollywood, British and has alsoacted in a Japanese web series andalso one for Netflix. “This hashelped me to expand my craft. Itis an exposure as every directorhas a different sensibility and itaffects your approach to the role.A person who is making a filmfor the regional audience is dif-ferent from one who makes it fora national audience or a univer-sal audience - all have differentapproaches and so that changesyour approach,” says the actor,who has recieved the PadmaShri, India’s fourth highest civil-ian award in 2011

But when one asks how muchhas the actor and the personchanged with time, the otherwisearticulate actor pauses and givesit a thought before answering.“The first and foremost thingabout acting is that you have toreflect on yourself. It is a kind ofmeditation where you see your-self as a third person and objec-tively. Once you understandyourself, then you put this under-standing to work. When youstart reflecting on different sto-ries, situations and yourself, youchange.”

What gives him immensesatisfaction is the way he con-nects with the audience. He says,“Acknowledgement is not just kyabadhia acting ki hai but also theexperience that you get. And thefact that through our own expe-rience through stories, it is reach-ing out to people. And that ismore precious -- this acknowl-edgment.” And that is what hecontinues to do - establish a con-nection.

Photo: Pankaj Kumar

Rather than intensity, IRRFAN KHAN wants to display his flair for comedy in hisupcoming movie. He talks to SAIMI SATTAR about Hindi Medium and more

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