16
I n an unprecedented order of its type, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre and the Assam Government to immediately transfer the State’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) Coordinator Prateek Hajela to Madhya Pradesh for the maximum period possible. Hajela has been facing threats and criticism from several quarters for exclusion of names from the updated NRC list. A native of Madhya Pradesh and a 1995 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre with BTech in Electronics from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Hajela was appointed the NRC coordina- tor by the top court to oversee the mammoth and sensitive exercise of finalising and pub- lication of Assam NRC data. A special Bench compris- ing Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices SA Bobde and RF Nariman ordered the inter- cadre transfer of Hajela on deputation to his native State for maximum possible period. Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, sought to know the reason behind the unprece- dented order of the top court, to which the CJI responded, “can any order be passed with- out a cause or reason”. The Bench, however, did not spec- ify the cause or the reason for passing the order, leading to speculation that the officer might be apprehending some kind of threat. Two FIRs were filed last month against Hajela for “dis- crepancies” in the final updat- ed NRC list. A lawyer and indigenous Muslim students’ organisation — All Assam Goriya-Moriya Yuva Chatra Parishad (AAGMYCP) — filed separate FIRs against Hajela in Dibrugarh and Guwahati. Chandan Mazumdar, whose name does not figure in the final NRC list, filed the complaint against Hajela at Dibrugarh police station. Mazumdar alleged that he had submitted all documents, but his name was not included in the updated NRC due to “inef- ficiency and criminal conspir- acy of employees”. The FIR held Hajela responsible for “discrepancies”, as he was tasked with super- vising the NRC updation exer- cise in Assam. Another complaint was lodged against the NRC coor- dinator at Guwahati’s Latasil police station by the AAGMY- CP, claiming “deliberate” anom- alies in the final list. “The names of many indigenous people were excluded from the list, and it was done deliberately by the NRC State Coordinator,” the FIR filed by the students organisation said. Meanwhile, IG (Special Branch) Hiren Nath said no report was sought from Assam police about threat to Hajela. “Reports about threat per- ception to Hajela have not been sought from us. There have been, however, criticism against Hajela in the social media. Various organisations in Assam are vocal on the NRC with many speaking against the NRC and the State Coordinator,” he said. P utting Pakistan on notice, the international terror financing watchdog FATF on Friday warned it will be black- listed if it does not control ter- ror funding by February next, voicing serious concern over that country’s failure to deliv- er on most of its 27 targets. The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gave the warning to Pakistan at its five-day plenary which con- cluded here on Friday while deciding to again put the coun- try on the “Grey List”. By mak- ing this decision on Pakistan public, the FATF has given notice to the global financial institutions that they need to prepare to red flag the juris- diction and ready their systems in February 2020 if the coun- try falters in meeting the tar- gets. “It was again decided by consensus that FATF would retain Pakistan on the Grey List and warn Pakistan that if it did not complete its full Action Plan and show significant and sustainable progress action will be taken,” said an official privy to the development said. Since Pakistan continues to be in the FATF “Grey List”, it would be very difficult for the country to get financial aid from the IMF, the World Bank, ADB and the European Union. There is also the risk of reduction in rating by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch, making Pakistan’s financial condition more precarious. According to a FATF state- ment, the FATF plenary noted that Pakistan addressed only five out of the 27 tasks given to it in controlling funding to ter- ror groups like the Lashkar-e- Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen, responsi- ble for a series of attacks in India. The FATF said it strongly urges Pakistan to swiftly com- plete its full action plan by February 2020. “Otherwise, should signif- icant and sustainable progress not be made across the full range of its action plan by the next plenary, the FATF will take action, which could include the FATF calling on its members and urging all jurisdictions to advise their Financial Institutions to give special attention to business relations and transactions with Pakistan,” the global body said in the statement. Such action could include calling upon global financial institutions to give special attention to business relations and transactions with Pakistan. This language is the same as used for Iran, which is already in the blacklist category. I n an embarrassment for the Congress, two days before the crucial Assembly elections in Haryana, party chief Sonia Gandhi cancelled her only poll rally scheduled for Friday in Mahendragarth. Partymen had prepared round the clock to make the rally a huge success and expect- ed that Sonia will use the occa- sion to counter the high- pitched campaign by BJP lead- ers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This was scheduled to be Sonia’s first public appearance after taking as interim presi- dent from her son Rahul Gandhi post the Lok Sabha debacle. In her place, Rahul Gandhi addressed the rally. “She has a viral infection, so she asked me to meet you and talk to you. I will come even at the last second on your call,” Rahul Gandhi said at the rally. The news of Sonia’s can- celling her programme came through a social media message from Haryana Congress. “@RahulGandhi ji will be addressing a public meeting at Mahendragarh today, at 2 PM. @INCIndia president Sonia Gandhi ji will not be able to attend the meeting due to unavoidable reasons,” the Haryana Congress said. Rahul Gandhi has already held rallies for the October 21 Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana and it was his sec- ond rally in Haryana. I n a major initiative to empower girls, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has given the nod for their admis- sion into Sainik schools all over the country. So far, only boys were allowed to study in these schools. There are 31 such schools. The project to have such schools to serve as nurs- ery for grooming future Service personnel was started in 1961. Giving details of the new endeavour here on Friday, Defence Ministry officials said the Minister approved the admission of girls from acad- emic session 2021-22 in a phased manner. The decision is in line with strengthening the motto of “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” propagated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The decision has been taken following the success of the pilot project started by the Ministry of Defence for admis- sion of girl children in Sainik School Chhingchhip in Mizoram two years ago,” the Ministry said in a statement. Officials also said Singh has directed authorities to ensure availability of necessary infra- structure and sufficient female staff in Sainik schools for smooth implementation of the directive. Moreover, the decision is in line with the objective of the Government towards greater inclusiveness, gender equality and enabling greater partici- pation of women in armed forces. Most of the Sainik schools are residential and run by the Defence Ministry except in Lucknow which is adminis- tered and funded by the UP Government. T he CBI on Friday filed a chargehseet in the INX Media corruption case, naming 14 individuals and entities, including former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, his son Karti, and then additional secretary in Department of Economic Affairs Sindhushree Khullar. They have been charged with committing offences under various IPC sections relating to criminal conspiracy and cheating and also under the Prevention of Corruption Act for causing loss to the exchequer. Then Director in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board Prabodh Saxena, then Joint Secretary and Undersecretary in the Department of Economic Affairs Anup K Pujari and R Prasad respectively have also been chargesheeted, CBI offi- cials said. All the chargesheet- ed persons have been accused of involvement in the criminal conspiracy for irregular clear- ance of FDI to INX to the tune of 307 crore. Two companies allegedly controlled by Karti Singapore unit Advantage Strategic Consultancy Private Limited and Chess Management Services Private Limited — have also been named in the chargesheet. These companies are alleged to have laundered the bribe money. Then INX promoters Peter Mukherjea and his then wife Indrani allegedly trans- ferred money to these compa- nies for alleged favours in the irregular approval of the FDI. M obile snatchers are having a field day in Delhi. After mugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi's niece Damayanti Ben Modi in North Delhi's Civil Lines area earlier this month, bike-borne snatch- ers targeted Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel’s sec- retary Ajay Rawal and a senior Indian Air Force official on Thursday. According to police, while Rawal’s i-Phone 6 was wrenched from his grasp by three bike-borne men when he was walking to a market near his home in outer Delhi’s Paschim Vihar in the evening, the IAF senior official’s mobile was snatched at Connaught Place in highly secured New Delhi district in the morning on the same day. “I left my home around 7 pm to go to GH-13 block mar- ket in Paschim Vihar. I was walking near Kendriya Vidyalaya when the three men came on a bike. I was talking to someone on the phone when one of the pillion riders snatched the phone from my hand and fled on bike," Rawal, 42, who lives with his family in Ambika Vihar in Paschim Vihar, said in his complaint. “A case under section 356/379/34 of IPC has been registered at Paschim Vihar police station. Police teams are scanning CCTV footage in the area to identify and nab the snatchers,” said a police official. In the 51-year-old senior IAF official case, police said they received a complaint from the victim identified as G Thomas, who stated that he was cycling in Connaught Place in the morning when two bike- borne people, in their 20s, snatched his pouch containing a One Plus 6 phone and 200. "The miscreants then sped off. The IAF officer was near Baba Kharak Singh Marg at the time of incident. A case has been registered and police teams are analysing CCTV footage to nab the accused," said the senior police official. Earlier this week on Monday, two bike-borne men snatched the mobile phone of a metropolitan magistrate in North Delhi's Kamla Nagar while he was talking on his phone in front of his house. On September 22, a woman journalist was injured after she attempted to resist a snatching bid in South Delhi's CR Park while she was return- ing home in an auto-rickshaw. F or those of you who have seen the new 100 note, you would have noticed that there is a stepwell featured on it. Stepwells are a common feature across many parts of western India and were commonly used by Rajput kings and their pre- decessors in the earliest exam- ple of rainwater harvesting. Many of them have fallen into disrepair and disuse though they were all ornate at one time. Many, because they were often associated with religion, were destroyed when invading armies came into the region. But not the stepwell we see on the 100 note. The Rani Ki Vav at Patan, Gujarat, survived thanks to it being covered in sand and mud. Whether that was a delib- erate act to protect it from armies that raided the pros- perous traders of Gujarat is unknown, but it survived. It was not affected by the large-scale loot of antiquities by colonial powers thanks to it being lost in time and it was not “discov- ered” until after Independence and excavated in 1958. We might criticise the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) for several things, includ- ing the large-scale “disappear- ance” of historical monuments in a city like New Delhi but it must be complimented for the astounding work it has done in restoring the Rani Ki Vav, which is a major reason that UNESCO made it a world her- itage site. However, if there is any criticism of the ASI, it is that there can be much more information on the impor- tance of the gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon, who have been painstakingly carved in three-dimensional ways into the stone. This site is a tremen- dous validation of the skills of craftsmen from Gujarat. There is also the spectacu- lar Surya Mandir in Modhera an hour from Patan, with its 12 carved “adityas” or manifesta- tions inside, which is a must- visit. Both the well and the tem- ple were built during the rule of Bhima I, the founder of the great Solanki dynasty, the well being built by his consort, Queen Udaymati. These sites, just a couple of hours from Ahmedabad, are a reminder of not only the great wealth of this part of the nation, which is as true now as it was then, but also the skill and patience of the rulers and the people. It is a crying shame that there are fewer and fewer peo- ple taking up some of these intricate crafts. The Patola saris of Patan for example, with geometrical designs inspired by patterns on the vav, and the “double-ikat” method, requiring an under- standing of complex mathe- matics, used to be made by 200 families. New Delhi: Nearly 2,000 instances of stubble burning were recorded this year in Haryana and Punjab, with highest occurrences in Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Patiala, Karnal, Kaithal and Kurukshetra, the Central Pollution Control Board said on Friday. According to the CPCB data, a total of 3,202 active fire events have been recorded in Haryana and Punjab in 2019 against 2,544 such inci- dents in 2018. “In Haryana, 1,631 stubble burning instances have been reported in 2019 till now while in Punjab 1,571 such case were recorded,” the CPCB data showed. Stubble burning signifi- cantly contributes to increasing pollution in the national capital. A senior CPCB official said presently about 7 per cent pollution in Delhi is caused due to stubble burning in sur- rounding States. “However, depending upon the wind speed and direc- tion, its contribution might increase in the coming days,” he said. The data given by the CPCB showed that in Punjab this year the top three areas where highest number of instances of stubble burning was recorded were Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Patiala. Amritsar recorded 452 instances, Tarn Taran 346 and Patiala witnessed 180 cases, it said. In Haryana, the top three areas where highest number of instances of stubble burning were recorded were Karnal, Kaithal and Kurukshetra, the data said. In Karnal, 404 instances were observed while in Kaithal 323 incidents were observed and in Kurukshetra 284 active fire incidents were observed, the data showed. The CPCB also gave data from 2018 when a total of 2016 active fire events were record- ed from Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Patiala, Karnal, Kaithal and Kurukshetra. PTI

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In an unprecedented order ofits type, the Supreme Court

on Friday directed the Centreand the Assam Government toimmediately transfer the State’sNational Register of Citizens(NRC) Coordinator PrateekHajela to Madhya Pradesh forthe maximum period possible.Hajela has been facing threatsand criticism from severalquarters for exclusion of namesfrom the updated NRC list.

A native of MadhyaPradesh and a 1995 batch IASofficer of Assam-Meghalayacadre with BTech in Electronicsfrom Indian Institute ofTechnology, Delhi, Hajela wasappointed the NRC coordina-tor by the top court to overseethe mammoth and sensitiveexercise of finalising and pub-lication of Assam NRC data.

A special Bench compris-ing Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoiand justices SA Bobde and RFNariman ordered the inter-cadre transfer of Hajela ondeputation to his native Statefor maximum possible period.

Attorney General KKVenugopal, appearing for theCentre, sought to know thereason behind the unprece-dented order of the top court,to which the CJI responded,“can any order be passed with-out a cause or reason”. TheBench, however, did not spec-

ify the cause or the reason forpassing the order, leading tospeculation that the officermight be apprehending somekind of threat.

Two FIRs were filed lastmonth against Hajela for “dis-crepancies” in the final updat-ed NRC list. A lawyer andindigenous Muslim students’organisation — All AssamGoriya-Moriya Yuva ChatraParishad (AAGMYCP) — filedseparate FIRs against Hajela inDibrugarh and Guwahati.

Chandan Mazumdar,whose name does not figure inthe final NRC list, filed thecomplaint against Hajela atDibrugarh police station.Mazumdar alleged that he hadsubmitted all documents, buthis name was not included inthe updated NRC due to “inef-ficiency and criminal conspir-acy of employees”.

The FIR held Hajelaresponsible for “discrepancies”,as he was tasked with super-vising the NRC updation exer-

cise in Assam.Another complaint was

lodged against the NRC coor-dinator at Guwahati’s Latasilpolice station by the AAGMY-CP, claiming “deliberate” anom-alies in the final list. “Thenames of many indigenouspeople were excluded from thelist, and it was done deliberatelyby the NRC State Coordinator,”the FIR filed by the studentsorganisation said.

Meanwhile, IG (SpecialBranch) Hiren Nath said noreport was sought from Assampolice about threat to Hajela.

“Reports about threat per-ception to Hajela have notbeen sought from us. Therehave been, however, criticismagainst Hajela in the socialmedia. Various organisations inAssam are vocal on the NRCwith many speaking against theNRC and the StateCoordinator,” he said.

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Putting Pakistan on notice,the international terror

financing watchdog FATF onFriday warned it will be black-listed if it does not control ter-ror funding by February next,voicing serious concern overthat country’s failure to deliv-er on most of its 27 targets.

The Paris-based FinancialAction Task Force (FATF) gavethe warning to Pakistan at itsfive-day plenary which con-cluded here on Friday whiledeciding to again put the coun-try on the “Grey List”. By mak-ing this decision on Pakistanpublic, the FATF has givennotice to the global financialinstitutions that they need toprepare to red flag the juris-diction and ready their systemsin February 2020 if the coun-try falters in meeting the tar-gets.

“It was again decided byconsensus that FATF wouldretain Pakistan on the Grey Listand warn Pakistan that if it didnot complete its full ActionPlan and show significant andsustainable progress action will

be taken,” said an official privyto the development said.

Since Pakistan continues tobe in the FATF “Grey List”, itwould be very difficult for thecountry to get financial aidfrom the IMF, the WorldBank, ADB and the EuropeanUnion. There is also the risk ofreduction in rating by Moody’s,S&P and Fitch, makingPakistan’s financial conditionmore precarious.

According to a FATF state-ment, the FATF plenary notedthat Pakistan addressed onlyfive out of the 27 tasks given toit in controlling funding to ter-ror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad andHizbul Mujahideen, responsi-ble for a series of attacks inIndia.

The FATF said it stronglyurges Pakistan to swiftly com-

plete its full action plan byFebruary 2020.

“Otherwise, should signif-icant and sustainable progressnot be made across the fullrange of its action plan by thenext plenary, the FATF will takeaction, which could include theFATF calling on its membersand urging all jurisdictions toadvise their FinancialInstitutions to give specialattention to business relationsand transactions withPakistan,” the global body saidin the statement.

Such action could includecalling upon global financialinstitutions to give specialattention to business relationsand transactions with Pakistan.

This language is the sameas used for Iran, which isalready in the blacklist category.

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In an embarrassment for theCongress, two days before

the crucial Assembly electionsin Haryana, party chief SoniaGandhi cancelled her only pollrally scheduled for Friday inMahendragarth.

Partymen had preparedround the clock to make therally a huge success and expect-ed that Sonia will use the occa-sion to counter the high-pitched campaign by BJP lead-ers, including Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

This was scheduled to beSonia’s first public appearanceafter taking as interim presi-dent from her son RahulGandhi post the Lok Sabhadebacle. In her place, RahulGandhi addressed the rally.

“She has a viral infection,so she asked me to meet youand talk to you. I will comeeven at the last second onyour call,” Rahul Gandhi saidat the rally.

The news of Sonia’s can-

celling her programme camethrough a social media messagefrom Haryana Congress.

“@RahulGandhi ji will beaddressing a public meeting atMahendragarh today, at 2 PM.@INCIndia president SoniaGandhi ji will not be able toattend the meeting due tounavoidable reasons,” theHaryana Congress said.

Rahul Gandhi has alreadyheld rallies for the October 21Assembly polls in Maharashtraand Haryana and it was his sec-ond rally in Haryana.

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In a major initiative toempower girls, Defence

Minister Rajnath Singh hasgiven the nod for their admis-sion into Sainik schools all overthe country. So far, only boyswere allowed to study in theseschools. There are 31 suchschools. The project to havesuch schools to serve as nurs-ery for grooming future Servicepersonnel was started in 1961.

Giving details of the newendeavour here on Friday,Defence Ministry officials saidthe Minister approved theadmission of girls from acad-emic session 2021-22 in aphased manner. The decision isin line with strengthening themotto of “Beti Bachao BetiPadhao” propagated by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

“The decision has beentaken following the success ofthe pilot project started by theMinistry of Defence for admis-sion of girl children in SainikSchool Chhingchhip inMizoram two years ago,” theMinistry said in a statement.

Officials also said Singh hasdirected authorities to ensureavailability of necessary infra-structure and sufficient femalestaff in Sainik schools forsmooth implementation of thedirective.

Moreover, the decision is inline with the objective of theGovernment towards greaterinclusiveness, gender equalityand enabling greater partici-pation of women in armedforces.

Most of the Sainik schoolsare residential and run by theDefence Ministry except inLucknow which is adminis-tered and funded by the UPGovernment.

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The CBI on Friday filed achargehseet in the INX

Media corruption case, naming14 individuals and entities,including former FinanceMinister P Chidambaram, hisson Karti, and then additionalsecretary in Department ofEconomic Affairs SindhushreeKhullar.

They have been chargedwith committing offencesunder various IPC sectionsrelating to criminal conspiracyand cheating and also underthe Prevention of CorruptionAct for causing loss to theexchequer.

Then Director in theForeign Investment PromotionBoard Prabodh Saxena, thenJoint Secretary andUndersecretary in theDepartment of EconomicAffairs Anup K Pujari and RPrasad respectively have alsobeen chargesheeted, CBI offi-cials said. All the chargesheet-ed persons have been accusedof involvement in the criminal

conspiracy for irregular clear-ance of FDI to INX to the tuneof �307 crore.

Two companies allegedlycontrolled by Karti —Singapore unit AdvantageStrategic Consultancy PrivateLimited and ChessManagement Services PrivateLimited — have also beennamed in the chargesheet.

These companies are allegedto have laundered the bribemoney. Then INX promotersPeter Mukherjea and his thenwife Indrani allegedly trans-ferred money to these compa-nies for alleged favours in theirregular approval of the FDI.

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Mobile snatchers are havinga field day in Delhi. After

mugging Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's nieceDamayanti Ben Modi in NorthDelhi's Civil Lines area earlierthis month, bike-borne snatch-ers targeted Delhi AssemblySpeaker Ram Niwas Goel’s sec-retary Ajay Rawal and a seniorIndian Air Force official onThursday.

According to police, whileRawal’s i-Phone 6 waswrenched from his grasp bythree bike-borne men when hewas walking to a market nearhis home in outer Delhi’sPaschim Vihar in the evening,the IAF senior official’s mobilewas snatched at ConnaughtPlace in highly secured NewDelhi district in the morningon the same day.

“I left my home around 7pm to go to GH-13 block mar-ket in Paschim Vihar. I waswalking near KendriyaVidyalaya when the three mencame on a bike. I was talking tosomeone on the phone whenone of the pillion riderssnatched the phone from myhand and fled on bike," Rawal,42, who lives with his family inAmbika Vihar in PaschimVihar, said in his complaint.

“A case under section356/379/34 of IPC has beenregistered at Paschim Viharpolice station. Police teams arescanning CCTV footage in thearea to identify and nab thesnatchers,” said a police official.

In the 51-year-old seniorIAF official case, police saidthey received a complaint fromthe victim identified as GThomas, who stated that he

was cycling in Connaught Placein the morning when two bike-borne people, in their 20s,snatched his pouch containinga One Plus 6 phone and �200.

"The miscreants then spedoff. The IAF officer was nearBaba Kharak Singh Marg at thetime of incident. A case hasbeen registered and policeteams are analysing CCTVfootage to nab the accused,"said the senior police official.

Earlier this week onMonday, two bike-borne mensnatched the mobile phone ofa metropolitan magistrate inNorth Delhi's Kamla Nagarwhile he was talking on hisphone in front of his house.

On September 22, awoman journalist was injuredafter she attempted to resist asnatching bid in South Delhi'sCR Park while she was return-ing home in an auto-rickshaw.

For those of you who haveseen the new �100 note, you

would have noticed that thereis a stepwell featured on it.Stepwells are a common featureacross many parts of westernIndia and were commonly usedby Rajput kings and their pre-decessors in the earliest exam-ple of rainwater harvesting.Many of them have fallen intodisrepair and disuse thoughthey were all ornate at one time.Many, because they were oftenassociated with religion, weredestroyed when invadingarmies came into the region.But not the stepwell we see onthe �100 note. The Rani Ki Vav

at Patan, Gujarat, survivedthanks to it being covered insand and mud.

Whether that was a delib-erate act to protect it fromarmies that raided the pros-perous traders of Gujarat isunknown, but it survived. It was

not affected by the large-scaleloot of antiquities by colonialpowers thanks to it being lostin time and it was not “discov-ered” until after Independenceand excavated in 1958.

We might criticise theArcheological Survey of India

(ASI) for several things, includ-ing the large-scale “disappear-ance” of historical monumentsin a city like New Delhi but itmust be complimented for theastounding work it has done inrestoring the Rani Ki Vav,which is a major reason thatUNESCO made it a world her-itage site. However, if there isany criticism of the ASI, it isthat there can be much moreinformation on the impor-tance of the gods and goddessesof the Hindu pantheon, whohave been painstakingly carvedin three-dimensional ways intothe stone. This site is a tremen-dous validation of the skills ofcraftsmen from Gujarat.

There is also the spectacu-

lar Surya Mandir in Modheraan hour from Patan, with its 12carved “adityas” or manifesta-tions inside, which is a must-visit. Both the well and the tem-ple were built during the rule ofBhima I, the founder of thegreat Solanki dynasty, the wellbeing built by his consort,Queen Udaymati. These sites,just a couple of hours fromAhmedabad, are a reminder ofnot only the great wealth of thispart of the nation, which is astrue now as it was then, but alsothe skill and patience of therulers and the people.

It is a crying shame thatthere are fewer and fewer peo-ple taking up some of theseintricate crafts.

The Patola saris of Patanfor example, with geometricaldesigns inspired by patterns onthe vav, and the “double-ikat”method, requiring an under-standing of complex mathe-matics, used to be made by 200families.

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New Delhi: Nearly 2,000instances of stubble burningwere recorded this year inHaryana and Punjab, withhighest occurrences inAmritsar, Tarn Taran, Patiala,Karnal, Kaithal andKurukshetra, the CentralPollution Control Board saidon Friday.

According to the CPCBdata, a total of 3,202 active fireevents have been recorded inHaryana and Punjab in 2019 against 2,544 such inci-dents in 2018.

“In Haryana, 1,631 stubbleburning instances have beenreported in 2019 till now whilein Punjab 1,571 such case wererecorded,” the CPCB datashowed.

Stubble burning signifi-cantly contributes to increasingpollution in the national capital.

A senior CPCB officialsaid presently about 7 per centpollution in Delhi is caused dueto stubble burning in sur-rounding States.

“However, dependingupon the wind speed and direc-

tion, its contribution might increase in the comingdays,” he said.

The data given by theCPCB showed that in Punjabthis year the top three areaswhere highest number ofinstances of stubble burningwas recorded were Amritsar,Tarn Taran, Patiala.

Amritsar recorded 452instances, Tarn Taran 346 andPatiala witnessed 180 cases, itsaid.

In Haryana, the top threeareas where highest number ofinstances of stubble burningwere recorded were Karnal,Kaithal and Kurukshetra, thedata said.

In Karnal, 404 instanceswere observed while in Kaithal323 incidents were observedand in Kurukshetra 284 activefire incidents were observed,the data showed.

The CPCB also gave datafrom 2018 when a total of 2016active fire events were record-ed from Amritsar, Tarn Taran,Patiala, Karnal, Kaithal andKurukshetra. PTI

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on

Friday appealed to PakistanPrime Minister Imran Khanto withdraw the $20 feeimposed by his Governmenton pilgrims visiting KartarpurSahib Gurdwara.

“I appeal to@ImranKhanPTI to withdraw$20 fee imposed by@PakGovernment on pilgrimsto Kartarpur Sahib to facilitate`khulle darshan deedar' of thefinal resting place of GuruNanak Ji Sahib. The world Sikhcommunity will be grateful forthis gesture on the part ofIslamabad,” Capt Amarindertweeted his appeal to ImranKhan.

In a statement later, hepointed out that a pilgrimage tothe historic gurdwara, whichwas revered the world over asthe final resting place of SriGuru Nanak Dev ji, was the ful-filment of a cherished dream forthe entire Sikh community.

The imposition of the fee,as well as other conditionslike a mandatory passportand 30-day prior onlinenotice by the devotees, wouldobstruct the realization ofthe dream of the pilgrims,many of whom were poormen and women who couldnot afford such fee and also

had no access of the Internet,said the Chief Minister.

“Let these people not bedeprived of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for`khulle darshan’ of the his-toric Gurdwara, he added.

Pointing out that thedevelopment of KartarpurCorridor was aimed at pro-viding free access to the pil-grims during the 550thPrakash Purb celebration ofthe first Sikh Guru, CaptAmarinder said these difficultpre-conditions would defeatthis very objective.

By agreeing to constructthe Corridor, the Pakistangovernment had made a verylaudable gesture, which theSikh community really appre-ciated, said the ChiefMinister, adding that theImran Khan governmentshould follow it up with thegesture of revoking its deci-sion to impose the pilgrimagefee and also easing otherrestrictions it had announcedon the devotees.

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Students of schools from ruralareas in the State on Friday

became the face of anti-stubbleburning campaign of the Punjabgovernment by hitting thestreets to sensitize the farmersabout need of conserving theenvironment by not burning thepaddy straw.

Children studying inschools situated in rural areasparticipated in the anti-stubbleburning rallies organized inthe respective villages to dis-seminate the message of clean,green and pollution free Punjab.The move was a part of Punjab

government’s initiative to min-imize the incidence of paddystraw burning in the state.

The participating studentswho were carrying placardsand banners regarding theharmful effects of paddy strawburning made the people awareof the need for not burning thepaddy stubble by shouting slo-gans against pollution.

Secretary Agriculture,Kahan Singh Pannu said thatthis initiative was taken by thestate government to involvestudents of schools to make avaluable contribution in bring-ing awareness amongst farmersagainst the menace of stubble

burning.The students of

primary, middle, highand senior secondaryschools in the ruralareas, both in govern-ment sector and pri-vate sector, participat-ed in the awarenesscreation programmeheld from 9 am to 10am to create awarenessagainst unhealthypractice of stubbleburning. During theserallies Studentsapprised the farmersabout the damagecaused by stubbleburning to the soilhealth and the envi-

ronment. The rallies focused on cre-

ating awareness amongst farm-ers to preserve the fertility of soilby not indulging in this haz-ardous practice on one handand making our state clean,green and pollution free on theother. The students also educat-ed the people about the envi-ronmental pollution besidesappealing them to stop the useof fire crackers in the ensuingDiwali thereby effectively dis-seminating the message of SriGuru Nanak Dev Ji for conser-vation of nature in wake of the550th Prakash Purb Celebrationsof the first Sikh Guru.

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Himachal Additional ChiefElectoral Officer Rupali

Thakur on Friday said that theState Election Department wasmaking all out efforts to ensurefree and fair By-elections inPachhad and Dharamshala onOctober 21.

She said 202 polling sta-tions have been set in both theACs, out of which 113 inPachhad and 89 inDharamshala.

While 82137 voters willcast their votes that in

Dharamshala, 74487 will votein Pachhad.

Moreover, 13 pollingbooths in Pachhad and 10 inDharamshala have been iden-tified as vulnerable polling sta-tions, while 4 polling stationshave been categorized as crit-ical in Dharamshala.

The Additional CEO said89 polling parties, consisting of356 personnel in Dharamshalaand 113 polling parties, con-sisting of 452 personnel havebeen deployed in Pachhad for smooth conduction of By-elections.

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Making a stinging attack on theCongress, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi on Friday said noone - neither jawans nor farmers orsportspersons were safe under theCongress misrule, terming abro-gation of Article 370 his real trib-ute to brave soldiers.

Lashing out at the party for notsupporting it on Balakot or Article370 decisions, Modi asked ‘whatsort of chemistry the Congress haswith Pakistan’. "Pakistan uses theCongress to strengthen its caseglobally on issues against India," hesaid as he slammed the oppositionparty for not supporting its deci-sion taken in the national interest.

"Whenever we talk of SwachhBharat or surgical strike, theCongress gets stomach ache. Andif by chance anyone says Balakot,then Congress starts jumping withpain. Pakistan uses them tostrengthen their case globally, whatsort of chemistry is this?" he added.

Confident of his party BJP'sreturn in the state, Modi said theCongress indulged in corruption inagriculture and did scams in sports.

He was addressing public meet-ings, first in Gohana in Sonipat dis-trict and later in Hisar town, aheadof polling for the 90-memberHaryana Assembly on Monday.

Modi said the Congress in thestate has already accepted defeat. "It

was clear in their talks in thevideo that they were saying that itwould be enough if they win 10-15seats. These are their words andmade just before the elections.Those who have already accepted

their defeat and gave up the groundcan't do anything for Haryana,"Modi said while referring to a pur-ported video which went viral a fewdays back.

The video showed Congress

leaders counting seats outsideParliament and arguing about theirdismal prospects across the state. Inhis address both in Gohana andHisar, Modi didn't forget to remindthe public that Monday being a hol-

iday owing to polling, making it anextended weekend, they shouldnot miss the opportunity to exer-cise their franchise.

"Since October 21 is Monday,people will get two leaves -- Sunday(October 20) and Monday(October 21), the day polling willtake place. You should remainpresent at their local booth andensure huge turnout."

On the Centre's decision toabrogate Article 370 in Jammu andKashmir, Modi said: "On August 5,the unexpected happened. Jammuand Kashmir saw a change it need-ed. No one could have imagined.India's Constitution in entiretybecame applicable in Jammu andKashmir." The Prime Minister saidcorruption was rampant in sportsduring Congress' rule. Referringthe number of athletes Sonipat hasproduced, he said: "This region hasmade India proud in every field, beit fighting in the wrestling ring orfighting against terrorism. Sonipatmeans Kisan, Jawan aur Pehlwan."

"The Congress can blame meas much as they want but peopleof this country are with me. I thankyou all for the support." He alsodismissed the opposition as a"divided lot". "When the BJP gov-ernment in Haryana was takingdecisive steps for development ofstate, what was the oppositiondoing? They couldn't fight with us,so they were busy fighting amongthemselves. They destabilised their

parties for self-interest, can theygive stability to Haryana?" askedModi.

Modi also attacked theDushyant Chautala-led JannayakJanta Party, stating that people ofthe state has rejected its politicsand strategy.

Lauding the five-year term ofthe Khattar-led government in thestate, the PM told people that theywould have to decide betweenthose who delivered and those whoindulged in misdeeds.

Patt ing Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar's back, Modisaid corruption was rampant dur-ing the Congress' rule. Even insports, there was corruption. "Butit all changed after 2014. Since thenthe government has taken severalsteps in the field of sports."

“Congress is neither concernedabout unity of India nor theConstitution given by Baba SahebAmbedkar. Those who are notworried about Maa Bharti and thesoil , and dignity of theConstitution, should Haryanashow any concern for them. Shouldthey be punished or not. "In theseelections, you send them backpacking and ask them to relax.They destroyed the country a lot,”he said. Gohana falls in Sonipatdistrict, which is considered as astronghold of former ChiefMinister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Out of six assembly segmentsin Sonipat, five are represented by

Congress MLAs and one BJP. FromBaroda here, the BJP this time hasfielded wrestler-turned-politicianYogeshwar Dutt.

However, both Hooda and hisson Deepender Singh Hooda lostthe Lok Sabha polls from Sonipatand Rohtak parliamentary con-stituencies, respectively and Moditook a veiled dig at them, tellingpeople "You broke arrogance of bigleaders in Lok Sabha polls”.

The prime minister alsoreferred to Sonipat as land of"kisan, jawans and pehalwans" ---“trishaktis” which are contributingin nation building.

In a veiled attack on Hooda, hesaid, “Those who were thinkingthat Sonipat, Rohtak and Jind aretheir bastions, people gave theirverdict (in LS polls). The BJP hadwon all 10 Lok Sabha seats fromHaryana. “For those in public life,people of Haryana gave a lesson.Without people''s blessings noteven a leaf can move, but thosewho think they are ''Shenshah'' andwhen their arrogance reachesCloud 9, then they meet the samefate,” he said.

Apparently referring to theviolence that broke out during theJat quota reservation stir threeyears ago in Haryana, Modi saidthose who spoiled brotherhoodwere taught a lesson.

“You showed in democracythat people are supreme and theirwishes are above all,” he said.

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Hitting out the BJP-led centralGovernment over the slowdown,

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi onFriday said that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi ''does not know any-thing about economics''.

Addressing his second rally atMahendragarh in the Ahirwal regionof the State, seen as a BJP citadel, aheadof the October 21 Assembly elections,the former Congress President warnedthat the economic situation will becomeworse and ‘'big corporates will run awaylike Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi’.

As the poll campaign for the 90-member Haryana assembly entered thefinal lap, Gandhi stuck to the issues ofeconomic slowdown, unemploymentand farm distress to attack the gov-ernment. The elections are scheduledto be held on October 21 and count-ing will take place on October 24.

Addressing a public rally here inplace of his mother and Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi, who he saidwas down with a viral infection, the for-mer party chief also trained his guns onmedia, alleging that it was scared andnot showing the truth.

"Our friends from the media whoare under pressure, show PM Modi'sspeeches 24/7. Have you ever seen themedia showing news of rampant unem-ployment and farmer suicides. Mediawill only show Modi ji's face, hisspeeches, talk of Article 370, moon(Chandrayaan), Modi's picture inCorbett Park," he said.

"Media persons say ''we know thetruth but we can''t show it because wewill lose our jobs''...The media, thechannels and newspapers are in thehands of 5-10 businessmen," Gandhialleged. "Modi has just one job -- todivert" the attention of the countryfrom the real issues, he claimed.

"India is being mocked at by theworld. The country which used to showthe way to the world, used to live withlove, used to progress fast...Today onecaste is fighting the other, one religionis fighting the other and the country''spride -- its economy -- Narendra Modihas destroyed it by demonetisation andGabbar Singh Tax," Gandhi said. He hasbeen using ''Gabbar Singh Tax'' to refer

to Goods and Services Tax."What they (the BJP) are doing,

that is the most dangerous is wherev-er they go, they make one Indian fightanother. They make a Hindu fight aMuslim, Jat fight a non-Jat, people fromnorth fight south, they will go toMaharashtra and say ''thrash and throwout the people of UP and Bihar'', andin Bihar say ''we will protect you'',"Gandhi said.

"The country cannot progressthrough division. This country has pro-gressed by working together. If thecountry will be divided, it will not beable to progress," he asserted. Attackingthe government over the state of theeconomy, Gandhi said unemploymentis the highest in the last 40 years andfarmers are committing suicide.However, he did not cite any any offi-cial data to support his claims.

"Small and medium businesses --the spine of the country-- say demon-etisation and Gabbar Singh Tax havedestroyed them," Gandhi said. He alsosaid under the UPA rule, then USPresident Barack Obama used to saythat India and China are competition

for America.The Congress leader asserted that

in order to spur growth money shouldbe put in the pockets of the poor."When we introduced MNREGA, newspapers used to say it is a uselessscheme. PM Modi said in Parliamentthat there is no scheme worse thanMNREGA. Narendra Modi has nounderstanding of economics," Gandhialleged.

Slamming the government''s moveto cut corporate tax, Gandhi claimedthat after just three days "its balloonburst and things became clear".

Gandhi claimed that if theCongress would have won in the LokSabha polls and its minimum incomeguarantee scheme NYAY implemented,unemployed would have been "wipedout" and the farmers would not havebeen facing problems.

"But, Modi won the elections, howhe won all of you saw, where he tookthe attention of the people. Don''t makethat mistake in Haryana, make theCongress win," he appealed to the peo-ple.

Slamming the government over

privatisation, Gandhi said Modi wasprivatising PSUs such as BSNL MTNL,Bharat Petroleum and alleged that thiswas "destroying jobs".

"This country''s strength cannot bein billionaires. India is for the poor," hesaid, adding the strength of this coun-try is in its poor -- farmers, labourersand unemployed youth.

He also highlighted the Congress''promise to give 50 per cent reservationin panchayats and 33 per cent in jobsto women. He accused the PrimeMinister of taking lakhs of crores ofrupees from the people and giving it to15 businessmen.

"He (Modi) keeps giving yourmoney to those 15 businessmen. It isjust the start, look what happens to theeconomy and unemployment in thenext six months. These 15 businessmenare taking the money out --VijayMallya, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi,Lalit Modi, and more will go," healleged.

"You have a chance in Haryana. InIndia there is no choice, but you canjumpstart Haryana''s economy," Gandhi said.

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With just a few hours leftfor campaigning to come

to an end in Haryana , ChiefMinister Manohar Lal Khattaris the man to watch out for ashe has set his eye on Mission 75Plus in the state.

Following a hectic sched-ule, addressing six or sevenpublic meetings a day, mostlyreaching the venues by heli-copter, Khattar is even havinghis lunch often is in the chop-per itself.

But in the evenings thehelicopter is abandoned as hehits the road, continuing thecampaign to win as many seatsas possible in the 90-memberassembly.

The 65-year-old leader’sown fight is in Karnal, where 11other candidates are in thefray. They include former stateminorities commission chair-man Tarlochan Singh(Congress) and sacked BSFjawan Tej Bahadur Yadav(Jannayak Janta Party).

Khattar won the seat by63,000 votes in the 2014 assem-bly elections and was a surpriseBJP choice for the chief minis-ter’s post being a first-timeMLA and also the state’s firstnon-Jat CM in 18 years.

In his public meetingsahead of the October 21 polls,Khattar admits he was dubbeda newbie.

“There were people whoused to say I am new and lackexperience. Some even brand-ed me an 'anadi' (novice). Butnow the very same people sayI am not an 'anadi' but a 'khi-ladi' (player) of politics,” hesays.

The Centre’s decision tonullify Article 370 that gaveJammu and Kashmir a special

status figures often in hisspeeches as Khattar challengesCongress leaders to make cleartheir stand on the issue.

At a meeting in Tohana inFatehabad, from where stateBJP president Subhash Baralais seeking re-election, Khattarattacks “dynastic politics”,claiming that the culture of"virasat" (inheritance, entitle-ment) and "riyasat" (bastions)has ended. "There isa differencebetween the poli-tics of the BJP andother parties thatruled the state earli-er. They promoted'parivarvad' (familyrule), we opposedit,” he says.

“We are livingin a democracy now, but theyused to say it is my 'riyasat'.” Heplays with words, remindingthat some leaders are current-ly in “hirasat” (behind thebars), a clear reference toIndian National Lok Dal pres-ident and former chief minis-ter Om Prakash Chautala whois serving time for corruptionin recruitment of governmentteachers.

Khattar speaks in Punjabiat Tohana, asking the gatheringto be wary of “false promises”.Implementing the Congressmanifesto requires an unreal-

istic sum of Rs 1.25 lakh crore,he claims.

While the opposition tar-gets the BJP on unemployment,an alleged mining scam andindifference towards farmers,Khattar claims his governmentgave the state developmentand a clean and transparentadministration.“They alwaysfilled their coffers, indulged incorruption and favouritism,” hesays, referring to the previousgovernments. He also accusesthem of regional bias.

“Haryana has emerged as amodel state in the country,” heclaims. He also touches uponthe ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’and `Swachhta’ campaignslaunched by the NarendraModi government at theCentres.

In a media interaction,Khattar dismisses the opposi-

tion. “The oppo-sition is in disar-ray. Everyoneknows the situa-tion the Congressis in, it is a divid-ed house. The JJPis a party formedby the son, thefather and themother, and

everyone knows the plight ofthe INLD. So, on individualseats there may be a contest, butoverall there is no direct fight,”he says.

Khattar joined the RSS asa full-time 'pracharak' in 1980and was moved to theBharatiya Janata Party as ageneral secretary in Haryana inmid-1990s. From six legislatorsin 2000 to two in 2005 and justfour in 2009, the BJP createdhistory in the 2014 assemblyelections, winning 47 seats andforming its first-ever govern-ment in the state.

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The UT Estate Office hasbegun the e-auction

process of various commercial,residential and industrial sitesin the city.

Under this, 11 residentialsites (freehold basis), 14 com-mercial sites (leasehold basis)and one industrial site (lease-hold basis) are proposed to beauctioned.

The reserve price of theproperty has been fixed on thebasis of the collector rate of thearea.

Most of the residentialplots to be auctioned are situ-ated in southern sectorsincluding 37, 38 and 40. Thereserve price varies between Rs1.25 crore to �7.53 croredepending on the plot size andlocation. A residential plot inSector 33 is the costliest.

As far as commercial prop-erties are concerned, most ofthem are in southern sectorsincluding 39, 42 and 44. Thereserve price of these proper-ties which include booths andshop-cum-offices (SCOs)starts at 61.35 lakh.

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Page 5: ˇˆ ˙ ˝ ˛˚ˆ˘˙ · your call,” Rahul Gandhi said ... admission of girls from acad-emic session 2021-22 in a phased manner. The decision is ... Management Services Private

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With the Government giv-ing a determined push to

‘Make in India’ in the defencesector to achieve indigenisa-tion, Army Chief GeneralBipin Rawat on Friday saidattempts are on to further“lower bureaucratic barriers”and simplify procedures topromote domestic defencemanufacturing. He also said theGovernment is reducingprocesses and focusing res-olutely on the outcome of theseprocesses.

Reiterating what DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh said afew days ago, the Army chiefsaid exports of Indian weaponsystems will touch the �35,000-crore mark by 2024 from the�11,000 crore annually at pre-sent.

The energy and enterpriseof ‘Make in India’ will bespanned further in defencecorridors being set up with a“bouquet of advantages weoffer in the form of land clear-ances and tax concession. Theinitiative will fundamentallytransform the defence land-scape in our country,” Rawatsaid. He also urged to thedefence industry to providesolutions for the armed forces.

In the last few years,numerous initiatives have beentaken and various schemeslaunched to energise thedefence sector in India, so weremain deeply committed tothe ethos of indigenisation,Rawat said.

“We are manufacturingweapons and ammunition notjust to arm our defence forcesbut now we are graduallybecoming an export orientedindustry. Our defence exportscurrently range just about�11,000 crore annually are setto grow to �35,000 crore by2024,” he said while addressingthe 4th Defence Attaches con-clave jointly organised by theDefence Ministry and news

portal Bharat Shakti. Thetheme of the event was‘Enhancing DefenceCapabilities throughCooperation’.

Newly-formed IDEEA(Indigenous DefenceEquipment ExportersAssociation) was also launchedon the occasion.

Talking of Def Expo 2020to be held in Lucknow, Rawatsaid several new technologieswill be on display and added,“We will be coming forward tocertify some of the equipmenton display.”

Speaking at the conclave,Vice Chief of Army Lt GeneralMM Naravane said Indian offi-cers posted as Defence Attachesabroad “have been tasked tointeract and advertise withhost countries of the Indianequipment available.”

Addressing the conclave,Navy Chief Admiral KarambirSingh spoke of the foreigncooperation initiatives whichinclude capacity building,training, exchanges and jointexercises. “India is hosting a

large multilateral exerciseMILAN 2020 atVisakhapatnam and we haveinvited 41 countries,” he stated.

All patents developed bythe Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation(DRDO) numbering over 1,700are now available for use by theIndian industry, said Dr.Sateesh Reddy, ChairmanDRDO. He added that theDefence Ministry has justunveiled a policy under whichall technologies will be availablefree of cost for use by theIndian industry.

Rawat also said India iscommitted to peace and stabil-ity in the neighbourhood as alsoin the “wider region” and theArmy will continue to partnerwith friends to “confront anykind of emerging threats.”

The Navy chief cited mar-itime threats such as piracy,which, he said, has “trans-national” ramifications. Hepitched for having greater mar-itime cooperation and lever-aging “collective military com-petency” of the world.

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From November 1, next year,import, manufacture and

sale of the ultrasound machineswill be allowed only under thelegal ambit of the Drugs andCosmetics Act, 1940.

The Union HealthMinistry has issued a notifica-tion in this regard on Thursdayaccording to which the deviceintended for external or inter-nal use in human beings hasbeen categorised as drug witheffect from November 1, 2020.

The step aims to regulatethe import, manufacture andsale of the devices to stem thedrastic decline in India’s sexratio, as per the Ministry. Themove followed recommenda-tion from the Drug TechnicalAdvisory Board (DTAB), theGovernment’s chief advisorybody on drugs.

According to an officialfrom the Ministry, fromNovember next year, theCentral Drugs Standard

Control Organization(CDSCO), the nationalregulatory body forIndian pharmaceuticalsand medical devices, willbecome the approvingauthority for import,manufacture and sale ofultrasound machines.The companies will alsohave to apply for per-mission from the DrugController General ofIndia, who is responsiblefor approval of licences,before the scanners aresold in India.

The health ministryfeels that the move iscrucial to save the girlchild as it will checkmisuse of such tech-niques for sex selectionafter conception.Imported machines haveflooded the market, in theabsence of any regulatorycheck, they cannot be tracked.

The Pre Conception andPre Natal Diagnostic

Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act,1994 currently regulates thesale of ultrasound machinesonly to entities registered underthe law. However, the Ministry

was not finding theexisting rules suffi-cient to deter the med-ical professionals andthe user, to avoidultrasound to deter-mine the sex of thefoetus. Mainly becauseof its easy availabilityon online as well.

Under theMedical Device Rules(MDR) and the D&CAct the governmentwill regulate addition-ally the quality importand manufacturing ofthe equipment, hesaid.

While welcomingthe move, Rajiv Nath,Forum Coordinatorof the AiMeD, anumbrella associationof Indian

Manufacturers of MedicalDevices covering all types ofmedical devices including con-sumables, disposables, how-ever was not happy at the

Government’s ‘pick and choosepolicy.”

He said that the manufac-turers have been confused withinformally and arbitrary choos-ing of products and notifyingthem as drugs. “At AiMeD wewelcome regulations but not ofthese kinds . Our membersseek a predictable and com-prehensive regulatory frame-work that allows for adequatetransition and is predictable.Only then will investmentsspeed up as manufacturers getdiscouraged to be regulated asDrugs , item by item and not asa category,” said Rajiv Nath.

The move is also not inkeeping with the HealthMinistry- DTAB Roadmap thataimed to regulate all devices ina phased manner and assuredan adequate transition periodof nearly four years for highRisk and near High RiskDevices. “The one year transi-tion period is not as per theassurance given of four years,”he added.

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The Narendra ModiGovernment’s vision to pro-

mote Khadi as a global fabrichas received a boost with a pro-posal to set up Khadi India’sfirst international venture inBhutan. Indian Embassy inBhutan, Khadi and Villageindustry Commission (KVIC)and Royal Textile Academy(RTA), Thimpu has organisedan event ‘Khadi-Thago’ , onOctober 16 to jointly celebratethe textile heritage fo Khadi andtraditional Bhutanese fabric onthe 150th birth anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi. The FashionDesign Council of India (FDCI)curated the fashion show.

Khadi-Thagzo, organisedat the RTA, which is also one ofthe most prominent touristspots in Thimphu, witnessed

presence of high-profile audi-ence including Her Majestythe Queen Mother Ashi SangayChoden Wangchuck as theChief Guest, Vinai Saxena,KVIC Chairman as the Guest ofHonour, Prime Minister ofBhutan Dr. Lotay Tshering,Cabinet Ministers,Ambassadors and several otherdistinguished guests, duringthe event.

The Indian ambassadorRuchika khamboj said that theobjective of this event was topromote environmental friend-ly fabric Khadi of India withBhutanese designers, toenhance the Khadi foot print inthe country. KVIC chairmanVinai Saxena said khadi meansSincerity, purity, honesty andswaraj.

Indian designers AnamikaKhanna, Rajesh Pratap Singh

and Samant Chauhan show-cased innovative Khadi-basedgarment lines along with worksof Chadrika Tamang, KenchoWangmo, Tshering Chodenand Sangay Choden of Bhutan.In addition,Anjana Bhargav,Nitin Bal Chauhan, ParasGairoliya, Payal Jain, RahulMishra & Renu Tandon curat-ed special Khadi ensembleswhich were also displayed in theevent followed by BanarasiSatvik Bhojan. Sunil Sethi ofFDCI was also present.

Interestingly the fourBhutanese textile designers whoshowcased their work at theKhadi-Thagzo, had also visitedIndia on invitation from FDCI .

A Bhutanese designer,Dorothy Gurung, would beopening the first Indian Khadioutlet in Bhutan towards theend of the year.

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Maintaining that ruralhousehold consumption

had slumped to a seven-yearlow, CPI(M) general secretarySitaram Yechury on Fridayalleged the “callous”Government was enthusiasticabout writing off unpaid loansof rich borrowers and tax cutsfor the super-rich but shows nosigns of concern over the slow-down.

Yechury said the signs ofthe agrarian distress and near-stagnant rural incomes havebeen there for long but theModi government is busy withtrying to “divide and polarise”.

A media report said in theSeptember quarter, rural India

grew at five per cent in termsof value, sharply slower than 20per cent reported in the yearearlier. Urban India grew ateight per cent compared with14 per cent in the year-agoperiod, he said. “A callousCentral government shows nosigns of concern over the slow-down tumbling into a muchgraver problem. There is enthu-siasm in Modi govt only for taxcuts for the super-rich andwriting off unpaid loans of richborrowers.

“The signs of the pro-longed agrarian distress andnear-stagnant rural incomeshave been there for long. Butthis govt is busy with trying todivide and polarise,” Yechurysaid in a tweet.

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Muslim parties, sans theSunni Waqf Board, made

clear on Friday that they do notaccept the Supreme Court-appointed mediation panel’sproposal on purported settle-ment to resolve the Ayodhyaland dispute and expressedsurprise over reports suggest-ing that the Board was willingto withdraw the claim on thesite of the mosque.

The mediation panel head-ed by former apex court judgeJustice FMI Kallifulla had fileda report in a sealed cover in theSupreme Court indicating a“sort of a settlement” betweenthe Hindu and the Muslim par-ties in which the Wakf Boardagreed to give up its claim over2.77 acre disputed land at theRam Janmbhoomi-Babrimasjid site if certain conditionsare fulfilled.

“We are taken aback by themedia reports attributed by

Shahid Rizvi, advocate onrecord that Uttar Pradesh SunniCentral Waqf Board was willingto withdraw the claim on site ofthe Babri Masjid,” EijazMaqbool, counsel for legal rep-resentatives of key Muslim lit-igants M Siddiq andMisbahuddeen, and four otheradvocates for Muslim partiessaid in a statement.

The lawyers said the medi-ation panel’s report was leakedto the media and they do notapprove the procedures adopt-

ed in the processand the suggest-ed compromiseformula of with-drawal of thelawsuit.

“Accordingly,we must make itabsolutely clearthat we the appel-lants beforeSupreme Courtdo not accept theproposal made

which has been leaked out tothe Press, nor the procedure bywhich the mediation has takenplace nor the manner in whicha withdrawal of the claim hasbeen suggested as a compro-mise,” the statement reads.

“This was broadcasted byall Media agencies and news-papers that UP Sunni CentralWaqf Board has agreed toabandon their claim subject tocertain conditions. This newswas obviously leaked out eitherby the Mediation Committee or

Nirvani Akhara which claimthe right on the Mosque or oth-ers,” it said, adding that the“leak was in total violation ofthe orders of the Supremecourt that had directed thatsuch proceedings shouldremain confidential.”

The statement said it was“difficult” to accept that anymediation could have beendone especially when the main Hindu parties (deity ‘RamLalla’ through next friend andothers) had clearly stated thatthey were not open to any set-tlement and wanted a judicialdecision.

“The recent attemptsbefore Mediation Committeewere not representative,” it said.

On October 16, when afive-judge Constitution benchheaded by Chief Justice ofIndia Ranjan Gogoi reserved itsverdict in the case after 40 daysof hearing, the mediationpanel’s report was also submit-ted to the court.

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Chief Justice of India RanjanGogoi on Friday sent a let-

ter to the Centre recommendingJustice SA Bobde, who is next inseniority, as his successor.

Official Sources told PTIthat Justice Gogoi wrote a letterto the Ministry of Law andJustice recommending JusticeBobde to be the next chief jus-tice.

Justice Gogoi, who wassworn in as the 46th ChiefJustice of India on October 3,2018, will demit office onNovember 17.

Official sources said thechief justice has gone by the con-vention to recommend the nameof the next senior judge afterhim as his successor.

Justice Gogoi as the ChiefJustice has a tenure of 13 monthsand 15 days while Justice Bobde,who will be sworn in as CJI onNovember 18, will have a tenureof about 18 months.

According to theMemorandum of Procedure,which governs the appointmentof members of the higher judi-ciary, “appointment to the officeof the Chief Justice of Indiashould be of the senior-mostjudge of the Supreme Court con-sidered fit to hold the office”.

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The ruling NDA will winbyelections to all five

Assembly seats and one LokSabha seat in Bihar on October21, claimed BJP ally and UnionMinister Ram Vilas Paswan onFriday.

He said a “divided anddiscredited” Opposition in theState stands no chance to givean equal fight to the rulingalliance.

Polls will be held in fiveAssembly seats and the LokSabha constituency ofSamastipur as incumbentMLAs were elected toParliament during the recentgeneral election while MP RamChandra Paswan, brother ofRamvilas Paswan, died of aheart attack.

All three NDA parties —BJP, JD(U) and LJP — are con-testing elections. While ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar-ledJD(U) is contesting on fourAssembly seats, the BJP and theLJP have put up their candi-dates in an Assembly and theLok Sabha seat respectively.Ram Chandra Paswan’s sonPrince Raj is fighting fromSamastipur.

“All our candidates willemerge victorious. We have runa united campaign and peoplehave full faith in the leadershipof Prime Minister NarendraModi and Nitish Kumar,” LJPpresident Ram Vilas Paswansaid.

BJP president this weekgave a boost to the unity of BJP-JDU-LJP alliance in the state bydismissing any change in thealliance pattern in Bihar andsaying unambiguously that thenext assembly elections to thestate would be fought collec-tively under the leadership ofJDU leader Nitish Kumar.

Paswan said the opposition‘mahagathbandhan’ (grandalliance) is divided and dis-

credited. With unity eluding the

grand alliance, some of itspartners have put up their can-didates after its two main part-ners, RJD and the Congress,divided all the seats betweenthem.

His party, he said, has alsodeployed its workers to cam-paign for the BJP inMaharashtra and HaryanaAssembly polls. He expressedconfidence that the saffronparty will retain power in boththe states.

BOXLeaders from other parties

continued to switch over to theBJP. Former MLA Kartar SinghBhadana from poll-boundHaryana quit the BSP to joinBJP on Friday. He said BJP isnot new to him as he was withthe party earlier. Bhadana isbrother of Congress leaderAvtar Singh Bhadana and thefamily has influence, especial-ly in the Gurjar community.Kartar Singh Bhadana has beenan MLA from Haryana twotimes and from Uttar Pradeshonce. Haryana is scheduled tohave assembly election onOctober 21 and the counting ofvotes is due on October 24.

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Citing unsatisfactory per-formance, the EC on

Friday replaced the policeobserver and a returning offi-cer of Nashik in Maharashtra,and the expenditure observerof Ambala in Haryana, aheadof the October 21 Assemblyelections. It also appointed aformer IPS officer as a specialobserver for the Assemblybypolls being held in Sikkim onMonday.

“The Election Commissionhas replaced police observer ofNashik and one returning offi-cer of Nashik district afterreviewing the electoral pre-paredness of the state ofMaharashtra,” the EC said in astatement. It said the policeobserver was removed for “notperforming the task of obser-vation satisfactorily”.

On the basis of inputregarding progress of photovoter slip distribution, whichwas very important to informeach and every elector timely,it was found that the perfor-

mance of an assembly con-stituency in Nashik districtwas “very poor”, it said.

Reviewing this, the com-mission ordered replacement ofthe returning officer of NashikWest. The new officers will joinon Friday itself.

The poll panel also orderedreplacement of the expenditureobserver of Ambala for “notsupervising the enforcementactivities in right earnest”. Itsaid his overall performancewas not found satisfactory.

The EC has appointedretired IPS officer of AndhraPradesh cadre Vivek Dube asspecial observer for the assem-bly bypolls of Sikkim.

Dube has been deputed tospecifically report to the ECabout the law and order situa-tion and oversee the deploy-ment and other security relat-ed issues there. “The commis-sion has taken the decision inview of inputs and complaintsreceived,” it said. Three seats inSikkim are going for by-elec-tions on Monday.

Dube was deputed earlieralso as special observer to West Bengal during the LokSabha in April.

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The Supreme Court onFriday refused to

entertain a plea filed onbehalf of scam-hit PMCBank account holdersseeking lifting of restric-tions imposed by theReserve Bank of India oncash withdrawals.

A bench headed byChief Justice of IndiaRanjan Gogoi said, “We are notinclined to entertain this peti-tion under article 32 (writ juris-diction). Petitioner canapproach the high court con-cerned for appropriate relief ”.

The Punjab & MaharashtraCo-operative Bank has been putunder restrictions by theReserve Bank of India (RBI) fol-lowing the discovery of a Rs4,355-crore scam.

Deposit withdrawals havebeen capped at Rs 40,000 overa six-month period, causingpanic and distress amongdepositors.

During the hearing onFriday, Solicitor General TusharMehta said the government isaware of the seriousness of thesituation and the EnforcementDirectorate is taking appropri-ate action against the culprit.

Advocate Shashank Sudhi,

appearing for petitioner BejonKumar Mishra, said he hasfiled the petition on behalf of500 PMC Bank account hold-ers seeking lifting of restrictionsimposed by the RBI on cashwithdrawals.

On Wednesday, around 50depositories of the PMC Bankstaged a protest outside the RBIdemanding revoking restric-tions on cash withdrawal, cur-rently capped at Rs 40,000 overa six-month period.

A depositor of PMC Bankallegedly committed suicide inMumbai on Tuesday whileanother died of a heart attack afew hours after taking part in aprotest by bank customers seek-ing their money back.

The petition filed before thecourt sought a direction forissuance of “exhaustive andcomprehensive guideline” to

safeguard the banking andcooperative deposits in theeventuality of emergencyfinancial crisis where citi-zens are financially strand-ed by acts of a few“unscrupulous persons”.

The plea said theCentre and the RBI shouldbe directed to ensure com-plete insulation and insur-ance of the hard-earneddeposited money of people

in various cooperative banks,including nationalised banks,by enacting an appropriatemeasure of 100 per cent insur-ance coverage towards thedeposited amount.

It said that a high-poweredcommittee should be consti-tuted to look into completeaffairs of working and theiroperation in all cooperativebanks in order to have a robustand transparent mechanismwhich can inspire confidence ofcommon public in cooperativebanks.

Real estate firm HDILallegedly accounted for 70 percent of the bank’s Rs 9,000 croreadvances. According to theMumbai Police’s EconomicOffences Wing, HDIL’s loansturned non-performing assets,but the bank management hidthis from the RBI’s scrutiny.

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The Centre on Friday told theSupreme Court that it was

willing to hand over land mea-suring 200 sq m to devotees forconstruction of Guru Ravidastemple in South Delhi but withcertain conditions.

A bench of justices ArunMishra and S Ravindra Bhattook on record the offer made byAttorney General KKVenugopal, appearing for theCentre, and asked parties seek-ing construction of the templeto submit objections, if any, byOctober 21. At the outset,Venugopal said he had held con-sultation with all parties includ-ing devotees and governmentofficials and Centre has agreedto give the same piece of landconsidering sensitivity and faith

of devotees for the site.“That same 200 square

metre area of the site can behanded over to a committee ofdevotees for construction oftemple but with certain condi-tions,” Venugopal said, addingthat five out of seven petition-ers, who approached courtagainst demolition of templehave agreed to the proposal.

He said that only two of thepetitioners are not agreeable tothe proposal but “the entirebelief and faith of the devotees ofGuru Ravidas is at the site wherehe stayed and therefore in theinterest of peace and harmonywe want to return the site to thedevotees”. Counsel appearingfor one of the petitioner, whohave objected to the proposalsaid that they need to see theoffer and file their response.

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The Bengal political parties andcivil society have slammed Union

Minister Piyush Goyal for attackingNobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee forhis alleged Leftist leanings.

Faulting Goyal for, “unneces-sarily bringing politics to malign aNobel Laureate who has made Indiaproud” Bengal Congress leader andMP Pradip Bhattacharya on Fridaysaid “it is unfortunate that ourMinisters are so uneducated andbiased that they do not even think twice to belittle a NobelLaureate who has made India proudby unnecessarily brining politics tomalign him.”

Scoffing at Goyal he said, “the lit-eracy level of our Ministers is so highthat they do not even think twice toinvoke Newton’s second law in AlbertEinstein’s name,” and wondered“why a stalwart will have to be belit-tled just because he has Left lean-ings.”

Earlier while congratulatingAbhijit for his remarkable achieve-ments in the field of economics

Goyal said, “I congratulate AbhijitBanerjee for winning the NobelPrize … (but) you all know that histhinking is totally Left-leaning.” Hebacked his comments by sayinghow “Banerjee supported Nyay(poverty alleviation scheme of theCongress) but people of India reject-ed that ideology.”

Questioning Goyal’s “politicalwisdom” the Congress MP said “justbecause a political party got a man-

date and another party did not get ityou get the license to negate a NobelLaureate’s scholarly findings. It is apolitical party that got the people’smandate and not the theory of‘Nyay’ which was supported byAbhijit Banerjee,” he said.

“Considering the sliding eco-nomic condition of the countryduring the BJP’s rule the time is com-ing when the people who are attack-ing day will go to him and sit at his

feet to take lessons on economicdevelopment,” he maintained.

Bangla poet Subodh Ghosh alsoattacked Goyal for “failing to under-stand Banerjee’s achievements as aneconomist.” He said “it is irrelevantwhether the Nyay found politicalsuccess or not. The question iswhether the prescription of Banerjeewhich has won him the Nobel Prizeis relevant and affective in conquer-ing poverty.”

Economist and State FinancialAdvisor Abhiroop Sarkar said, “it isunfortunate that someone of AbhijitBanerjee’s strature will get suchreception from the national govern-ment.”

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Even as the distance between RajBhavan and Nabanna (State

Secretariat) widened, BengalGovernor Jagdeep Dhankhar onceagain lambasted the TrinamoolCongress Ministers for repeatedlymaking adverse comments againsthim.

Speaking to an audienceDhankar on Friday said “every timeGovernor (Dhankhar) does some-thing sensible you (Ministers)come out with a statement defyingdecorum. I am not a tourist. I amhere to discharge my constitu-tional duties which I will continuedoing.”

The Governor was particular-ly referring to senior State leaderand Minister Subroto Mukherjee’scomments questioning his initiativeto hold an administrative meetingin North Bengal town of Siliguri.“It is nothing but a gimmick,”Mukherjee had said adding the

Governor was just a “tourist in theState.”

He said “some call me a tourist,others called the Siliguri visit a gim-mick” and vowed to “continue dis-charging” his constitutional duties,reminding that he was not the onewho crossed his Laxman Rekhaand adding it was upon ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee to takeaction on her Ministers.

The distance between theTrinamool Congress andDhankhar had been widening eversince he personally went down toJadavpur University to rescueUnion Minister Babul Supriyo whowas trapped amid agitating stu-dents.

Subsequently he told the mediaabout his being “humiliated” by theState Government during theDurga Puja carnival which washosted by Chief Minister MamataBanerjee.

An emotional Governor saidhe “felt insulted at the carnival. I am

deeply hurt and disturbed. Theinsult was not to me but to everypeople of West Bengal. They willnever digest such as insult. I am aservant of the people of WestBengal. Nothing can deter mefrom performing my constitution-al duties,” with his voice literallytrembling.

“Speaking out of my injuredheart” the Governor said “for fourhours or more I was there and yourpress coverage was totally blackedout...This is unheard of. You willnever find it anywhere else.Someone told me it was reminis-cent of the Emergency.”

Meanwhile, SubrotoMukherjee once again attackedthe Centre for breaking all consti-tutional norms and rules of feder-alism by bringing the Governorunder Z category security to beprovided by the central forces.“This is an utter infringement onState’s federal rights,” Mukherjeesaid.

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The president of a littleknown Hindu Samaj Party

was found murdered at hishome in the congested NakaHindola area of the city here,police said on Friday.

Kamlesh Tiwari (45) wasearlier associated with a factionof the Hindu Mahasabha, theysaid.

The Akhil Bharatiya HinduMahasabha in a statement condemned the incident.

Police said briefs protestswere held in the area by localresidents after the murder.

“Kamlesh Tiwari wasfound murdered inside hishouse. Two persons had cometo meet him. Both were speak-ing to Tiwari when the lattersent one of his aides to get‘paan’ for them,” Vikas Tripathi,ASP (Lucknow West), told PTI.

“When his aide returnedfrom the market, he foundTiwari in a pool of blood,”Tripathi added.

A senior UP Governmentofficial said the visitors shotTiwari dead after talking to

him for little over half an hour. Police reached the spot

and gathered the CCTVfootage.

UP DGP OP Singh toldreporters, “Those who havemurdered Tiwari are said to behis acquaintances. They spentover half an hour with him andeven gave Tiwari a box ofsweets and after it the murdertook place. We have got some vital clues and basedon CCTV footage and otherevidences, we are working onthe case.”

He said teams had beenformed to crack the case.

“We have also got some calldetails. The special task forcehas been engaged in the case,”he said, adding that it was“purely a criminal activity”done by two people.

The UP DGP said therewere “some minor law andorder problem” in the areaafter the murder took placewith local people saying thatsuch incidents should not takeplace.

“But, the situation now isunder control. Police officers

are patrolling the area. In thenext 48 hours, we will catch theculprits,” he said.

When asked whether therewas any possible terror angle inthe incident, AdditionalDirector General of Police(Law and Order) PVRamasastry told PTI, “All theangles are being looked into.And, it would be improper tojump to any conclusion.”

Senior Superintendent ofPolice Kalanidhi Naithani saidprima facie it seemedto be a case of personal enmi-ty.

He added that teams hadbeen formed to crack the case.Naka Hindola SHO SujeetKumar Dubey said there werebrief protests by angry localresidents after the incident.

The situation was normal,Dubey said.

An eyewitness, SaurashtraSingh, told reporters shortlyafter the incident that thepolice constable deployed at thehouse of Tiwari was sleepingwhile the gunner attached tohim was not coming for thepast a couple of days.

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Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot on Friday

said the country’s economywas weakening and the Centreshould follow the policies offormer prime minister P VNarasimha Rao and thenfinance minister ManmohanSingh to upend the downwardtrend.

He said the World Bank,International Monetary Fund(IMF), Manmohan Singh andeven the husband of UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman have expressedconcern over India’s economy.

In a newspaper article pub-lished on October 14,Sitharaman’s husbandPrabhakar took a swipe at theBJP-led government over itseconomic vision and asked itto embrace the economic archi-tecture offered by NarasimhaRao and Manmohan Singh.

“They (central govern-ment) should follow the poli-cies of Narasimha Rao and

Manmohan Singh, and startworking. Then only the coun-try will saved,” Gehlot said ata public rally here.

“Democracy is underthreat... We are becomingweaker economically. Theentire country and the world issaying this,” he said, adding,“You can imagine the state ofaffairs when the finance min-ister’s husband is writing anarticle that the governmenthas no understanding of theeconomic situation.”

Because of the non-vision-ary policies of the governmentthe country was headingtowards a wrong direction.Growth rate is slowing, thechief minister said.

“People are chanting

(Prime Minister Narendra)Modi’s name despite the factthat there is no business, econ-omy is falling and there are nojobs. Such is the situation, howlong will this country tolerate?”he asked.

“We don’t have any enmi-ty with Modi, (Amit) Shah, theBJP or RSS. This is a fight ofideology,” he said.

“They talk about national-ism during elections. Are wenot nationalist? Will we haveto seek certificate from BJP tobecome nationalists? Doingpolitics in the name of religion,provoking people of one reli-gion against another, is this(the way of doing) the politicsin a democracy?” Gehlotposed.

In the rally, he called uponthe people to vote for Congresscandidate Rita Chaudhary inMandawa Assembly bypollwhich will be held on October21. State Congress presidentSachin Pilot and other leaderswere also present in the meet-ing.

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Rajasthan’s Deputy ChiefMinister Sachin Pilot on

Friday questioned his ownGovernment’s decision on elec-tions to the posts of heads ofurban local bodies.

Taking a stand thatappeared to go against theview of Chief Minister AshokGehlot, Pilot made it clear hewas not consulted on the deci-sion that was notified onWednesday.

Two other Ministers in theCongress-run State have sepa-rately opposed the move thatallows people who are notelected councillors to contestfor posts like mayors and chair-persons of corporations andmunicipalities.

The non-councillor candi-dates still have to be elected bycouncillors to the top posts.

“This is not a good deci-sion and I do not agree withthis. The decision is not prac-tical and not politically rightand there is a need to makechanges to the decision,” Pilottold reporters in Jhunjhunu.

“We decided to hold indi-rect election for the posts ofmayor and chairperson. Thiswas fine. But suddenly a newdecision appeared that I cameto know from newspapers.This was not discussed in thecabinet or the legislative partymeeting,” he said.

Pilot, who is the RajasthanCongress president, claimedthat the new system, which isbeing called a hybrid, willallow people to become urbanbody heads through the backdoor.

He said democracy is notstrengthened if a candidatewho could not win a council-lors’ election is allowed to con-test for the mayor’s post.

“Our party and theGovernment have always saidthat democracy should bestrengthened,” he said.

“I do not think such a sys-tem has been implemented inany state of the country,” hesaid, adding that the decisionneeds to be changed.

A gazette notification toamend the rules on election ofmayors and chairpersons was

issued on Wednesday.On Thursday, Food and

Civil Supply Minister RameshMeena and Transport MinisterPratap Singh Khachariyawasseparately expressed appre-hension, saying it could lead toresentment among party work-ers.

Khachariyawas said thesystem was injustice to thosewho worked in the field andwon councillors’ elections.

When asked about thecomments by these two min-isters, Chief Minister Gehlotsaid everyone is concernedabout delivering good gover-

nance.“The cabinet, all MLAs

and the entire Government isengaged in that. Elections forthe local bodies and thePanchayati Raj are coming.We will fight and will win theelections,” the chief minister told reporters inJhunjhunu.

Pilot and Gehlot weretogether in Jhunjhunu wherethey addressed a rally in sup-port of Rita Chaudhary, who iscontesting the assemblybypolls for the Mandawa seat.

Later, they talked sepa-rately with the media.

Rifts in Rajasthan Congresssurfaced after the Assemblyelections last December thatwere followed by intense lob-bying for the chief minister’spost.

While Gehlot was pickedby the central leadership for thetop post, Pilot had to settle forthe deputy’s spot.

Recently, Pilot expressedconcern over the law and ordersituation in the state and hisremark were seen as a com-ment on Gehlot’s performance.

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Uttar Chief Minister YogiAdityanath attacked the

opposition in his election ral-lies in the State on Friday andsaid their anti-developmentface has been exposed.

Adityanath also accusedthe Opposition of indulging inhooliganism and corruptionwhile in power and claimedthat the BJP worked for thewelfare of people.

The CM was addressingrallies in Aligarh, Rampur andSaharanpur for the bypolls inthe state.

“Only those people are notadmiring our work duringwhose tenure the power wasmerely a synonym for anarchy,corruption and hooliganism.The SP, BSP and the Congresswere all involved in this,” hesaid.

“They never had develop-ment on their mind. And nowwhen their anti-developmentface has been exposed, peoplehave been rejecting them since2014,” he claimed.

Mentioning the develop-

ment works carried out by hisparty, the UP Chief Ministersaid during the tenure of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,around three crore people gothouses.

“The Ayushman BharatYojana has become a boon forthe destitute. Free houses andgas connections were distrib-uted among the poor. Farmersof the state were benefitedunder the Pradhan MantriKisan Samman Yojana,” saidthe CM, adding that the gov-ernment had been working to“double” farmers’ income.

“By making them happy,we want to realise dreams ofChaudhary Charan Singh,” he

said. Lambasting the Congress,

the chief minsiter said, “It onlygave us terrorism, corruptionand insulted BabasahebBhimro Ambedkar by granti-ng a special status to Jammuand Kashmir under Article370.”

He claimed that the BJPachieved what the other partiescould not in the past 70 years.

“The Congress needs thepower to loot. The SP and BSPcontinued with their corruptpractices. The BJP brought anend to all this and paved a wayfor the prosperity of people,” hesaid.

Referring to AligarhMuslim University, Adityanathsaid Raja Mahendra PratapSingh played a very significantrole in establishing the institu-tion.

“He had given land for itbut his name has not beenmentioned on any plaque,”Adityanath said, adding thatthe UP government was reviv-ing the lock industry inAligarh through the ‘one dis-trict, one product’ programme.

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The Uttar PradeshGovernment on Friday

increased the dearnessallowance for state govern-ment employees to 17 per centfrom 12 per cent.

In a statement, an officialsaid apart from the state gov-ernment employees, staff ofaided educational institutions,technical educational institu-tions and urban local bodieswould also get the enhancedDA.

The state government offi-cial said the increased rateswould be applicable from July1. The arrears of dearnessallowance from July 1 toSeptember 30 will be deposit-ed in the PF account. Theamount payable from October1 will be paid along with thismonth’s salary, the officialadded.

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West Bengal Governmenthas decided to run 100

minibuses in the northern out-skirts of the city fromNovember one to reduce thehardship of people caused byclosing of Tallah Bridge on thearterial B T Road for heavyvehicles, State MinisterSuvendu Adhikary said onFriday.

Movement of buses hasbeen stopped across the bridgeafter experts found it to be ina rickety condition.

The Barrackpore Trunk (BT) Road connects vast parts ofthe northern outskirts andNorth 24 Parganas district tothe city. Adhikary, the transportminister, said several 24- seater

buses have already been putinto service to reduce the problem of the people travel-ling on these routes.

Diversion of bus routes toavoid Tallah Bridge have alsoled to pulling off services bymany operators citing lossesowing to increased fuel costsand lack of passengers.

To compensate for thereduced number of buses onthis route, the government willrun 100 minibuses of WestBengal Transport Corporation(WBTC) on diverted routesbypassing the bridge, Adhikarysaid.

He said the Metro Railwayhas also agreed to run 10 extratrains from northern terminalstation Noapara to cater to theincreased load of passengers.

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West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on

Friday assured the relatives ofthe murdered schoolteacherof Murshidabad district of pro-viding all legal help if neededin connection with the case.

Six relatives of the deadteacher Bondhu Prakash Paul,whose body was found alongwith that of his wife Beauty andsix-year-old son lying in pollsof blood at their house atJiagunj on October 8 during theDurga Puja festival, had metMamata at the State Secretariaton Thursday.

The killings took on apolitical colour when the BJPslammed the state governmentover the incident and claimed

that the man was its support-er. Both RSS and BJP hadclaimed that Pal used to par-ticipate in ‘Milan’ the Sangh’sweekly programme.

The man’s mother and hisrelatives have denied anyinvolvement by him with RSS.

The chief minister assuredus of providing legal assis-tance if required. We have not

asked for any financial helpfrom her, Rajesh Ghosh, hiscousin, told newsmen at thesecretareiat, .

We are happy with thepolice investigation into themurder and appier now aftermeeting the chief minister, headded.

Asked they said, “There isno political connection withthe family.

A mason, from whom Paulhad taken money promising aninsurance policy has beenarrested for allegedly killing thefamily.

Earlier in the day, the Paul’srelatives went to the statepolice headquarters at BhawaniBhawan in the city and metsenior police officers in con-nection with the case.

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Uttar Pradesh will onMonday see a mini version

of Assembly elections withbypolls in 11 constituencies,coming just months after theBJP swept the State in the LokSabha elections.

The UP bypolls forGangoh, Rampur, Iglas (SC),Lucknow Cantonment,Govindnagar, Manikpur,Pratapgarh, Zaidpur (SC),Jalalpur, Balha (SC) and Ghosiseats are being held along withthe Assembly elections inMaharashtra and Haryana.

It is a four-cornered con-test with the BJP, BahujanSamaj Party (BSP), SamajwadiParty (SP) and Congress field-ing candidates on all 11 assem-bly seats.

While the ruling BJP willtry to build on its Lok Sabhasuccess, the opposition partieshope the results will help themgalvanise its cadres ahead of the2022 elections for the 403-member Uttar Pradesh

Assembly.The Congress, in particu-

lar, hopes to show signs ofrevival in UP after its batter-ing in the Lok Sabhapolls in when it won just one

seat, party chief Sonia Gandhi’s Rae Bareli con-stituency.

In contrast, the BJP won 62of the 80 parliamentary seats inthe state and an ally baggedtwo more.

“We have several chal-lenges before us. But with theblessings of the seniors and thesupport of the youth, no onewill be able to stop the partyfrom coming to power in 2022,” newly appoint-ed Congress state presidentAjay Kumar Lallu said recent-ly.

Lallu said the Congresswill become the voice of thedeprived, farmers, youth andwomen in the state.

He exhorted workers toovercome all hurdles throughdetermination and hard work,and function unitedly.

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Calling Veer Savarkar a murderer, formerKarnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

slammed the BJP on Friday for its plan to bestowBharat Ratna to him posthumously.

He said Savarkar was one of the accused in theassassination of Mahatma Gandhi, but the chargescould not be proved due to lack of evidence andhe was freed.

“The murderer of Mahatma Gandhi is gettingBharat Ratna! Those who conspired to eliminateGandhiji are getting Bharat Ratna!

Should BJP be allowed to gain a foothold inMangaluru, known as a land of intellectuals?”Siddaramaiah asked party workers at a meetinghere.

The Maharashtra BJP unit had said in its elec-tion manifesto that the party would ask the Centreto confer the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civil-ian award, on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popu-larly known as Veer Savarkar.

Claiming that the accused in 90 out of 100 casesare acquitted, Siddaramaiah alleged that Savarkarwas part of the conspiracy to assassinate Gandhi.

“Now they have moved ahead to bestowBharat Ratna to him! What will happen to thenation? That’s why somebody said you give it(Bharat Ratna) to(Nathuram) Godse too. Godsewas the one who assassinated Gandhiji,” he said.

Alleging that RSS and Hindu Mahasabha nevertook part in the freedom struggle, the former ChiefMinister said they all had ganged up with theBritish.

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Over 90,000 people, mostlystudents, availed free

Internet facility at 20 kiosks setup at the deputy commission-er’s office here, officials said onFriday.

The officials said the students availed the facility toregister for various competitiveexaminations and access otheracademic information, besidesto know their results or down-load admit cards for differentexaminations at the local andnational level.

“Till date, 90,000 people,mostly students, availed theservices of Internet facilities inthe kiosks free-of-cost, besidescontractors also availed theservices to submit tenders forvarious developmental activities,” the Srinagar dis-trict administration said in astatement.

The prominent exams forwhich students were facilitatedin making registration includ-ed the GATE, the JointEntrance Examination (JEE)Mains, the Council of Scientific

and Industrial Research (CSIR)NET and the NationalEligibility Cum Entrance Test(NEET), they said.

Internet facility has beenshut down across Kashmirsince August 5 when theCentre announced its decisionto withdraw Jammu andKashmir’’s special status underArticle 370 of the Constitution.However, the State adminis-tration has set up Internetkiosks in every district in thevalley to facilitate students andpeople. The officials said theInternet facility was also usedby students for filling admis-sion forms and making appli-cations for scholarships atnational and international insti-tutions. The State administra-tion has set up six terminalswith operators at the touristreception centre (TRC) toprovide Internet facility.

The administration hasalso made the Internet facilityavailable at the NationalInformatics Centre (NIC) atdistrict headquarters where e-tendering facilities are beingprovided to contractors as well.

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Highlighting the multifarious dutiesbeing performed by Jammu &

Kashmir Police, its chief DilbaghSingh on Friday said the force hasbeen inthe forefront of tacklingPakistan-sponsored terrorism, radi-calisation and law and order situationin the State.

In addition to the fight against terrorism along with other securityagencies, the force has been very effec-tive in dealing with unlawful activities,Singh told a group of about 50 IPS offi-cers from Sardar Vallabhbhai PatelNational Police Academy Hyderabadhere.

The probationary officers weregiven know-how about the function-ing of Jammu and Kashmir Police.

“J&K Police is doing multifariousduties and is countering terrorism atdifferent fronts and a large number ofterrorists have been eliminated andhuge quantity of arms and ammuni-tion has been seized in last threedecades,” the Director General ofPolice (DGP) said.

He said the force has been in theforefront of tackling Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, radi-calisation and law and order situationsalong with all other security

forces working in Jammu &Kashmir.

“Police personnel are doing mul-tifarious tasks which include policebandobast (arrangements), investi-gation and providing various ser-vices to the general people. Besides the police personnel are doingother specialized works to check social crimes and handle socialmedia, terror funding, OGW (over-ground worker) networks of terrorists and separatists,” the DGPsaid.

IGP CRPF (Administration)Kashmir Ravideep Sahi, DIG centralKashmir V K Birdhi and other offi-cers of CRPF and police were also pre-sent in the interactive session, a police spokesman said, adding acouple of days back, AdditionalDirector General of Police, Armed, S J M Gillani also had aninteractive session with the visitingofficers.

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Authorities have set up safezones for fruit dealers in

Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopiandistrict to procure and sendthe produce outside the Statefollowing recent attacks inwhich two traders were killed,officials said on Friday.

Officials in the districtadministration said eight tonine “safe zones” have beenearmarked in Shopian alongthe main roads in southKashmir, to facilitate the fruitdealers to procure the fruitsfrom the farmers.

“Following the recentattacks on fruit dealers, theGovernment first identifiedfive areas and designated themas safe zones to facilitate thefruit growers and dealers. Now,we have eight to nine of them,”an official said.

These zones are on themain roads of the district andcloser to police, army andparamilitary CRPF establish-ments, the official said.

“The zones are secure,there are RoPs (road openingparties of security forces) whoaccompany them along withthe forces’ deployment. Thefruit dealers and trucks havebeen pushed into these safer

zones as a security measure.The Government has beenworking on this idea for thelast couple of days. It is a stop-gap sort of measure we havetaken to ensure that there areno continued attacks,” the offi-cial said.

Following the attacks, theofficial said, there were appre-hensions that fruit trade wouldbe severely affected, but “thatdid not happen” andthe loading of fruits was goingon.

“After these back-to-backattacks, we expected that peo-ple will be discouraged and thewhole season will get derailedseverely. That did not happen.The loading is still going on.The people have brought theirproduce in smaller vehicles tothese secure zones which we have created andthey are loading their fruitover there. There has notbeen a serious exodus of thetruckers following the attacks,”the official said.

There were inputs aboutpossible attacks on fruit deal-ers and as a security measure,the district administration hasalso asked about 600 truckersto stay put in Poshana area -near Pir Ki Gali on the MughalRoad, the official said.

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Singling out the Congress-NCP alliance leaders for a

blistering attack on issues ofcorruption and alleged linkswith terrorists, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi indirectlyslammed former FinanceMinister P Chidamdaram for“destroying” the country’seconomy and banking systemand former Civil AviationMinister Praful Patel for hisalleged with late Iqbal Mirchi,an erstwhile close aide ofKarachi-based underworldDawood Ibrahim.

Addressing a large publicrally at Bandra-Kurla Complexin north—central Mumbai,Modi took on Chidambaramand Patel without actually naming them but making anunmistakable reference to theformer Finance Minister’s pres-ence in Tihar Jail and theongoing investigations by theEnforcement Directorate (ED)into the an alleged propertydeal between the former CivilAviation Minister and HajraIqbal, the wife of late IqbalMirchi.

Castigating Chidambaram

for “destroying” Indian econo-my and banking system for tenyears, Modi said: “Take the caseof those (Congress) who hadimposed angel tax in the coun-try. Compare them with us: weare making corporate tax in thecountry conducive to theworld. They had imposed heftycorporate tax in the world.Here we are who transfermoney directly into theaccounts of common people.

“They (congress) werethose who had transferredlakhs of crores of rupees ofmoney through `phone bank-ing’.

The people in Maharashtraand across the country knowwho did all this. Those whodestroyed the country’s econ-omy and banking system for 10long years are languishing inDelhi’s Tihar Jail or Mumbaijail. This is just beginning oftyhe cleaning up operation.You will get us speed up thework in the coming day,” thePrime Minister said.

Charging that the Congressand allies failed in doing justiceto the victim families of 1993Mumbai serial blasts and triedto protect those behind theblasts, Modi targeted Patel for

his alleged links with lateMirch’s family. “Whenever theissue of doing justice to the vic-tim families comes up, theCongress and its allies try toprotect the terrorists. Mumbai,Maharashtra and the countrywill never forget the wounds of1993 blasts.

The Government of thetime did not do justice to thevictims. Those behind theblasts fled the country. The rea-son behind the same has nowcome into the open.

“Instead of catching hold ofthe people (Dawood Ibrahimand his aides), these people are

indulging in the trade of mirchiwith them. Kabhi mirchi kavypar, Kabhi Mirchi se vyapar..I request the people of Mumbaiand Maharashtra to know theseand get cautious about theparties they represent. They arenot bothered about the prestigeof Maharashtra and country,” the Prime Ministersaid.

He also went onto slam theCongress and its supporters forcreating an impression thath itwas only the one family(Gandhi Nehru) that broughtfreedom to the country. “Theseare the same who had insultedlate B R Ambedkar. These arethe same people who are doingthe same thing with the memo-rial being built in the name ofChhatrati Shivaji. Right fromday one, they are creating hur-dles in the way of constructionof the Shivaji memorial,” Modisaid.

The Prime Ministerannounced that the work onthe mid-sea Shivaji memorialwould begin. “The moment weget a green signal from thecourt, we will start the con-struction of the memorial,” hesaid.

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NCP chief Sharad Pawar onFriday hit back at Chief

Minister Devendra Fadnavisover his jibe that `there is nowrestler to fight with’ in theMaharashtra Assembly polls,saying one doesn’t fight with“kids”.

The NCP patriarch wasspeaking at a campaign rally atAmbejogai in Beed district.

“The Chief Minister saystheir wrestler is in the poll bat-tle but there is no wrestlerfrom the opposition in sight.

“There is this organisa-tion called Maharashtra StateWrestling Association, and itspresident’s name is SharadPawar,” the former Union min-ister said.

“I stand behind all thewrestlers, and he is telling usabout wrestlers. We don’t fightwith kids,” Pawar, 78, said.

If there was no contest,why Prime Minister NarendraModi, Union Home MinisterAmit Shah and Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathare holding rallies in the state,he asked.

He himself was not con-testing, but leaders of the rul-

ing BJP and Shiv Sena cannotmake a single speech withoutmentioning him, Pawar said.

The NCP chief also hit outat Shah for repeatedly askingwhat did Pawar do forMaharashtra, and listed hisdecisions such as giving 50 percent reservation to women inlocal governing bodies andrenaming MarathwadaUniversity after Dr B RAmbedkar.

The only answer the BJPhas for every issue includingunemployment and agrariancrisis is “abrogation of Article370”, Pawar said.

The NCP was not opposedto the scrapping of the provi-sions of the article which gavespecial status to Jammu andKashmir, but people’s concerns needed to beaddressed, he said.

He also reiterated thecharge that “not even an inchof work” has been carried outfor constructing ShivajiMaharaj’s memorial off theMumbai coast.

Similarly, the work onAmbedkar’s memorial in cen-tral Mumbai’s Dadar also hasnot made any headway, Pawarsaid.

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Aam Aadmi Party leaderand Delhi Chief Minister

Arvind Kejriwal on Friday saidhis state’s development modelwould be implemented inMaharashtra if it is elected topower in the October 21Assembly polls.

Speaking at a rally inBrahmapuri, some 90 kilome-tres away from here, Kejriwalsaid Delhi was developing onall fronts because AAP hadgiven “corruption-free admin-istration”.

“We are providing freeelectricity upto 200 units permonth, and 20,000 litres ofwater per person annually. Weimproved the education sys-tem and standard ofGovernment schools, and theyare now better than the onesoperated by the private sector,”he said.

He said such initiativeswould be replicated inMaharashtra to better the for-tunes of its people.

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Union Home Minister AmitShah on Friday dared

Congress leader Rahul Gandhiand NCP chief Sharad Pawar tobring back Article 370 inJammu & Kashmir if they everreturn to power.

Addressing a poll rally inRajura seat here, Shah said theCongress, NCP and otheropposition parties did notabrogate provisions of Article370 due to vote-bank politics.

Article 370 had become the“gateway for terrorists” in thelast 70 years, leading to 40,000killings in J&K, he claimed.

He said the Narendra Modigovernment was elected with abigger mandate in 2019because people had full faith inhis leadership and developmentworks carried out by theCentre.

“I am throwing a directchallenge to Rahul Gandhi andSharad Pawar to restore Article370 in Jammu & Kashmir after

coming to power,” he said.He said the Congress,

despite ruling the country for“70 years” had done nothingfor Adivasis and OtherBackward Castes, while theBJP government at the Centrehad launched a slew of schemesfor their welfare.

Vote for the BJP as it stoodfor development, while partieslike Congress and NCP werecentred around families, heexhorted the gathering.

The State goes to poll onOctober 21 while results will bedeclared on October 24.

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There was no vote inParliament on the

abrogation of provisions ofArticle 370 and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi was misleadingthe nation on the issue, seniorCongress leader Anand Sharmaclaimed here on Friday.

Addressing a Press confer-ence ahead of the October 21Maharashtra Assembly polls,Sharma said the Congress didnot need a certificate from theBJP on patriotism, as two of itsPrime Ministers sacrificed theirlives in the fight against terror.

Modi and the BJP havebeen targeting the Congressduring the campaign forAssembly polls, claiming thatthe grand old party opposedthe scrapping of Article 370.

Article 370 was a tempo-rary provision which was to goin a span of time. Parliamentonly needs to be notified aboutit. On August 5-6, the Government informedParliament and there was novote.

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Acomparatively low-profileAssembly segment, Ausa

in central Maharashtra shotinto limelight when ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis’sformer PA Abhimanyu Pawarjumped into the fray as the BJPcandidate and all eyes will beon how he fares in his maid-en poll foray.

The Ausa Assembly seat inLatur district in the aridMarathwada region will seePawar locking horns with two-time Congress MLA BasavrajPatil.

Traditionally a Shiv Senaseat, the BJP convinced its allyto part with the segment andgave nomination to Pawar,Fadnavis’s former personalassistant (PA).

Overnight, Ausa becameone of the most talked aboutAssembly seats of this electionand Fadnavis’s shadow loomslarge over the constituencygiven that he handpicked hisclose aide Pawar as the BJP can-didate.

However, Pawar is unlike-ly to have a cakewalk as he ispitted against a strong candi-date, sitting Congress MLAPatil.

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Page 8: ˇˆ ˙ ˝ ˛˚ˆ˘˙ · your call,” Rahul Gandhi said ... admission of girls from acad-emic session 2021-22 in a phased manner. The decision is ... Management Services Private

Political parties are central to thefunctioning of a representativedemocracy because a multi-partysystem generates different policyoptions for the public. The options

thus considered are aimed at fulfilling theinterests and aspirations of the electorate. TheOpposition, especially inter-party coali-tions, is a key concept in a liberal democra-cy. However, interestingly, political partieshave one function in common: All of themseek political power to form a Governmentor to take the role of the Opposition.

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections are over.While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ledNational Democratic Alliance’s (NDA’s)roaring success in both 2014 and 2019 par-liamentary elections has made it the largestparty, the Congress has been facing debacleafter debacle in successive elections. In thisyear’s general election, the BJP won 303 seatsand along with its allies, the NDA took its tallyto 352 seats. The United Progressive Alliance-led Congress was reduced to 91 seats with itbarely crossing the half-century mark with52 seats. With the BJP’s winning percentagereaching 70 per cent (it contested in 437 seatsand won 303 of them), the main Oppositionparty, the Congress, stared at a major exis-tential crisis. The BJP’s spectacular win hasleft the Opposition, the Congress in partic-ular, weak, clueless and irrelevant.

But why is the Opposition so significant?Its importance lies not just in providing ameans to express negative reaction to theGovernment’s decisions but to also tireless-ly hold the ruling party to account, offer con-structive criticism and project a progressivealternative to the Government. On this front,the Congress lacks comprehensive strategyand stamina to take on the might of the BJP’spower duo of Prime Minister NarendraModi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

It’s true that people are often accused ofseeing the world the way they want it to berather than how it is. But do we really needbinoculars to see the fall of a once great polit-ical party? Leaders from the top-level to thelow-rung as well as legislators have been quit-ting the Congress. The prominent amongthem are airing their views against the partyline. Indications are also there of deep intra-party disputes and conflicts. On a close look,however, one will find the real reason why theleaders took the decision to leave the party/airviews. And it wouldn’t be surprising for thosewho have a grasp of the reality.

Last April, I had mentioned in an arti-cle titled, Congress Needs to Make aComeback for Democracy to Sustain Itself: “Inthe world’s largest democracy, the shrinkingpolitical space of a 133-year-old nationalparty is as disconcerting for the party as itis for democracy itself. And, therefore, theCongress’ revival is crucial for the nation andchallenging for its party leadership. The taskis made tougher as sub-optimal leadershipfaces the task of rebuilding the party andrestructuring its shattered image and appeal.”

One and a half years later, theCongress’ state of affairs is evenworse than what people hadfeared. I had earlier explained theto-do list for the grand old party,which remains prerequisite tilldate.

�The stark reality is that theCongress has, for far too long,functioned as an autocrat, deny-ing many deserving party func-tionaries their rightful place in theorganisation. Loyalty towardsindividuals doesn’t necessarilyimply loyalty towards the party.It should take serious note of it.

��An internally-democra-tic political party is always goodfor a democracy. And, therefore,establishing intra-party democ-ratic norms is no longer anoption but a necessity. It’s likelyto prevent disintegration of theparty, make politicians account-able and encourage meaningfuldeliberation.

�� It should get rid of self-seeking and corrupt old guards.There are capable young leaders,who can flush out the party’s old,withered arteries.

� Short-term politicaladvantages have always assuredlong-term political disadvan-tages. Compromising politicshad the Congress falling from364 out of 489 Lok Sabha seatsin the first-ever general electionin 1952 to 44 out of 545 in2014. While people’s expecta-tions from the party are reallylow, the need for it to rise hasnever been greater.

Change is as constant a fea-

ture in politics as it is in life, itis said. Those who resist sucha change will find themselvespushing against a sea of opin-ion and positioned on thewrong side of history.

Most relevant for present-day Congress is an observationby Mohammed Ayoob, Professor,Michigan State University, whowrites that even after two majorelectoral debacles, the dynastyrefuses to give up control anddeliberately fails to realise that itis destroying the chances of theCongress bouncing back. Theequation of the party with thefamily has destroyed any possi-bility of its renaissance.

Buoyed by its stupendousvictory in this year’s parliamen-tary elections when the BJP isgearing up for the 2024 gener-al election, targetting 333 MPs,the Congress is seen as a small,snivelling, struggling party. Asa matter of fact, the Congress’decline began years ago butaccelerated in 2014 with theelection of Narendra Modi.

It’s not that the BJP-ledNDA Government is runningflawlessly. Apart from the eco-nomic mess, the political cultureborn out of the personalitycult, ultra-nationalism and hatepolitics concerns the commonman the most. Besides, theGovernment has failed toaddress other critical issues:From agrarian distress to unem-ployment to dissatisfactionamong the urban middle class-es and the poor. India’s rank in

the Global Hunger Index (GHI)has slipped further — from 95in 2010 to 117 this year.

So, for the Congress, thereare enough political opportuni-ties. It’s just about how to makean opportunity fit, not the otherway around. It’s about seizingopportunities in right earnestand at the right time.

By giving the reins of theparty again to a family member,the Congress might have arrest-ed disintegration within but itwill commit a grave mistake ifit thinks that it can emergestronger anytime soon. Theparty leadership must recognisethat something far bigger anddeeper is at work in the intra-party realm of politics. In theprevailing political culture, forthe Congress, if it wishes to bean alternative to the BJP, evendisintegration would be a bet-ter option if a wider acceptabil-ity of the younger generationeludes the party rank and file.

INC, minus Sonia-Rahul-Priyanka, is thinkable butIndian politics minus theCongress is unthinkable and ifindeed it happens, it would besad and may be the most unfor-tunate turn, which may forev-er change who we are. TheCongress may be criticallyweakened but it is not wreckedas yet.

(The writer is former DeputyGeneral Manager, IndiaInternational Centre, New Delhi,and General Manager,International Centre, Goa)

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Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Ayodhya closure” (October18). A five-judge Constitutionbench, headed by Chief Justiceof India Ranjan Gogoi, hasreserved its verdict on one of themost sensitive case of the RamJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid landdispute in Ayodhya. What willfollow next is a race against timeas the verdict will be deliveredin a month’s time before Gogoidemits office.

In a democracy, any judicialverdict is premised on facts,which entail reliable evidence,satisfactory proof and eyewit-nesses. If indeed a settlement isreached, it will be a victory forparties concerned and the medi-ators, too. Whatever decision thecourt takes must be acceptedgracefully.

Finally, the country mustmove out from its past andfocus on more important issuespertaining to the economy. Theyoung generation is faced witha serious unemployment crisis.We need a strong economy andnot court cases.

Azhar A KhanRampur

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Lessons from PMC” (October17). The purpose of setting upcooperative banks was to furthereconomic development and social

life of the people. While thesebanks have been able to fulfilltheir role partially, a majorimpediment has been the electedmembers of borrowers, who aremore concerned about furtheringtheir own interests.

Cooperative banks offer

attractive deposit rates thancommercial banks and this iswhy they strive on an ecosystemof small business, traders andpetty service providers. In acountry like ours, where finan-cial literacy is not so high, it isessential that all banks come

under the purview of the ReserveBank of India (RBI). The Centralbank must maintain a strict vigiland audit all ailing banks so thatscams like PMC never happenagain and the faith of the depos-itor remains intact.

Harvinder Singh ChughVia email

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Still too hungry” (October18). It is unfortunate that despitebeing the second-largest foodproducer, India ranks poorly onthe hunger levels. To tackle theproblem, there is a need for theGovernment to increase the bud-get for children’s health.

The problem is all the morecomplex because the food basketdiffers from region to region. It is,therefore, essential that we havean efficient integrated system forfood production, processing,preservation and distributionwhich can cater to the changingtastes of the nation.

Srishti MathurUjjain

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Despite loud talk by successiveGovernments about increasing domesticproduction of oil and gas to make India

self-sufficient in energy, we are producing lessthan 20 per cent of our requirement. The balance,over 80 per cent, continues to be imported. Thisheightens our vulnerability to a point wherebythe slightest disruption in any of the majorsources of imports (be it imposition of sanctionsby the US against Iran or an attack on oil instal-lations in Saudi Arabia) creates major ripples thathave the potential to destabilise the country’seconomy.

The problem is not lack of resources. Indiahas 26 Sedimentary Basins (SBs) covering an areaof 3.14 million square kilometres (sq km). But,the lack of a conducive policy environment andcumbersome regulatory processes have deterredglobal firms (who have the technology, expertiseand capital) from investing in their exploration,development and commercialisation. At present,only six SBs covering 0.518 million sq km or bare-ly 16 per cent of the total area are under com-mercial exploitation. Even these six SBs are sub-optimally utilised.

An overwhelming share of throughputcomes from fields discovered over four decadesago in the 1970s, namely Bombay High and theSouth Bassein fields and so on, with no majordiscoveries in recent times. The only exceptionwere finds in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basinin the early 2000s, touted as ones that would con-tribute nearly 50 per cent of the country’s totalgas production. Even that turned out to be adamp squib with the high-profile KG-D6 oper-ated by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) end-ing up with meagre reserves of about two tril-lion cubic feet (Tcf) against an initial estimate of10 Tcf.

The Narendra Modi Government has triedto entice global energy giants by assuring a high-er price for difficult deep/ultra-deep waterfields on the one hand and giving flexibility tooperators in choosing new areas with freedomof pricing and marketing under the 2017Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy(HELP) on the other. It has also tried to simpli-fy processes for approval and reduce bureaucrat-ic red tape. But controls on supply, distributionand use remain, even as multiple pricing regimes,depending on the supply source and hydrocar-bon type, give confusing signals.

In the absence of any major breakthrough insecuring a jump in production from fields alreadygiven under the 1999 New Exploration andLicensing Policy (NELP) and given the lukewarmresponse to the first three rounds of bidding heldunder HELP, it is unlikely that India would beable to reduce dependence on imports even by10 per cent as committed by the ModiGovernment. The Centre will, therefore, need toexplore other options for meeting the country’soil and gas requirements.

The first option involves sourcing a majorshare of requirements under long-term arrange-ments with exporters, leaving a small gap, say 10-15 per cent, for buying spot to take advantage ofprice fluctuations, depending on global-demandsupply at any given time.

India being the third-largest importer of oiland gas, we may leverage this to negotiate bet-ter prices. Joining hands with another major

buyer, say China, could further improvethe country’s bargaining power (but thisis easier said than done). However, thethreat of disruption always remains; dueto the force majeure clause in such tie-ups.

A second alternative is for Indiancompanies to pick up equity stakes inforeign oil and gas assets with arrange-ments for buy-back. For instance,ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), a PublicSector Undertaking (PSU), holds par-ticipating interest in over 40 assets in20 countries. RIL, too, acquired assetsin several jurisdictions. But this routeis subject to a huge downside risk oferosion in the value of investment —as already experienced by both RIL andOVL.

A third alternative is one in whichglobal behemoths such as Aramco —the Saudi Arabian Government-ownedbiggest petro giant and the world’slargest oil exporter — pick up stake inIndian companies which are focussedon refining and marketing of oil prod-ucts. This route is free from the vulner-abilities inherent under the above twooptions.

Already, in sync with Saudi Arabia’sintent to invest $ 100 billion in India’sdownstream sector, including refining,petrochemicals, retailing and so on,Aramco has proposed to acquire 25 percent equity in the $ 60 billion WestCoast refinery (another 25 per cent willcome from the Abu Dhabi National OilCompany-Adnoc) and petrochemicalproject in Maharashtra in which theother 50 per cent will be owned byIndian Oil Corporation Limited(IOCL), Bharat Petroleum CorporationLimited (BPCL) and Hindustan

Petroleum Corporation Limited(HPCL).

It is also contemplating picking up20 per cent equity in oil and gas assetsof RIL. The most crucial feature of thispartnership/joint venture is assuredsupply of crude oil by Aramco to meet50 per cent of the requirement of theWest Coast refinery. The arrangementis mutually beneficial. While, on onehand, India gets what it needs the most,that is crude in desired quantities on along-term basis without any disruption,on the other, Saudi Arabia also getswhat it needs the most, which is anopportunity to diversify its sources ofincome, thereby reducing its over-dependence on crude alone. Therecould not be a more apt example of thetwo countries exploiting synergies tothe advantage of both.

Indian companies can pursue sim-ilar arrangements with other major sup-pliers of crude oil like Iraq, Iran and theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE), who willalso be very keen to reduce their over-dependence on crude alone andmake their economies immune to vul-nerabilities resulting from price fluctu-ations.

From our perspective, even if thereis loss of output in their crude produc-tion facilities, being a co-owner inIndian firms, they won’t cut supplies tothe country. To take it a step further, theGovernment may even consider divest-ing its entire stake in oil refining andmarketing PSUs to strategic investorswho have ownership and control overcrude assets.

As part of its ambitious programmeof disinvestment to garner �105,000crore during the current year, it has

decided to divest all of its 53.3 per centshareholding in BPCL. If, it is sold tosay Aramco or Adnoc, this will not onlyyield a whopping �57,000 crore (at cur-rent market capitalisation of �107,000crore) but also ensure assured suppliesof crude.

The Modi Government may alsoconsider sale of HPCL — at presentowned by ONGC which in turn ismajority-owned by itself — to globalenergy majors. The sale of BPCL andHPCL won’t face any legal hurdles asthe relevant legislations, which led tothe creation of these PSUs, have alreadybeen repealed in 2016.

While, pursuing these initiatives,India’s political class needs to broadenits vision of oil security which shouldgo beyond increasing indigenous pro-duction to cover arrangements forassured supplies of crude from allsources. It also needs to unshackle itselffrom the “socialist era” mindset thatcrucial assets such as oil must necessar-ily be owned by PSUs. In a world where-in supply chains are globally integrat-ed, the focus should be on how best oureconomic interests are served ratherthan worrying about ownership.

The Modi Government shouldorchestrate its strategy combining thebest of all available options like boost-ing domestic production, long-termcontracts for supplies, letting global oilmajors own equity in the country’srefiners and retailers and Indian com-panies acquiring oil assets abroad forensuring adequate supplies of crude andgas to meet our growing requirementson a sustained basis.

(The writer is a New Delhi-basedpolicy analyst)

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Successful healthcare deliverydepends both on the availabilityof personnel and technologies.

Medical devices are an important cogin the delivery system as they equiphealth service providers with the nec-essary tools to perform their jobeffectively. Though the country’shealthcare industry has grown signif-icantly over the last decade, ourhealth ecosystem is plagued by the lackof availability and affordability ofquality services. In fact, India lagsbehind Brazil, Russia, China andSouth Africa and a number of otherdeveloping countries in this regard.While technological advancementshave expanded to encompass almostevery stage of the healthcare contin-

uum, accessibility and democraticavailability remains a hurdle. Indiafaces a dual challenge as the rising bur-den of lifestyle diseases is added to theburden of communicable diseasessuch as tuberculosis. Non-communi-cable diseases are currently responsi-ble for 61 per cent of the deaths in thecountry, a number that is only set togo up in the coming years. While boththe Government and private partici-pants have undertaken several mea-sures to address the lack of quality ser-vices, these efforts have been execut-ed in discrete silos.

In this scenario, medical appli-ances play a key role in offering bet-ter screening, diagnosis and treatmentalong with restoration and monitor-ing of health indicators to boost pre-vention. While equipment manufac-turers have mostly focussed onimproving the quality of care and lifeexpectancy, they also need to increaseaffordability so that there is a largescale impact.

Technology has improved thecomplexity and accuracy of screening

of diseases. Portable/point-of-careaccessories have made it possible toimprove diagnostic mechanisms at theprimary healthcare level, provide careat home and resulted in improvedhealth outcomes and patient satisfac-tion. It has also improved the accessto quality care in underserved andremote regions, while also making itpossible for patients to avail treatmentoutside traditional healthcare facilities.

Technological advancements insurgical equipment have enabled doc-tors to treat highly complex and crit-ical cases and reduce the length ofextended hospital stays. It has increas-ingly made it possible for elective andcomplex operations such as kneereplacement and bariatric surgery tobe moved to short stay/outpatientsurgery centres. For example, lapro-scopic surgery procedures remarkablyimprove outcomes; reduce length ofhospital stays as well as cost of treat-ment.

Rehabilitative centres and hospi-tals are making it easier for patients torecuperate and return to a relatively

normal life with the help of advancedrestorative and assistive devices.Advancements in curative technolo-gy have also allowed people with dis-abilities to lead productive lives.

Advancements in screeningdevices have enabled patients to mon-itor their condition at home, keepinga close track on all major health indi-cators. Furthermore, smart appli-ances are being increasingly used toremotely monitor patients and diag-nose life-threatening conditions early,reducing the need for hospital visitsand bringing down the pressure onoverburdened healthcare centres.However, there is a need for a morecongenial ecosystem for indigenousmanufacturers as medical technologyis a significant contributor to the costof healthcare delivery. According toconservative estimates, medical equip-ment contributes to at least 30 per centof the capital of setting up a secondaryor tertiary care center. Moreover,diagnostics and medical devices con-tribute to at least 20 per cent of the costof medical services. Unfortunately, the

ecosystem is not very conducive forthe sector to drive affordability andaccessibility. The Goods and ServicesTax (GST) on devices currently standsat 12 per cent. On the other hand, cus-toms duty is low. This tax policy neg-atively impacts indigenous productionand supports imports, which iscounter-intuitive to the ‘Make inIndia’ initiative. As the inverted dutystructure favors bringing in finishedgoods over raw material, importsconstitute 75 per cent of the industry’ssales. As a result, local manufacturersmake products at the lower end of thevalue chain.

The Government must considerrevising its tax policy to help localmanufacturers gain a larger share ofthe market. This will also help themmake products at more affordablecosts.

With a changing regulatory andeconomic environment, the medicaldevice sector is set to grow in thefuture and there are a range of factorsfuelling it. According to estimates,non-communicable diseases will cause

75 per cent of the deaths in the coun-try by 2025, with an increasing num-ber of people suffering from diabetes,heart disease and progressive lung dis-eases. The geriatric population is alsoset to increase and would require ahigher need for quality healthcare andmedical devices, both at homes andhealth facilities.

Apart from devising a more con-genial tax structure, the countryneeds to strengthen its regulatorymechanisms and testing procedures toensure highest standards of quality aremet. According to news reports, theNITI Aayog has prepared a roadmapto ensure better regulation of medicalequipment under which all devices —imported or locally manufactured —will have to be certified by the CentralDrugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO). While improving regula-tion is welcome, the authorities mustensure that the process remainssmooth, hassle-free and fast.

(The writer is director of a medicaldevice marketing and distributioncompany)

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Reliance Industries (RIL) onFriday added another

feather to its cap by becomingthe first Indian firm to hit the�9 lakh crore market valuationmark in intra-day trade.

The company’s market val-uation zoomed to �9,05,214crore on the BSE during theday. However, at close of trade,the company’s market capital-isation (m-cap) settled at�8,97,179.47 crore.

Shares of the country’smost valued company rose by1.37 per cent to close at�1,415.30 ahead of its earningsannouncement. During theday, it spurted 2.28 per cent toa record �1,428.

In August 2018, RILbecame the first domestic firmto cross the �8 lakh crore markin terms of market valuation.

TCS is the second most

valuable company after RILwith a m-cap of �7,71,996.87crore, followed by HDFC Bank

(�6,72,466.30 crore), HUL(�4,55,952.72 crore), HDFC(�3,61,801.97 crore), Infosys(�3,29,751.88 crore), KotakMahindra Bank (�3,08,708.32crore), ITC (�3,02,861.98crore), ICICI Bank(�2,82,783.39 crore) and BajajFinance (�2,39,947.60 crore) inthe top-10 list.

The m-cap figures of com-panies change daily with stockprice movement.

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India’s most valuable compa-ny Reliance Industries on

Friday posted a record quar-terly net profit of �11,262 croreas a steady rise in the share ofits consumer businesses ofretail and telecom counteredlower earnings from tradition-al petrochemical and refiningsegment.

The oil-to-telecom con-glomerate, led by richest IndianMukesh Ambani, reported anet profit of �11,262 crore, or�18.6 per share, in July-September, up from �9,516crore, or �16.1 a share, in thesame period of the previousfinancial year, the companysaid in a statement.

This is the highest quar-terly net profit earned by anyprivate company, surpassing itsown previous best of �10,362crore in the January-Marchperiod.

State-owned Indian OilCorp (IOC) holds the distinc-tion of posting highest everquarterly profit by any Indianfirm when it had reported a netprofit of �14,512.81 crore inJanuary-March 2013.

Reliance’s standalone netprofit of �9,702 crore was alsoa record high.

It clocked a 4.8 per cent risein consolidated revenue at�163,854 crore in Q2.

The company opened 337more retail stores and added 24million subscribers to its Jiomobile phone service thathelped increase the profitabil-ity of the venture, even as itstraditional oil refining andpetrochemical businesses con-tinued to see weak earnings.

Reliance reported recordpre-tax profit from its retail andtelecom businesses. The twonow account for a third of itsEBITDA, up from close to 25per cent last financial year.

With its retail storestrength rising to 10,901 from10,644 at the end of Q1, theretail business posted a 67 percent jump in pre-tax profit to�2,322 crore and a 27 per centrise in revenue at �41,202crore.

Reliance Jio, the group’stelecom arm, posted a stand-alone net profit of �990 crore,which was 45.4 per cent morethan the previous year, as sub-scriber base swelled to 355.2million from 331.2 million atthe end of the June quarter and252 million in Q2 of the pre-vious fiscal. Net subscriberaddition was a shade lowerthan 24.6 million added in theprevious quarter.

Earning per subscriberdeclined to �120 a month from�122 in the previous quarter.Earning per subscriber hasbeen on a decline since the firstquarter of 2018-19 when itclocked �134.3.

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An 83-year-old depositor ofthe troubled PMC Bank

died on Friday, with his fami-ly claiming that it could notraise money for his heartsurgery after restrictions wereimposed on fund withdrawals.

This is a fourth incident ofthe death of a depositor of thePunjab & MaharashtraCooperative Bank after theRBI appointed administratoron the city-headquarteredlender.

Two of the depositors haddied of cardiac arrest, whileanother, a woman doctor,allegedly committed suicide.

Murlidhar Dharra (83)died at his home in suburbanMulund on Friday, his sonPrem Dharra told PTI.

The family had a total of�80 lakh in deposits with tbebank (which was placed underrestrictions since September24), he said.

Doctors had recommend-ed heart surgery for his father,but they could not arrange themoney as the deposits are stuckat the bank, Prem said.

It can be noted that underthe RBI directions, exceptionscan be made for medical emer-gencies. It was not knownimmediately whether the PMCBank refused a request fromthe family under this provision.

After an alleged �4,355crore scam came to light at thebank, the RBI initially cappedwithdrawals at �1,000 in viewof liquidity crisis, and laterhiked it to �40,000 in three

moves. The depositors havebeen protesting over the lastthree weeks, seeking theirmoney back.

On Tuesday, 51-year-oldSanjay Gulati, who had recent-ly lost his job with Jet Airwayswhen the airline was ground-ed, died of a heart attack hoursafter attending a depositors’protest.

It was followed by allegedsuicide of Dr Nivedita Bijlani,and death of Mulund-residentFatto Punjabi due to cardiacarrest.

The crisis at the bank isbeing attributed to loans givento realty player HDIL, whichwere allegedly hidden fromregulators’ scrutiny, turningnon-performing assets.

Five persons includingHDIL promoters have beenarrested in the case.

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Traders’ body CAIT onFriday said it has held dis-

cussion with the CCI on“unethical competition” per-petrated by e-commerce firms,a day after Union ministerPiyush Goyal said the govern-ment was looking into allegedpredatory pricing by Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon.

According to a statementissued by the Confederation ofAll India Traders (CAIT), CCIChairman Ashok Kumar Guptasaid it is committed to estab-lishing a uniform and compet-itive business environment in

the country and if anyoneadopts unhealthy trading prac-tices, influencing prices in anymanner, the Commission willsurely take action as per law.

CAIT Secretary GeneralPraveen Khandelwal claimedthat due to unethical com-mercial practices of Amazonand Flipkart, around 40,000mobile shops are on the vergeof closure by Diwali.

A delegation of CAIT metwith the CCI Chairman andapprised him about how e-commerce companies are trap-ping the country’s business invicious cycle of unethical com-petition, CAIT said.

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China’s growth slumped to 6per cent in the third quar-

ter of 2019, its lowest level innearly three decades, as theworld’s second largest economystruggled to overcome theimpact of a bruising trade warwith the US and sluggishdomestic demand, according toofficial data released on Friday.

The GDP figures emergedjust one week after the US andChina reached a tentative tradetruce to avoid more damages tothe world’s two largesteconomies. China’s grossdomestic product grew at 6 percent in the quarter endedSeptember, the weakest quar-terly growth rate since 1992.

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The United States imposedtariffs on a record $7.5-bil-

lion worth of European Uniongoods on Friday, despite threatsof retaliation, with Airbus,French wine and Scottishwhiskies among the high-pro-file targets.

The tariffs, which tookeffect just after midnight inWashington (0401 GMT),came after talks betweenEuropean officials and US traderepresentatives failed to win alast-minute reprieve.

The WTO-endorsedonslaught from US President

Donald Trump also comes asWashington is mired in a tradewar with China and could riskdestabilising the global econo-my further.

In the line of fire are civil-ian aircraft from Britain,France, Germany and Spain --the countries that formedAirbus -- which will now cost10 percent more when import-ed to the US.

But the tariffs also targetconsumer products such asFrench wine, which Trumphad vowed to attack in recentmonths. Wine from France,Spain and Germany will nowface 25 percent tariffs.

Bangkok: Global markets large-ly brushed off more disconcert-ing economic signals fromChina, which on Friday report-ed that its economy grew at itsslowest pace in 26 years last quar-ter. The 6% growth pace Chinareported for July-September wasworse than most economistswere expecting, highlighting aglobal economy that is slowing.

Domestically, Beijing isunder significant pressure tohead off job losses as a tradewar with the US drags on.

Some of the latest data forSeptember, such as investmentand lending, showed improve-ment, but “pressure on eco-nomic activity should intensi-fy in the coming months,”Julian Evans-Pritchard ofCapital Economics said in acommentary. AP

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India remains among thefastest growing economies of

the world and efforts are beingmade to make it grow faster,Union Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman has said.

The InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) has pro-jected a reduced growth rate forIndia, but the country’s econ-omy is “still growing as thefastest”, she told a group ofIndian reporters on Thursday.

The minister is here toattend the annual meeting ofthe IMF and the World Bank.

Sitharaman said she is “cer-

tainly not risking a compari-son” with China, even thoughthe two countries growth rateshave been projected at 6.1 percent in a latest IMF report.

“The IMF (in its latest pro-jections) reduces the growth(rate) for all the globaleconomies. It reduces thegrowth for India too. But evenotherwise, even with that Indiais still growing as |the fastest growing economy,”she said.

As against India’s realgrowth rate of 6.8 per cent in2018, the IMF in its latestWorld Economic Outlookreleased on Tuesday.

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New Delhi (PTI): Markets regulator Sebi onFriday said it will auction nearly 200 propertiesof Sai Prasad Group firms and three of its direc-tors next month in order to recover funds worththousands of crores raised by the entity throughillicit collective investment schemes.

The regulator has been auctioning proper-ties of the group’s companies and their directorsfor the past two years. Besides, it has put up onsale, jewellery, ornaments and other valuablesof Sai Prasad Group.

In separate notices, Sebi said it will auction90 properties in Madhya Pradesh, 62 in Odishaand 46 in Maharashtra at a total reserve priceof over �74 crore. The auction will be conducted

on November 22.The companies whose properties will be

auctioned are Sai Prasad Corporation, SaiPrasad Properties and Sai Prasad Foods, whilethe directors are Balasaheb Bhapkar, ShashankBhapkar and Vandana Bhapkar. The propertiesto go under the hammer include agriculturalland, land parcels, office space and commercialpremises across the three states.

The regulator has asked the intending bid-ders to make their own independent enquiriesregarding the measurement, nature, type, clas-sifications, encumbrances, litigations, attach-ments and liabilities of the properties put on auction.

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Indian equities rose for thesixth straight session onFriday, the longest gaining

streak since mid-March, boost-ed by unabated foreign fundinflows and positive Brexitdevelopments.

The BSE benchmarkSensex closed 246.32 points or0.63 per cent higher at39,298.38. It hit an intra-dayhigh of 39,361.06 and a low of38,963.60.

The NSE gauge Nifty toorose 75.50 points or 0.65 percent to settle at 11,661.85.

Both benchmark indicesalso posted their second con-secutive weekly rise.

During the week, theSensex advanced 1,171.30points or 3.07 per cent, and theNifty gained 356.80 points or3.15 per cent.

Yes Bank was the top gain-er in the Sensex pack, rallyingup to 8.44 per cent, followed byMaruti, PowerGrid, NTPC,L&T and SBI.

On the other hand, TataMotors, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel,ICICI Bank, Axis Bank andInfosys fell up to 1.05 per cent.

PSU stocks were in hugedemand on Friday, led byBHEL, in-tandem with a bull-ish broader market trend.

On the BSE, shares ofBHEL, Hindustan Copper,

MMTC, Shipping Corporationof India and NationalAluminium Company climbed.

Also, SAIL along withNBCC, NMDC, RashtriyaChemicals and Fertilizers,SJVN and Oil India alsoadvanced.

“BHEL closed up by 22.2per cent today as news emergedthat government is looking toreduce its stake from 63.2 percent to 26 per cent in thecompany. Based on the strate-gic stake sale news of BHEL,other PSUs such as HindustanCopper, SAIL etc also ralliedtoday in anticipation of gov-ernment reducing its stake inthem as well,” said Jaipal Shetty,fundamental analyst atBonanza Portfolio.

Shares of RelianceIndustries ended 1.37 per centhigher ahead of its quarterlyearnings, scheduled to beannounced later in the day.

RIL’s market valuationzoomed to �9,05,214 crore on

the BSE during the day.However, at the close of trade,the company’s market capital-isation (m-cap) settled at�8,97,179.47 crore.

Sectorally, among the topgainers were BSE power, capi-tal goods, realty, utilities, metaland energy indices — rising asmuch as 2.63 per cent.

All 19 sectoral indicesended in the green. In broad-er market, BSE midcap, small-cap and largecap indices out-performed the Sensex.

“Indian equities outper-formed major global marketsfor the week. Equity marketswitnessed a sharp rally on for-eign investor buying, progressin US-China trade talks aswell as a deal being reachedbetween UK and EU on Brexit,”said Sanjeev Zarbade, vice-president, PCG Research,Kotak Securities.

Foreign portfolio investors(FIIs) bought equities worthUSD 1.2 billion over the past

five trading sessions, whiledomestic institutional investorspoured in USD 263 millioninto stock market.

FIIs purchased 1,158.63crore shares on Thursday, stockexchange data showed.

Market experts also saidthat investor sentiment wasupbeat after Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman hinted atfurther stimulus in FY20.

Meanwhile, the rupeeclosed almost flat at 71.14 perUS dollar on Friday amid hard-ening crude oil prices andlacklustre global cues.

Brent crude futures, theglobal oil benchmark, rose 0.12per cent to USD 59.98 per barrel.

Elsewhere in Asia, bours-es in Shanghai, Hong Kong andSeoul ended on a negative noteafter data showed that Chineseeconomy expanded at its slow-est pace in nearly three decadesin the third quarter. Exchangesin Tokyo, however, settled inthe green.

Equites in Europe weretrading on a mixed note intheir respective early deals.

Britain and the EuropeanUnion have struck an outlineBrexit deal after prolongednegotiations.

The deal, however, muststill be formally approved bythe bloc and ratified by theEuropean and UK parliaments.

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Premium denim companyLevi Strauss & Co is

expanding retail presence insmall towns, which it consid-ers as one of the pillars ofgrowth in India, said a topcompany official.

Besides, the company isstrengthening its base in metroand tier I cities by building larg-er stores.

“Our tier II, III & IV strat-egy is to continue to expandour reach to the consumer inthe market. It’s one of the crit-ical pillars for expansion in themarket and growth for India,”Levi Strauss Managing Director(South Asia, Middle East &

North Africa) Sanjeev Mohantytold PTI. According to him,small towns are “one of the keydrivers” for the Indian market,which has large number of mil-lenials.

Levi’s premium assort-ments and collaborations asHello Kitty, Super Mario Brosand special assortments as levi’smade and crafted would caterto metro markets. The compa-ny is registering a good growthin women’s segment andexpects this trend to continue.

Levi’s brand, which is pre-sent in the country since 25years, has a network of over 450retail stores and most of themare operated by its franchisepartners. The company has a

mixed omni channel retail pres-ence here and is witnessing twoto three times higher growthrate from online sales channelsas the base is low and is attract-ing new set of customers.

When asked about thegrowth in the Indian market,he said Asian market grewaround 12 per cent last yearand India is keeping pace withthat growth. “India is definite-ly among the top 10 marketsglobally and from volumepoint of view, we are among thetop five markets,” he said.

According to Mohanty,earlier when the companystarted to expand, the focus wason tier I and top 20 cities onlybut now things are changing.

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�=8)���88��=&�76�1��8=��8�+�6&)�New Delhi (PTI): Gold prices on Friday declined �145 to �38,925per 10 gram in the national capital on weak global trends and astrong rupee, as per HDFC Securities. On Thursday, the preciousmetal had closed at �39,070 per 10 gram. Silver also lost ground and fell by �315 to �46,325 per kg fromthe previous close of �46,640 per kg. In the international mar-ket, gold was ruling lower at USD 1,488 an ounce and silver atUSD 17.46 per ounce.

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Script Open High Low LTPHDFCAMC 2726.10 2926.95 2669.65 2882.20YESBANK 46.80 52.30 46.00 51.40IBULHSGFIN 197.35 245.45 196.65 231.50RELIANCE 1403.10 1428.00 1399.70 1415.30ZEEL 247.95 262.80 239.85 250.00BHEL 49.00 57.60 49.00 54.45RBLBANK 287.00 298.90 280.05 295.30TATAMOTORS 140.00 141.80 135.55 136.70BAJFINANCE 4120.00 4200.00 4082.80 4138.05MARUTI 7105.00 7400.00 7062.95 7318.15SBIN 264.50 271.20 263.50 269.65RATNAMANI 945.50 945.50 901.25 920.00GESHIP* 283.00 298.00 283.00 290.00BAJAJFINSV 8362.00 8440.00 8232.75 8263.95TATASTEEL 355.65 362.60 351.80 359.90BPCL 510.10 534.90 506.60 520.25EICHERMOT 20550.15 20668.60 20036.85 20271.75FORTIS 136.95 139.90 136.50 138.15ASHOKLEY 74.30 78.20 73.20 77.50HDFCBANK 1222.30 1233.85 1220.75 1229.20ADANIENT 172.50 175.80 165.20 175.20INDUSINDBK 1338.00 1361.00 1317.50 1341.65HINDUNILVR 2100.00 2115.85 2091.00 2106.20ICICIBANK 438.40 443.55 435.35 437.75JINDALSTEL 104.95 108.35 103.70 107.65INFY 766.65 773.60 760.10 767.75PEL 1467.95 1577.30 1443.25 1556.35MCX 1000.00 1087.25 1000.00 1069.55KOTAKBANK 1603.95 1618.95 1591.05 1615.45LT 1428.00 1456.50 1425.80 1448.05TCS 2038.00 2064.00 2025.10 2057.35TVSMOTOR 434.00 459.80 428.75 456.60AXISBANK 710.90 715.20 705.70 709.20L&TFH 86.70 86.70 83.80 85.35DLF 163.50 169.50 162.85 168.80SAIL 33.60 36.55 33.20 36.20NMDC 107.95 110.00 102.75 108.90ULTRACEMCO 4260.00 4363.80 4256.90 4295.50PNBHOUSING 408.60 488.80 402.00 478.30UPL 591.70 603.60 589.00 599.25UNIONBANK 52.25 53.80 51.80 52.10BEL 113.50 120.70 112.55 116.50VEDL 148.30 152.15 148.00 150.10BANKBARODA 89.45 90.80 88.10 89.75HDFC 2095.00 2100.70 2065.00 2095.35NCC 51.00 54.40 50.40 53.35SUNPHARMA 401.60 406.40 397.80 401.40ITC 246.50 247.75 245.00 246.50MANAPPURAM 144.50 155.00 144.00 154.55BEML 910.00 963.90 908.00 955.50SBILIFE 905.05 930.00 898.95 925.90ADANIPOWER 63.00 65.65 62.40 64.10JSWSTEEL 223.90 225.05 220.65 223.15IDEA 6.32 6.57 6.25 6.393MINDIA 22113.05 23489.90 20750.00 21782.45COALINDIA 199.00 206.50 197.90 205.95HINDPETRO 313.50 322.45 310.80 313.90HDFCLIFE 616.95 616.95 607.00 608.15APOLLOHOSP 1484.05 1530.65 1484.05 1508.15MOTHERSUMI 111.80 111.80 106.80 107.50DMART 1918.50 1964.50 1905.05 1924.05BALKRISIND 805.00 850.75 793.60 837.95FEDERALBNK 84.70 84.80 83.50 84.00NIACL 141.80 154.50 130.95 143.65BANKINDIA 63.40 65.30 62.55 64.15ESCORTS 647.30 655.50 644.30 650.25NBCC 34.20 38.30 34.00 36.90COLPAL 1534.95 1547.00 1528.85 1541.20BATAINDIA 1751.00 1779.50 1738.10 1768.10GRAPHITE 283.90 297.75 277.40 291.95IOC 147.65 148.10 144.80 145.60TATAELXSI 712.00 721.90 702.70 708.40PNB 59.00 60.70 58.60 60.20HEG 938.00 994.00 927.50 971.75AUROPHARMA 472.75 485.10 468.95 476.60TATAMTRDVR 62.60 63.10 60.50 61.40NATIONALUM 40.80 44.40 40.80 43.80NIITTECH 1408.35 1449.00 1398.50 1434.70ASIANPAINT 1812.95 1823.85 1788.70 1816.60HEROMOTOCO 2629.00 2661.65 2609.00 2645.80SANOFI 6120.00 6275.00 5925.00 6100.40TATAPOWER 60.00 60.50 59.25 60.05JUSTDIAL 607.00 635.90 605.80 634.25TATAGLOBAL 280.50 285.25 275.70 281.90RNAM 272.55 293.00 272.20 288.60LTI 1523.00 1634.00 1523.00 1612.00M&M 589.75 595.25 584.00 592.80ADANIPORTS 410.00 423.75 408.45 421.70CIPLA 448.15 450.80 440.10 443.80RECLTD 124.80 131.00 124.50 130.40PIDILITIND 1362.00 1377.30 1343.50 1353.25ICICIGI 1246.05 1264.85 1231.00 1243.85CANBK 186.55 189.95 185.25 188.85INDIGO 1731.00 1747.35 1706.60 1729.00MGL 972.00 983.50 961.00 966.90GMRINFRA 17.50 19.15 17.45 19.05GICRE 263.95 290.10 255.00 278.90BAJAJ-AUTO 3120.00 3123.45 3076.05 3087.75ABCAPITAL 76.70 82.45 76.50 79.50TITAN 1287.70 1305.00 1274.40 1300.60TORNTPOWER 285.35 291.90 283.05 284.20LICHSGFIN 384.00 392.00 377.00 384.80ONGC 141.00 144.50 140.00 143.50LUPIN 728.00 746.00 723.05 738.80DABUR 464.50 468.00 461.40 466.90M&MFIN 315.95 328.65 315.95 319.40NESTLEIND 14510.00 14921.60 14392.35 14838.30ADANIGREEN 88.75 93.50 88.05 89.70

ATUL 4224.80 4278.00 4166.20 4207.60GRASIM 724.75 749.00 718.00 746.50ICICIPRULI 472.00 477.90 467.00 476.55BERGEPAINT 487.00 505.00 487.00 499.05HINDCOPPER 33.70 38.75 32.55 38.65VOLTAS 677.40 697.00 677.40 691.40GODREJPROP 999.55 999.55 967.40 974.05ABB 1525.00 1565.00 1524.00 1552.65SPICEJET 121.70 121.70 119.00 119.50DELTACORP 178.15 191.90 177.30 187.40PVR 1845.00 1846.45 1816.00 1827.80CEATLTD 974.00 993.40 955.50 965.35TECHM 724.85 737.40 723.05 734.20DISHTV 17.25 17.25 15.75 16.65WIPRO 248.10 250.65 248.10 248.80JUBLFOOD 1343.35 1372.00 1332.00 1359.00UJJIVAN 310.90 311.05 303.75 306.45BHARTIARTL 385.00 386.15 380.50 383.25SRTRANSFIN 1072.00 1100.60 1058.00 1096.25ACC 1533.40 1558.00 1529.20 1553.10SIEMENS 1630.00 1656.00 1622.45 1649.60HINDALCO 189.00 191.25 186.75 187.40SCI 43.50 47.40 43.00 46.95EDELWEISS 86.40 90.80 85.50 89.90BRITANNIA 3244.00 3259.00 3224.50 3252.55IBREALEST 45.00 46.50 44.25 46.50VENKYS 1684.90 1742.00 1673.30 1713.35AMBUJACEM 207.25 209.80 206.35 207.65IDFCFIRSTB 40.05 40.65 39.50 39.75BOMDYEING 75.60 79.85 74.60 77.30NTPC 119.80 121.50 118.50 121.00EVEREADY 38.00 39.75 36.50 39.75CONCOR 600.00 620.05 596.00 611.20PCJEWELLER 32.40 34.00 32.40 33.30SUNTV 497.70 518.65 490.60 517.20RAJESHEXPO 673.50 677.00 672.00 673.25BANDHANBNK 565.05 566.90 549.00 554.10BIOCON 258.00 262.90 255.95 259.55GAIL 128.90 130.30 127.85 129.60INDHOTEL 153.00 153.00 148.20 149.65OFSS 3105.30 3125.00 3058.00 3116.00BAJAJCON 262.00 267.00 252.35 264.20VIPIND 463.00 476.95 461.30 465.20PAGEIND 21440.30 21648.55 21245.05 21497.45JUBILANT 479.90 510.50 472.95 505.35CASTROLIND 132.10 136.40 131.80 133.85STRTECH 141.95 148.50 141.20 147.20WOCKPHARMA 259.05 274.85 258.05 266.30HCLTECH 1103.00 1105.65 1088.25 1095.90POWERGRID 197.00 203.00 197.00 202.55LAKSHVILAS 19.00 20.00 19.00 19.00BLISSGVS 118.35 135.90 115.15 127.05GLENMARK 288.90 301.20 287.50 299.70ADANIGAS 149.20 153.50 149.20 151.00MARICO 388.95 392.95 385.00 391.65PFC 95.10 98.40 94.80 98.15GODREJCP 714.70 729.50 713.40 717.40PETRONET 262.75 267.75 262.75 267.10AVANTI 391.40 415.00 389.30 408.35MRF 64600.00 65000.00 63800.00 63996.00MUTHOOTFIN 653.10 679.00 653.10 675.95NAUKRI 2298.10 2357.00 2285.65 2301.30DEEPAKNI 320.00 323.30 312.45 317.80DIVISLAB 1721.00 1742.40 1718.45 1738.70OMAXE 198.00 198.00 185.95 186.90HAVELLS 686.00 694.00 679.95 689.50RVNL 23.55 24.50 23.45 23.75ENGINERSIN 107.70 114.55 107.70 108.75GODREJAGRO 480.50 525.20 480.45 518.70ITDC 346.60 368.45 341.65 349.95HINDZINC 216.85 218.85 211.90 216.50TATACHEM 607.30 618.60 606.00 613.45BBTC 1155.00 1198.20 1150.45 1172.35MOIL 134.90 154.35 134.90 140.50SUNTECK 419.90 419.90 399.05 401.20NOCIL 110.90 116.00 110.55 115.00MINDTREE 727.00 742.55 727.00 735.60KANSAINER 530.00 545.60 520.75 540.85BHARATFORG 455.00 455.00 443.05 445.45SRF 2674.25 2721.05 2674.25 2691.25GODREJIND 393.00 403.80 390.75 399.55TORNTPHARM 1661.50 1721.70 1661.50 1682.25RAIN 93.10 95.50 91.10 94.30IGL 370.90 381.20 370.20 379.80APOLLOTYRE 179.90 186.80 179.35 185.95JAICORPLTD 82.00 84.50 81.40 83.00SUVEN 265.45 284.00 262.50 280.50STAR 351.60 355.35 344.80 353.80OIL 162.90 174.80 162.90 172.95CUMMINSIND 575.00 594.95 575.00 583.55CANFINHOME 386.95 406.00 386.95 401.90CHOLAFIN 285.00 303.85 284.80 301.85

FSL 49.95 50.90 49.25 50.40RELINFRA 19.80 21.85 19.45 21.85RAYMOND 574.90 599.95 574.90 594.35IEX 134.90 149.60 131.20 146.75PIIND 1317.95 1318.40 1259.30 1277.80MMTC 15.75 18.65 15.75 18.25RITES 263.50 271.80 262.50 265.85DBL 373.00 392.00 372.90 388.50BALRAMCHIN 148.50 156.00 147.10 153.80EXIDEIND 178.10 184.00 177.25 182.85ISEC 286.00 296.80 277.55 286.00RCF 48.20 51.40 48.20 50.90GNFC 205.80 205.80 197.45 200.15SOUTHBANK 10.30 10.60 10.22 10.31ORIENTBANK 52.15 53.90 49.40 49.55FINEORG 1904.30 1980.00 1901.15 1943.45EMAMILTD 345.90 355.00 335.40 351.20DRREDDY 2722.50 2744.25 2711.00 2723.80GODFRYPHLP 1051.00 1095.75 1051.00 1090.50LTTS 1595.00 1657.00 1593.20 1644.40RELCAPITAL 12.45 13.45 12.40 13.45PHILIPCARB 118.30 123.50 117.60 122.55INDIACEM 80.00 81.35 79.60 80.65RPOWER 1.98 2.32 1.97 2.32BALMLAWRIE 173.50 179.15 172.00 176.45EQUITAS 105.40 106.20 102.15 103.35SPARC 130.15 135.00 130.15 132.30ITI 82.60 84.35 81.15 82.90KAJARIACER 553.50 564.95 539.00 553.05FORCEMOT 1063.05 1090.00 1056.00 1076.20WABAG 190.90 200.10 183.80 192.65WHIRLPOOL 2174.95 2202.00 2150.05 2163.55SHREECEM 18246.05 18757.95 18246.05 18661.20IRB 67.95 70.80 65.75 67.40DHFL 20.80 21.45 19.55 21.45ABFRL 204.40 211.45 201.60 209.30CADILAHC 241.95 242.80 236.85 240.40INFRATEL 257.50 262.90 254.45 261.80HEIDELBERG 184.50 196.00 184.50 192.95IDBI 29.80 32.40 29.55 30.70CUB 219.00 223.00 213.00 216.15INDIANB 117.00 124.00 115.90 122.70BOSCHLTD 14105.00 14383.30 14100.00 14123.60HEXAWARE 370.05 381.00 369.60 378.80MEGH 50.95 53.20 50.90 51.95KALPATPOWR 442.20 452.00 442.05 448.45IBULISL 71.10 75.95 70.30 71.00BLUESTARCO 830.00 848.60 815.40 824.60SWANENERGY 104.50 105.95 102.60 103.35ADANITRANS 234.45 247.50 234.00 238.00HFCL 17.75 19.00 17.55 18.75RADICO 305.40 319.00 304.35 316.60CYIENT 459.90 459.90 439.95 447.75TRENT 502.35 522.00 500.20 519.60KTKBANK 69.00 71.50 68.00 69.25SUPREMEIND 1222.00 1255.00 1220.00 1227.30OBEROIRLTY 516.85 544.50 516.20 539.70HSCL 74.60 75.90 74.10 75.45PTC 53.65 57.25 53.65 56.90UBL 1331.00 1333.50 1308.10 1329.05GLAXO 1442.75 1467.05 1433.35 1440.15JINDALSAW 84.80 88.80 84.45 87.95METROPOLIS 1273.20 1425.00 1273.20 1349.95LALPATHLAB 1386.00 1435.00 1386.00 1416.80INFIBEAM 41.00 42.45 40.50 42.10AMARAJABAT 669.50 675.85 662.00 667.80IBVENTURES 89.00 89.60 85.70 89.60INOXLEISUR 341.00 358.00 338.70 354.10JISLJALEQS 11.65 12.15 10.65 11.25HUDCO 33.55 35.40 33.35 34.95MOTILALOFS 643.55 654.10 640.25 645.70KPRMILL 589.40 610.65 585.35 605.15GICHSGFIN 152.00 160.35 151.80 155.95GREAVESCOT 132.35 134.35 126.75 128.10GALAXYSURF 1472.35 1543.55 1461.20 1508.00AUBANK 650.65 666.60 642.00 654.30VGUARD 234.20 239.00 234.20 236.60INTELLECT 187.50 195.00 187.20 192.05J&KBANK 29.75 32.50 29.70 31.60DCBBANK 182.40 182.75 180.70 181.30RELAXO 502.65 532.00 500.50 529.10BAJAJHLDNG 3644.00 3750.00 3644.00 3740.65JAMNAAUTO 38.40 41.25 37.25 40.80PARAGMILK 154.45 159.70 154.15 157.10NAVINFLUOR 754.15 780.00 745.00 771.20CHENNPETRO 160.30 161.90 155.00 159.80IRCON 368.35 384.00 366.95 381.60GHCL 205.00 205.25 197.50 200.65FINOLEXIND 602.50 624.75 594.00 616.80RAMCOCEM 743.30 758.00 741.90 754.40JMFINANCIL 73.45 77.10 71.20 72.30GILLETTE 7650.10 7890.00 7650.10 7837.00MFSL 409.30 411.50 406.10 410.35GUJGAS 180.00 180.00 175.50 177.85THOMASCOOK 127.40 129.60 122.25 124.40NLCINDIA 53.40 57.30 53.25 55.95POLYCAB 723.45 729.95 720.05 723.30ZYDUSWELL 1682.25 1745.00 1659.75 1736.30WELSPUNIND 49.75 54.90 49.75 51.80PHOENIXLTD 703.00 735.00 699.95 731.05BASF 980.00 999.00 960.00 965.90MINDAIND 358.00 373.65 357.85 367.90ASHOKA 100.25 104.35 100.05 103.90JKTYRE 68.00 68.95 67.30 67.90JKCEMENT 1068.50 1140.10 1068.50 1128.85BIRLACORPN 539.10 592.00 539.10 588.15AJANTPHARM 980.00 1024.00 978.80 1011.05TV18BRDCST 20.50 21.40 20.15 20.45JSWENERGY 66.50 68.85 66.50 68.55

LAXMIMACH 3645.05 3732.35 3600.05 3629.80EIDPARRY 158.00 161.60 155.60 160.00SJVN 24.35 25.85 24.35 25.60ALBK 24.70 26.00 24.55 25.65NHPC 23.35 24.10 23.35 23.90COFFEEDAY 36.70 36.75 33.45 33.75NATCOPHARM 576.00 580.00 554.10 566.50RALLIS 172.10 172.50 163.50 164.70SUZLON 2.50 2.59 2.41 2.56REDINGTON 108.55 113.55 108.55 111.55KEC 279.40 283.00 274.95 277.35MPHASIS 920.30 941.15 920.20 932.75PGHL 4445.00 4460.00 4395.00 4421.85BAJAJELEC 387.00 398.00 381.40 397.40ALKEM 1943.85 2029.80 1939.70 1959.65MRPL 51.50 52.70 48.65 49.00IPCALAB 917.10 953.25 917.10 947.75TCNSBRANDS 702.35 720.10 689.00 698.75ORIENTELEC 161.20 175.75 161.20 173.30COCHINSHIP 330.25 342.65 327.15 329.25GMDCLTD 61.00 64.50 58.05 58.70KEI 545.00 549.30 539.05 544.40CHAMBLFERT 153.65 158.90 153.65 155.55GSPL 211.00 214.55 208.00 209.55TRIDENT 56.85 60.70 56.75 60.35GSKCONS 8895.00 8993.85 8895.00 8959.60MAHSCOOTER 4600.00 4678.75 4582.00 4629.80VINATIORGA 2120.00 2127.45 2083.40 2098.40CROMPTON 265.00 268.95 264.25 266.05FINCABLES 361.00 367.80 361.00 365.90WABCOINDIA 6130.05 6199.85 6117.50 6147.30SHANKARA 290.85 299.00 285.00 286.40VMART 2072.35 2128.80 2071.00 2089.55PGHH 11676.05 11950.00 11572.00 11759.10ASTRAL 1197.00 1197.00 1158.10 1164.35IDFC 32.00 33.30 31.95 33.05AKZOINDIA 1963.90 2023.20 1955.90 2010.65SOBHA 449.85 472.30 449.00 451.40RCOM 0.73 0.76 0.72 0.74GSFC 76.65 78.70 76.60 77.95ABBOTINDIA 10995.60 10997.85 10655.00 10715.00CRISIL 1348.00 1382.50 1343.90 1367.70CENTURYPLY 158.30 164.25 158.30 162.80DEEPAKFERT 92.50 93.70 91.35 92.35PERSISTENT 605.00 629.85 598.00 620.10ENDURANCE 1010.55 1053.95 986.50 1044.20AIAENG 1717.90 1754.85 1705.25 1746.20SYNGENE 327.60 334.00 317.00 331.90CCL 229.50 231.95 227.10 228.20VBL 627.50 645.40 627.50 641.50HIMATSEIDE 139.05 145.00 138.00 141.80TATAMETALI 576.85 583.00 570.05 571.30DCAL 168.90 168.90 143.40 155.35FCONSUMER 23.90 24.70 23.80 24.55INDOSTAR 185.00 199.80 178.80 190.95SONATSOFTW 302.40 314.00 302.15 311.50WESTLIFE 329.10 342.00 325.25 331.20FRETAIL 383.95 401.75 383.50 395.40HONAUT 28668.50 28790.00 28379.25 28732.00GRANULES 97.50 102.50 97.50 101.50JBCHEPHARM 360.00 371.00 358.00 365.40IFCI 6.64 7.07 6.49 6.62JPASSOCIAT 2.02 2.24 2.02 2.18VARROC 475.00 498.60 457.60 494.70EIHOTEL 172.00 183.20 171.05 180.80TATAINVEST 830.00 838.30 807.00 808.00THERMAX 1108.80 1128.65 1107.80 1119.90TAKE 108.10 114.00 108.10 111.25TATACOFFEE 76.00 77.35 75.80 76.70UFLEX 203.75 207.70 201.40 203.25ZENSARTECH 211.70 222.75 208.75 213.35SUDARSCHEM 375.80 380.55 374.45 375.15ASTRAZEN 2328.60 2331.25 2265.00 2275.85BDL 280.45 292.15 280.45 286.65WELCORP 130.80 134.00 130.75 131.50DALBHARAT 810.40 830.00 809.70 815.45ADVENZYMES 151.85 154.70 151.85 153.95KRBL 205.00 222.00 205.00 216.25PFIZER 3230.00 3230.00 3211.60 3218.75QUESS 463.75 475.00 463.75 470.85CARERATING 535.05 537.25 510.05 516.20MINDACORP 82.05 89.00 82.05 84.20APLLTD 541.40 565.00 536.50 540.10CENTRALBK 16.85 17.55 16.85 17.35CAPPL 399.20 402.90 395.00 395.80DBCORP 159.00 159.00 155.30 155.80COROMANDEL 416.45 421.70 410.50 418.30STARCEMENT 93.80 95.90 93.55 94.50CGPOWER 15.14 15.14 15.14 15.14CREDITACC 632.50 640.00 628.10 639.05PRSMJOHNSN 76.30 77.90 76.30 77.50ITDCEM 37.25 40.25 36.85 40.25GET&D 193.00 201.25 182.50 194.30AEGISLOG 168.50 172.00 164.30 169.75TIMKEN 816.50 816.50 785.00 786.65DCMSHRIRAM 390.00 398.50 385.00 389.95TTKPRESTIG 5950.00 5999.90 5931.20 5958.85BAYERCROP 3311.65 3400.00 3255.30 3296.55JYOTHYLAB 161.10 173.85 161.10 171.25APLAPOLLO 1413.40 1413.75 1387.85 1391.95SYNDIBANK 24.35 25.15 24.35 25.00GAYAPROJ 118.25 122.85 116.55 121.55IIFL 112.00 123.30 110.50 116.85TIMETECHNO 56.40 61.85 55.90 60.50MAHLIFE 434.75 434.75 424.45 426.40SHK 121.75 128.00 121.15 126.00IOB 9.43 9.80 9.43 9.69GPPL 79.60 80.05 77.20 78.30NILKAMAL 1206.70 1246.30 1204.05 1228.85

ORIENTCEM 84.40 89.90 84.40 89.20ECLERX 412.90 442.45 412.90 427.45REPCOHOME 294.90 294.95 287.80 290.85SUNDRMFAST 460.00 467.00 455.25 460.60JCHAC 2000.30 2048.00 2000.30 2035.85GUJALKALI 435.40 451.20 435.00 437.00TEJASNET 76.20 83.00 76.15 81.50AAVAS 1690.00 1695.20 1670.00 1679.65LINDEINDIA 520.30 534.10 517.00 523.90HATHWAY 23.00 23.00 22.05 22.30SADBHAV 141.15 141.90 138.00 138.85ALLCARGO 100.15 102.00 100.15 101.35TNPL 187.80 189.90 186.60 187.30TEAMLEASE 3153.20 3175.75 3002.80 3039.40JSL 33.95 35.00 33.95 34.60CHOLAHLDNG 462.00 465.90 461.35 463.80VSTIND 3853.95 3898.00 3752.45 3833.75LEMONTREE 58.00 58.00 56.20 56.60GEPIL 703.30 716.00 703.30 712.75PRESTIGE 288.80 302.10 287.70 299.00LUXIND 1167.05 1236.45 1167.05 1215.55INOXWIND 38.00 38.00 34.50 34.80CERA 2470.15 2600.00 2467.90 2574.70GRINDWELL 595.85 603.00 594.85 600.30SCHAEFFLER 4116.95 4158.15 4090.85 4099.70NETWORK18 19.85 20.35 19.70 20.20MAHINDCIE 144.40 149.60 143.65 148.15SYMPHONY 1260.55 1268.80 1244.10 1248.95SREINFRA 7.86 8.30 7.80 8.23MAHLOG 353.60 372.40 353.60 370.30CARBORUNIV 303.50 311.60 298.10 308.85GDL 92.25 94.80 92.05 93.90LAURUSLABS 311.10 320.95 310.65 314.95DHANUKA 294.10 304.15 290.05 292.15JSLHISAR 65.00 66.45 64.55 65.20ANDHRABANK 16.00 16.50 15.80 16.30VTL 916.80 926.10 916.80 919.60SKFINDIA 2120.15 2172.00 2120.15 2152.95CENTRUM 23.00 24.50 23.00 24.10HAL 715.00 715.15 702.25 704.90MAGMA 51.70 53.40 49.20 52.60HERITGFOOD 323.70 326.05 317.10 319.60ESSELPRO 114.50 121.70 113.80 116.70JKLAKSHMI 287.00 291.65 285.65 287.65PNCINFRA 173.10 173.95 170.10 170.85THYROCARE 501.00 509.20 498.15 506.90NESCO 575.00 575.00 566.80 568.10TRITURBINE 97.20 101.05 97.20 100.20

MHRIL 212.20 218.60 212.20 216.55KNRCON 224.20 234.65 224.20 228.95IFBIND 664.35 680.85 659.00 675.40MAXINDIA 64.15 65.50 63.05 65.00MAHABANK 9.60 9.90 9.50 9.75UCOBANK 11.57 11.97 11.57 11.85MAHSEAMLES 358.00 363.00 356.60 359.75SCHNEIDER 71.50 73.45 71.50 73.20MASFIN 675.00 675.00 661.00 665.35CORPBANK 14.00 14.55 13.75 14.20JAGRAN 58.70 59.85 58.60 59.25GULFOILLUB 847.00 874.90 847.00 871.90APARINDS 514.60 515.00 507.65 510.05FLFL 405.70 412.25 403.40 407.75FDC 162.90 162.90 160.00 160.90SOMANYCERA 181.25 193.25 181.25 188.00ASTERDM 118.20 119.45 117.25 118.00BLUEDART 2370.50 2370.50 2270.00 2273.05SHILPAMED 260.00 268.50 252.15 260.90TVTODAY 312.20 312.20 305.55 308.95SHRIRAMCIT 1355.50 1355.50 1331.90 1335.50UNITEDBNK 7.15 7.55 7.15 7.29TVSSRICHAK 1799.30 1850.15 1799.30 1833.75NBVENTURES 74.00 75.40 73.50 74.20TIINDIA 383.00 383.00 364.10 365.40SIS 905.00 907.45 890.00 896.15SOLARINDS 1086.05 1097.60 1085.10 1089.75LAOPALA 174.00 175.05 174.00 175.00JSWHL 2701.00 2854.95 2701.00 2750.45NH 232.00 240.00 230.05 237.65SHOPERSTOP 394.70 396.00 391.50 394.40SUPRAJIT 179.00 184.00 179.00 182.85ERIS 415.00 430.95 415.00 421.30SFL 1212.00 1262.00 1212.00 1259.00CHALET 320.00 327.85 315.05 319.65

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 11580.30 11684.70 11553.15 11661.85 75.50YESBANK 46.60 52.70 46.00 51.30 3.90COALINDIA 198.80 206.50 197.75 206.00 6.60ADANIPORTS 410.00 423.80 408.00 422.20 13.05MARUTI 7081.30 7450.00 7061.65 7350.00 226.10GRASIM 725.50 749.00 718.30 746.00 21.45NESTLEIND 14519.10 14943.35 14403.30 14900.00 383.15POWERGRID 197.70 203.25 197.00 202.50 4.80LT 1428.00 1457.00 1425.40 1452.00 27.65BPCL 510.00 534.90 506.75 523.00 9.70TITAN 1278.00 1305.00 1274.05 1301.25 24.20NTPC 118.80 121.50 118.40 120.90 2.20INFRATEL 256.80 263.00 254.00 261.55 4.60SBIN 264.40 271.35 263.20 269.20 3.75RELIANCE 1404.00 1427.90 1398.70 1416.00 19.50TCS 2037.50 2063.90 2025.00 2059.00 28.05TECHM 724.45 737.75 722.70 734.35 10.00ONGC 140.10 144.50 139.90 142.90 1.50UPL 591.00 603.50 588.50 598.00 6.05VEDL 148.40 152.20 147.80 149.75 1.45BAJFINANCE 4100.00 4199.00 4080.00 4139.00 32.20HDFCBANK 1225.45 1233.85 1220.35 1229.00 9.00KOTAKBANK 1603.80 1619.60 1591.00 1616.00 11.45HEROMOTOCO2629.00 2662.05 2605.85 2645.00 15.80GAIL 128.50 130.40 127.80 129.50 0.75TATASTEEL 355.95 362.80 351.75 357.70 1.60WIPRO 247.85 250.70 247.85 248.80 0.95HDFC 2089.00 2102.00 2065.10 2096.00 6.25BRITANNIA 3227.85 3259.20 3222.55 3257.20 9.35ULTRACEMCO 4268.70 4363.00 4255.65 4272.20 11.75ASIANPAINT 1815.00 1824.45 1786.70 1816.80 4.50ITC 246.00 247.80 245.10 246.35 0.50HINDUNILVR 2100.00 2116.00 2090.70 2108.00 4.15HCLTECH 1094.95 1105.45 1088.40 1094.95 1.90M&M 589.00 595.50 583.60 594.20 0.90AXISBANK 709.85 715.70 705.25 710.35 0.05INDUSINDBK 1332.00 1361.70 1317.10 1338.50 -1.60SUNPHARMA 401.00 406.50 397.50 400.95 -0.55DRREDDY 2720.00 2744.95 2710.05 2722.00 -5.40INFY 763.80 773.80 760.00 767.50 -2.00JSWSTEEL 222.10 225.20 220.30 222.15 -0.80BAJAJFINSV 8316.00 8437.60 8230.00 8285.00 -31.65IOC 146.10 148.20 144.75 145.55 -0.85BHARTIARTL 384.95 386.40 380.50 383.30 -2.55BAJAJ-AUTO 3119.00 3119.95 3075.00 3090.00 -21.50ICICIBANK 437.70 443.70 435.25 437.10 -3.50HINDALCO 187.95 191.35 186.65 186.85 -1.95EICHERMOT 20600.00 20680.00 20065.10 20226.15 -265.70CIPLA 448.50 451.15 440.10 440.20 -6.10TATAMOTORS 139.00 141.80 135.60 136.60 -2.90ZEEL 248.30 262.75 239.55 249.70 -14.75

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Regulator Sebi on Friday putin place stricter norms for

auditors, including prompt dis-closures about reasons for theirresignation and requirement toapproach chairman of auditcommittee directly in case ofany concerns with manage-ment of the firm concerned.

The norms have beenissued against the backdrop ofrising instances of auditorsquitting companies as well asthose of auditors coming underthe scanner in connection withalleged financial irregularitiesat firms.

The circular on'Resignation of statutory audi-tors from listed entities andtheir material subsidiaries' willcome into force with immedi-ate effect.

According to Sebi, resig-nation of an auditor of a listedentity before completion ofthe audit of financial results forthe year due to reasons such aspre-occupation may seriouslyhamper investor confidenceand deny them access to reli-able information for takingtimely investment decisions.

Coming out with the cir-cular, Sebi has asked all listedentities and material sub-sidiaries to ensure that an audi-tor issues the audit report.

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Istanbul: Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan onFriday warned that Ankarawould restart its operationagainst Kurdish forces in Syria on Tuesday evening ifthey do not withdraw from a"safe zone".

After US Vice-PresidentMike Pence came to Ankara fortalks with Erdogan on Thursday,the NATO allies agreed Turkeywould suspend its offensive forfive days in northern Syriawhile Kurdish fighters withdrawfrom the area.

"If the promises are keptuntil Tuesday evening, the safezone issue will be resolved. If itfails, the operation... Will startthe minute 120 hours are over,"Erdogan told reporters duringa foreign media briefing inIstanbul.

He said Turkish armedforces would remain in theregion "because the securitythere requires this", adding thatthere had been no issues so far.

But the Syrian Observatory

for Human Rights said Fridaythere were Turkish air strikeson the village of Bab al-Kheir,east of Ras al-Ain on the bor-der. The war monitor said 14civilians were killed.

Turkey launched the cross-border incursion on October 9after repeatedly threatening toclear the border area from theKurdish People's ProtectionUnits (YPG) militia.

The Turkish forces are sup-porting Syrian rebel fightersunder the "Syrian NationalArmy" banner but the proxieshave been accused by AmnestyInternational of committing"war crimes" including sum-mary executions.

Erdogan also condemnedthe abuses that some Syrianproxies are accused of com-mitting during the offensive.

"Whoever commits suchan act is no different from (theIslamic State group). We can-not accept such a thing," hesaid, adding that the army wasinvestigating the claims. AFP

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Washington: PresidentDonald Trump has said thatAmerica's proposed econom-ic sanctions on Ankara are nolonger necessary after the USand Turkey struck a deal for afive-day cease fire in Syria.

As per the deal announcedby Vice-President Mike Pencein Ankara on Thursday,Turkey will suspend its oper-ations for 120 hours to allowKurdish fighters to withdrawfrom a designated safe zonealong the Turkish and Syrianborder.

Protesting Turkey's mili-tary offensive in northeastSyria, US President DonaldTrump on Tuesday signed anexecutive order to slap sanc-tions against Turkish officials,raising of steel tariffs and end-ing negotiations on a $100 bil-

lion trade deal.“Sanctions won't be nec-

essary because Turkey is doingwhat they're doing,” Trumptold reporters on Thursday ashe congratulated his Turkishcounterpart President RecepTayyip Erdogan for reaching adeal with the United States.

“He's a friend of mineand I'm glad we didn't have aproblem because frankly, he'sa hell of a leader and he's atough man. He's a strong man.He did the right thing. And Ireally appreciate it. And I willappreciate it in the future,”Trump said, describing thecease fire as a great news.

Terming it as an incredi-ble outcome, Trump said thatTurkey had a legitimate prob-lem on the 22 mile (34 kms)strip for many years. PTI

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Tal Tamr: Deadly Turkish airstrikes Friday shattered anhours-old US-brokered deal tostop Ankara's military offen-sive against Kurdish forces innortheastern Syria.

The ceasefire announcedlate Thursday was meant toprovide a pause for the evac-uation of Kurdish fightersfrom the battleground bordertown of Ras al-Ain and otherareas Turkey wants to controlalong its border with Syria.

The five-day suspensionlooked designed to help Turkeyachieve its main territorialgoals without fighting but itsSyrian proxies continued toclash with Kurdish fightersFriday and an airstrike killed14 civilians.

"14 civilians were killed in

Turkish airstrikes on the villageof Bab al-Kheir, east of Ras al-Ain," Rami Abdel Rahman,head of the Syrian Observatoryfor Human Rights, said. AFP

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London: After winning thebacking of European Unionleaders for his new Brexit deal ,Prime Minister Boris Johnsonwas in London on Friday look-ing to secure enough support toget the deal through the frac-tious British Parliament.

Johnson returned from anEU summit in Brusselsovernight for a busy dayattempting to persuade law-makers to ratify the divorcedeal at a rare Saturday sitting ofParliament.

He was due to brief hisCabinet on Friday afternoon,

ahead of what's expected to bea knife-edge vote.

Johnson's ConservativeParty holds only 288 seats in the650-seat House of Commons, sohe will have to rely on supportfrom other parties and inde-pendent lawmakers to get overthe line.

Foreign Secretary DominicRaab started drumming up sup-port early. "We've got a realopportunity now to get Brexitdelivered faithful to the refer-endum, move on as a govern-ment, and I think as a country,and lift the clouds of Brexit," he

told the BBC. Raab said theGovernment has not given uphope of winning the support ofits Northern Ireland ally, theDemocratic Unionist Party,which has rejected the newdeal. But the chances of thatappeared slim.

The DUP's Brexitspokesman, Sammy Wilson,said Johnson's Brexit package— which carves out special sta-tus for Northern Ireland tokeep an open border with EUmember Ireland — is bad forhis region and its bonds withthe rest of the U.K. AP

3 !� ���� ���� �� �� �� ������(��(( � �� ��%��� ����� Brussels: President Emmanuel

Macron declared on Friday thatFrance does not want to seeBritain's departure from theEuropean Union delayedbeyond October 31 now that anew divorce agreement has beenreached. "I think the October 31date should be respected. I don'tthink that new deadlines shouldbe given. We need to end thesenegotiations and get on negoti-ating the future relationship," hesaid at an EU summit. OnThursday, EU leaders approveda Brexit withdrawal agreementnegotiated between the EU andJohnson's Government to over-see Britain's departure. AFP

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Kabul: An explosion rocked amosque in eastern Afghanistanas dozens of people gathered tooffer Friday players, causing theroof to collapse and killing 62worshippers, provincial offi-cials said.

Attahullah Khogyani,spokesman for the governor ofNangarhar, said the militantattack wounded 36 others.

He said it was not imme-diately clear if the mosque wasattacked by a suicide bomber orsome other type of bombing."Both men and children areamong those killed and wound-ed in the attack," he said. Noone immediately claimedresponsibility for the attack, but

both the Taliban and the ISISgroup are active in easternAfghan, especially Nangarharprovince. Zahir Adil,spokesman for the public healthdepartment in NangarharProvince, said 23 of the wound-ed were transferred to Jalalabad,the provincial capital, and therest were being treated in theHaskamena district clinic. Theviolence comes a day after a UNreport said that Afghan civiliansare dying in record numbers inthe country's increasingly bru-tal war, noting that more civil-ians died in July than in anyprevious one-month periodsince the UN began keepingstatistics. AFP

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New york: Former US defensesecretary James Mattis said hewas honoured to be the "world'smost overrated general" in aswipe at his former boss DonaldTrump who insulted him earli-er this week.

At a gala charity dinner inNew York on Thursday evening,Mattis told diners he had now"achieved greatness."

"I'm not just an overratedgeneral. I am the greatest, theworld's most overrated," he said.

"I'm honored to be consid-ered that by Donald Trumpbecause he also called Meryl

Streep an overrated actress," hesaid. "So I guess I'm the MerylStreep of generals, and franklythat sounds pretty good to me,"he said to laughter and applauseat the annual Alfred E SmithMemorial Foundation dinner.

The retired Marine generalsaid he wasn't bothered byTrump's comments.

"Of course not, I earned myspurs on the battlefield... AndDonald Trump earned his spursin a letter from a doctor," Mattissaid, in a jab at the medical con-dition which allowed Trump toavoid the Vietnam draft. AFP

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Washington: A top WhiteHouse official found himself inthe middle of a political stormafter he indicated, only towalk back later, that PresidentDonald Trump asked hisadministration to withholdnearly $400 million in militaryaid to Ukrainian to further hispolitical interests.

Acting White House Chiefof Staff Mick Mulvaney's dur-ing a White House briefing onThursday suggested that theTrump Administration heldup the military aid to Ukrainein part because the presidentwanted it to investigate anunproven conspiracy theoryabout Ukraine's involvementin the hack of the DemocraticNational Committee (DNC)server in 2016.

Mulvaney, however, laterin evening recanted hisremarks and accused themedia of “misconstruing” hiscomments to advance a"biased and political witch-hunt" against PresidentTrump.

Responding to a question

during the press conference,Mulvaney said, “Did (Trump)also mention to me in the pastthat the corruption related tothe DNC server? Absolutely,no question about that. Butthat was it. That's why we heldup the money."

“The look back to whathappened in 2016 certainlywas part of the things that hewas worried about in corrup-tion with that nation. And thatis absolutely appropriate,”Mulvaney said, suggesting thatTrump wanted assistance withan ongoing investigation bythe Justice Department. PTI

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� How did you manage to fol-low even the smallest details inthe script, keeping intact itsauthenticity? How did you getinto the character?

The desire for authenticity wasthere right from the beginning. Itwas there in the script as well asin the research that Craig (Mazin)did. It was also there in the desireto not to sensationalise the story.For instance, one of the firstinteractions I had with the teamwas when I went for the costumefitting. It was pretty obvious thatvanity fair was not going to do aphotoshoot on Chernobyl. Therewas no re-tailoring of anythingof it. We had the costume assis-tant who was a Russian and hadworked in the industry in theSoviet Union. The material wasreally thick so it sort of hung offyou like a canvas tent. They hadsomeone who made sure that theglasses were functional. In termsof the details, dressing, produc-tion design and everything, inthe episode five, which is cen-tered around a trial where theyare trying to blame the wholething on human error, nothingwrong with the organisation orthe design of the reactors. Sothere’s a big show trial. And thephotographs of that which youcan see online and there’s evensome footage from it — it waseerie. So yes, the feeling ofauthenticity was really importantand I am sure that is the reasonwhy they went for an Europeandirector. They went for JohanRenck who has an amazing eye.

You see a real visual flair withoutit being sensationalised. It tookfive months to shoots all the fiveepisodes.

� In that time, how hard was itto go home at night? Do you letit go? Do you kind of wallow inthat for five months?

There’s no time for wallowingbecause you’ve got somethingenormous the next day. I mean, assoon as something’s finished, there’sa sort of relief. You get that off yourplate. And then you’re lookingahead. During the days you’reshooting something, if you’ve gotsome time off, you’re already try-ing to make sure that you’re goingto be ready for what’s coming downthe line.

� There were no light scenes thatcan give you a break. How didthat go for you?

Yes, I asked for some comedy.I did. I made a pitch to Craig. I said,you know, Russians have a verygood sense of humour. And he said‘no, no jokes for you.’ He can evenwrite funny but he didn’t want to.I really wanted some comic ele-ment. All he gave me was one joke.

� How difficult was it for youto prepare for a role like that?

Well, I was playing a real per-son and when you play a realcharacter, there’s so much infor-mation out there — books andvideos. But my character, theSoviets had, quite successfully,cut out of the story. They threat-ened to erase him from the his-tory. And so, in a lot of the booksthat I read, he wasn’t even men-tioned. This was probably thefirst time that I have played a his-torical character where theresearch wasn’t really that help-ful. Craig had a different thing inmind because the character I playis in contrast to Stellan’s(Skarsgard) character. I needed tooccupy a different space. In reallife, what I observed aboutLegasov was that he had kind ofSlavic Soviet swagger about him.He was an alpha male and pro-jected confidence and that wasexactly what Stallan’s characterwas. So I had to find somethingdifferent to serve the narrative.You do all your research but inthe end you’re not going to playyour research, you’re going toplay what the script demands.And the writer has made deci-sions on the story. You play theversion of the character that thewriter has written for you. Andthat makes for some tense shoot-ing days.

(Chernobyl will premiere onStar World with a special play ofback to back episodes on October20 at 12 pm.)

The warmth of the laughter whenyou mention Deepti Naval’s past co-stars is hard to miss even over the

slightly erratic phone line which connectsthe two metros — the capital and the mil-lennial city. But then, Ms Chamko, as shecame to be popularly known afterChashme Baddoor (1981) was the quin-tessential girl next door with her sunshinesmile and cheerful demeanour. However,the celebrated actor, painter and photog-rapher, who was last seen in the webseries, Made in Heaven, avers, “I was notthe girl next door in real life. I was a NewYorker where I had gone to college andgraduated in Arts as my major subject. Iwas running around theatre at Broadwayand Museum of Modern Art and livingin the neighbourhood of Andy Warhol.The sweet image was something that cin-ema created as this was the kind of girlspeople wrote about at that time. Therewas nothing dynamic where the femalecharacters were strong, bold, dynamic andconfident. I never got to play anythingthat came close to my own persona.”

However, Naval who recently got theExcellence in Cinema Award at the 21stJio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, doesagree that actors who were a part of theparallel cinema at that time weren’t vic-timised as much by the division betweengood and bad characters, something thatplagued commercial cinema. “We still gotto experiment with the characters thatcame our way. My very first film, Ek BaarPhir was in the grey zone.” She playedKalpana, a girl married to a film star, whofalls in love with a struggling painter. “Thefact that my character has secondthoughts about what she was doing andwhether it was morally right staying in amarriage of convenience rather than

being with the man she loved, certainlyfell in the realm of a grey area. For thatmatter, the three of us — Shabana(Azmi), Smita (Patil) and I had noqualms about playing those roles. It wasa really good time and you reminded meof it,” she laughs, her voice taking on atenor which can be described as richer asshe looks back nostalgically. “We dis-cussed each other’s roles. Smita was a dearfriend. And then there were the directorslike Basuda (Bhattacharya), Hrishda(Hrishishikesh Mukherjee) and so manymore,” she says.

Talking of the old times with Navalnaturally brings up the name of FarooqShaikh, with whom she was seen fre-quently in the early part of the eightiesin films like Katha (1982), Saath Saath(1982) besides Chashme Buddoor. Navalremembers, “He was one of the mostdelightful and adorable co-actors to workwith and had a great sense of humoureven though he always made people laughat my expense. He was a sensitive actorand somebody who continued to encour-age me and tell me my strong and weakpoints. He often said, ‘Dips, for that iswhat he called me, you have it in you.Please take your work more seriously.’”But the mention of Shaikh seemed to have

opened another floodgate of memories.“There was Sanjeev Kumar in Angoor andNaseeruddin (Shah) in Katha. I love theway I am positioned in the film and theway I was working with the two bestactors of the time. It was lovely,” she adds.

A remake of Chashme Buddoor wasreleased in 2013 but she feels that mostold films which are recreated are a letdown. “Though I encouraged it becauseDavid Dhavan is a dear friend but I did-n’t watch the whole film as it couldn’t holdme. I didn’t want to wash off the impactof our very original, adorable one,” shesays.

Since content, which was hithertoconsidered parallel, has now becomemainstream, does Naval feel that this isa better time to be a part of cinema?“Definitely. Today there is a much wideraudience for these subjects. We wanted todo so much more but we were alwaysfaced with the question whether it willwork at the box office or not. But havingsaid that, the films and the subjects werea record of that time and documented it.Today when I see these subjects and theway these films works, we too would haveloved to be watched by millions ratherthan thousands. And I want to be a partof this scheme of things where you can

work on experimental subjects in a muchinteresting way and for a much largeraudience,” she says. Naval, who directedManisha Koirala in Do Paise Ki Dhoop,Chaar Aane Ki Baarish, has three subjects

that she is looking at helming. “I will floataround the ideas and see which one wecan raise the money for,” she says.

As an actor, Naval sprung a surprisein NH10 (2015) where she played aSarpanch, who gets her daughter killed formarrying outside caste, a strange combi-nation of an empowered woman who isintensely regressive. “I didn’t see it com-ing either,” she says and laughs.

Even though most people talk aboutNaval in terms of her association with cin-ema, she is also a celebrated writer,painter and a photographer. She believesthat it was ingrained in her from herchildhood as her mother was a painterand her father, a writer. “In my childhoodmy dad would insist that I read books andmy mother would make me sit down onthe dining table and teach me to sketch.I inherited it and it depends on how youtake it forward,” she says.

All of them play an important part inher being. “These are my observations oflife. It can only happen when you have afeel for these things. It is not somethingthat you can acquire. It resides withinyou. I always felt a creative urge to expressmyself in one way or another. Writing andpainting has been with me since myschool days. Photography came in college

when I studied the subject.” Naval says that all of these ran par-

allel in her life. “There were a lot of times,when someone asked me if I had givenup acting, during an exhibition at theJehangir Art Gallery. But there was noconcept in my head of having giving upone thing for the other,” says Naval.

For her, all of the arts that she prac-tises are deeply connected. “I remembershooting for a film called Main ZindaHoon with Sudhir Mishra and I was soimpacted by it that I was reliving a phaseof my personal experience on camera. Inthe film’s climax, I land up in a mentalasylum and hallucinate that I am talkingto my father. But it was real for the char-acter. I went back home and painted thatphase of mine where I am sitting,wrapped up in my own world commu-nicating with my father who was longdead and gone,” she says and goes on totalk about another work, Black wind,which was a painting first and laterbecame a poem. “It came from a veryintense personal experience. I had furi-ously scribbled down my thoughts andthen made the painting. But I felt that itdidn’t convey enough and went back tothe notes and wrote the poem,” sheexplains.

Similarly, she visited a mental institu-tion to do homework for a script that shewas working on about an actress who hasto play a mentally disturbed character. “Icame back and wrote 24 poems on womenin mental asylums. If you know my work,you would connect the loose ends. It mightnot happen immediately but several yearsdown the line,” she says.

It as on account of her writing andinterest in arts that Naval shared a deep andabiding connect with the firebrand writerAmrita Pritam whom she also portrayedon stage in Ek Mulaqat where she was castwith Shekhar Suman who played the roleof poet Sahir Ludhianvi. She recalls, “I heldher in high esteem. Amritaji’s work wasalways very fascinating as she was aheadof her time. She was the sole woman’s voicein Punjabi poetry which was dominated bymale Sufi poets. She wrote unabashedlyabout female experience. It was nothingsensational but the fact that she wrote bla-tantly and boldly at that time made it so.She was a deep thinker. I knew her person-ally and I was very fond of her. On everysingle trip that I made to Delhi I visited herwhere she would be sitting or reclining onher bed and chatting while she smoked hercigarette and talked about life. In the play,I tried to remain as close to her as possi-ble. When people who saw me said that‘aapne Amritaji ko zinda kar diya’ , that wasthe best compliment.”

Naval believes that Pritam had a greatlove story between her and Imroz that shehugely admires. Naval says, “For the playthey chose the relationship with Sahir,which was also very intriguing and inter-esting between two talented writers. Theyhad a shared sentiment in language, so themutual fascination was there for a longtime.”

Just the way we share a fascination fora certain doe-eyed Ms Naval.

Fiction and reality TV shows, musicvideos, films and web series, actor

Hina Khan has done it all. But show-biz wasn’t a planned move. She saysentertainment happened by chanceand the journey has been wonderful sofar. She was part of one of the longestrunning TV shows, Yeh Rishta KyaKehlata Hai. She again won the audi-ence’s hearts when she got in the real-ity shows space with Fear Factor:Khatron Ke Khiladi and Bigg Boss. Herfilm Lines took her to the prestigiousCannes Film Festival this year.

“Entertainment happened bychance to me and the journey so farhas been wonderful. My dream is tocontinue growing as an actor, to tran-scend boundaries and work on projectswhich are across the world,” Hina said.

Her dreams are clearly comingtrue as she has taken the next step inthe international market by signing anIndo-American film, which is based onHG Wells’ novel, The Country of theBlind.

“I had never thought of becomingan actor and when my first show hap-pened, it wasn’t a plan. I went with theflow and the rest of course followed,”said Hina, who has bagged a film byfilmmaker Vikram Bhatt.

Bollywood or not, she says she ishere to entertain. “Give me a goodchallenge as an actor and I shall lap itup,” said the actor, whose negativeavatar in the show Kasautii Zindagii

Kay was loved by many.She also has an interest in doing

something in the fitness space. “Fitnessis a part of my life and hence doinganything related to it, comes natural-ly to me. I would love to do somethingin the fitness space soon but as of now,nothing is there in the pipeline,” saidshe. :&�)�

Full circle

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No matter how much one rel-ishes world cuisine and its

impeccable delicacies, when itcomes to the most comfortingfood, it’s always Indian. Model-turned-chef Sarah Todd believesso too. She was much loved bythe Indian audience when shecooked the country’s favouritehousehold dish Aloo Gobhi dur-ing one of her tasks in season 6of MasterChef Australia.

However, she says that thecuisine still hasn’t become aglobal favourite. “I honestly feellike the world hasn’t seenenough of Indian food. I thinkit should take the centrestage. Ithas such a rich culture anddiversity that the world needs tosee it. The many healthy andnutritious facets in Indian cook-ing haven’t really been present-ed. Traditional Indian cookingis definitely on the rise, global-ly. It’s already becoming well-known for some of its signaturefavourites but the rest of Indianpalate needs to reach the world.”

Sarah, who recentlylaunched three restaurants inIndia — Antares in Goa, TheWine Company in Gurugram,NCR, and The Wine Rack inMumbai — tells us how shecurated the menus for all thethree restaurants. “Location isthe first aspect I take into con-sideration. In Goa, we are veryfocussed on seafood, very trop-ical and fresh. In Mumbai, againseafood is prevalent to someextent but since it’s a metro city,the dishes need to reflect that aswell. So we went a little bit morepremium with the fact that it’sThe Wine Rack. Delhi obvious-ly needs a bit of the typical NorthIndian influence. We have keptthat in mind too. I feel like whenwe are curating the menus, it’s

really important to be inspiredby the local influences and yoursurroundings,” says the chef,who recently embarked onCRED’s four-city tour in thecountry in New Delhi,Hyderabad, Pune andBengaluru.

So what are the essential ele-ments that she keeps in mindwhile working? For Sarah, it’simportant to always find a “wayto connect with the audience”whether it’s through nostalgia, anew technique, an ingredient orthe cooking style. She adds, “Ineed to find just a few Indianelements for the plate and it cancome by blending various mod-ern techniques as well, forinstance the classic style ofFrench cooking.”

Well, one of her mostimportant influences for hercooking has been travellingacross the world and tryingvarious cuisines — both knownand unknown. “I just feel thatexperiencing food from all overthe world and trying home foodis something that I am really pas-sionate about. I feel that has beenthe most major influence on mycooking and even my son. Hemade me think about food froma nutritious point of view. Itmade me realise that if I wantmy son to eat healthy food, it hasto be tasty as well. So I learnt

how to make healthy as well astasty food all in one,” she says.

Some learnings she alsocredits to MasterChef, thebiggest being how to balance adish, which is due to the con-stant pressure contestants face atthe competitive kitchen. Sheexplains, “So you have to thinkon your feet. I figured out a wayto balance a dish. There are threemain aspects that I think usual-ly about. First, balancing flavoursand making sure that all theflavours — sweet, tangy, sourand salty — are perfectly layered.Second, textures. In the kitchen,

they always want somethingcrunchy, which they can biteinto, and yet it should be smoothso that it melts in your mouth.Third, it should visually appeal.Your dish should look beautifulbecause you first eat with youreyes. It’s the first sense that hitsthe dish.”

There have been manycountries and cultures aroundthe world which have recreatedMasterChef in their own lan-guages and versions. However,the Australia one has been themost successful of all. Sarahbelieves that it’s because of its

multi-cultural aspect. “Australiais a multi-cultural country.When it comes to the variety ofdishes, they come from all overthe world. This is what appealsto people. Many different stylesof cooking and various cuisineshas definitely played a hugepart in the show’s success,” shesays.

Sarah’s journey has beenquite a dynamic one. Forinstance, she has transitionedfrom being a model to a moth-er to a MasterChef contestant toan author (The Healthy ModelCookbook) and then to a chain-

restaurant owner in India. Herstint as a model too has influ-enced her cooking in manyways. “As a model, people thinkthat they don’t eat but it’sabsolutely untrue. I have been amodel for 10 years and I haveconstantly looked for ways toprepare dishes that are healthy,nutritious and tasty. I used toexperiment a lot. I certainlycooked a lot when I was mod-elling. And travelling and livingat so many places, experiencingdifferent cultures also benefit-ted,” adds she.

However, the connectionwith understanding food wasn’tnew for Sarah. It had a link withher childhood. She says, “Wedidn’t have a lot of money whilewe were growing up so with ourChristmas presents, we used tomake huge cookie jars to give toall our families and friends. Weused to put a lot of time andeffort into it. One year, wedecided to buy only presents andnot add the cookie jars. I gotreally upset. It was our favoritegift. It made me realise that foodis a strong influence and couldbe a very emotional gift forsomeone.”

Apart from cooking, mod-elling and writing, Sarah’sfavourite pass-time activitiesare to spend time with her fam-ily, eating and travelling.

As he worked on early draftsof The Catcher in the Rye, a

novel which proved both scan-dalous and life-changing, JDSalinger considered adding hisgeneration’s idea of a triggeralert.

“I think there’s going to bea lot of swearing and sexy stuffin this book,” warns narratorHolden Caulfield, in a paragraphon page 18 of Salinger’s manu-script, part of an upcomingexhibition at the New YorkPublic Library. “I can’t help it.You’ll probably think I’m a verydirty guy and that I come froma terrible family and all.”

“The trouble is,” Holdenadds, “everybody swears all thetime. And everybody’s prettysexy.” Salinger apparentlychanged his mind. He drew alarge X through the passage andwrote “delete” in the margins.Starting in 1951, when the bookwas published, millions of read-ers would discover the truth forthemselves.

The library exhibit, titled JDSalinger, opens Friday and runsthrough January 19 at the his-toric Fifth Avenue branch inManhattan. It continues a sur-prisingly eventful centennial forSalinger, who died in 2010 andavoided publicity for much of hiswriting life. His literary estateapproved new print editions forthe first time in decades of thefour books he allowed to comeout in his lifetime — The Catcherin the Rye, Franny and Zooey,Nine Stories and Raise High theRoof Beam, Carpenters andSeymour: An Introduction. Andfor the first time ever, the liter-ary estate authorised e-bookeditions.

In announcing the exhibit,his son, Matt Salinger, cited thepublic’s lasting curiosity. “Whenmy father’s long-time publisher,Little, Brown and Company,first approached me with plansfor his centennial year myimmediate reaction was that hewould not like the attention,”Matt Salinger wrote. “He was afamously private man whoshared his work with millions,but his life and non-publishedthoughts with less than a hand-ful of people, including me. ButI’ve learned that while he mayhave only fathered two childrenthere are a great, great manyreaders out there who havetheir own rather profound rela-tionships with him, through hiswork, and who have long want-ed an opportunity to get to knowhim better.”

Drawing upon archivesmade available by Matt Salinger,the exhibit is not the tell-all thatsome fans might have wanted.There are no unreleased novelsor stories, and no images ofSalinger’s widow, ColleenSalinger, or of the mother ofSalinger’s two children, Claire

Douglas. His affair in the early1970s with author JoyceMaynard, a college student whenhe befriended her, is not men-tioned. But the library doesoffer an eclectic, revelatory andsometimes quirky range of mate-rials, from a Royal manual type-writer to a bowl Salinger madeas a boy to videocassettes ofMarx Brothers comedies andother films he liked to watch. Abookcase from his bedroomincludes The Oxford Book ofDetective Stories, a collection ofRobert Browning poems andthree volumes on Zen and theZen Classics, reflecting hisimmersion in Eastern religionand philosophy. Letters to his lit-erary representatives documenthis immersion in the publishingprocess.

Declan Kiely, the library’sdirector of special collectionsand exhibitions, said that thematerials on display demonstrat-ed Salinger’s “meticulousness,possibly bordering on the obses-sive,” although “obsessive in agood way.”

Salinger’s career as an authoris captured through clippings ofhis early stories, manuscripts,copies of his books and letters tohis publishers. A working draftof Franny and Zooey was titledIvanoff the Terrible, subtitled, AnOntological Comic Drama Witha Little Morning Music, andincluded an opening sectionwhich apparently refers to hisyears as a counter-intelligenceofficer in Europe during WorldWar II. (Salinger fans had longwondered whether Ivanoff wasa separate, unreleased book).

The one-room libraryexhibit tracks Salinger’s life.There are childhood photos andimages from his military service,many highlighting his dark eyes,extended jaw and the hint of aHolden-like smirk. Picturesfrom the 1960s and 1970s withhis children, Matt and Margaret,capture Salinger in middle age,in rural Cornish, NewHampshire. A handful of shotsshow him in old age. AfterSalinger’s death, an old friendfrom the military, John LKeenan, wrote to Matt, tellinghim about his father’s horrifyingexperiences, which led to hisbeing hospitalised after the war.

“He was among the firstAmerican troops to enter Paris,as well as with the first Americanto cross the German border atthe Siegfried Line. He enduredthe hardship and perils of thebattles of the Bulge and theArdennes forest,” Keenan’s letterreads. “Though like the rest ofus, not happy to be there, heaccepted his ‘lot’ and did morethan what was expected of him.He was brave under fire and aloyal and dependable partner.On many occasions in thecourse of an assignment,although pinned down byartillery, machine gun or smallarms fire, he did what had to bedone.

“I admired him then and Igrieve for him now.” :��

�Designers have a constant role ofmaking changes in their designs astrends vary with every season.How do you keep yourself updat-ed with the latest decor trends andhandle the pressure? What keepsyou going?

The execution of good design isan art by itself. So, in that regard, Ithink learning the art of design andhoning your skills consistently in thatarea is extremely valuable. Also,with experience, you tend to under-stand people’s minds better. As youtravel more, experiences in life equipyou to design multiple spaces forpeople from different backgrounds.

I think most women are mas-ters at juggling roles, be it at workor on the personal front. For mepersonally, the key is to maintain acertain degree of discipline and alsohaving a supportive partner likeShah Rukh, who makes it easier tohandle the pressure.

�How do Indian aestheticsinspire you?

The sheer variety of culture,art and handicraft changes everyfew kilometres in a country likeIndia, so what could be moreinspirational! India could eas-ily have multiple luxury brandscoming out of here, especial-ly since we have excellentcraftsmanship. However, Ifeel the ecosystem aroundpromoting these arts andcraftsmen is not adequateenough.

In fact we at GauriKhan Designs did a pro-ject with local Indianartisans called Tattvam,which I am very proudof. It was our collectionfor Jaipur rugs,designed in collabora-

tion with womenweavers of Rajasthan. In

January 2018, it was dis-played at Maison & Objet,Paris. The weaving tradi-tions have been kept alive bythese women. It’s so wonder-ful and exciting to be part ofa project that champions bothwomen empowerment andour Indian heritage.

�Indians are increasinglybecoming comfortable with

global trends and styling. Hasit impacted your work ethics?

India is among the most difficultmarkets for design because there arevastly different tastes to cater to.However, due to extensive travel andexperiences around the globe,Indians are exposed to many more

design elements and are open tomore experimentation. So, it’s anexciting time to be in the designspace as you are constantly learningan evolving with your clients, it’s adynamic process and we haveworked with local and Indian design-ers to cater to our clients tastes.

�How would you define yourcredo?

We don’t just focus on interiorsbut on design as a broader concept.At the AD Design Show 2019, ouraim is to showcase that our designphilosophy can be applied to all areasof life. This includes extending mydesign philosophy to interiors andcommercial spaces like retail outlets,restaurants, spas and turnkey pro-jects. Apart from this we also doproduct designs, branding, endorse-ments, working with internationaldesigners and collaborations withlocal craftsmen. We have managedto execute multiple projects all overthe country and I want to continueto showcase this kind of varietythrough our work. This year will beshowcasing our premium range offurniture which is new line beinglaunched at the show, different fromthe range we showcase at the storeand will be available online at gau-rikhan.in.

�Where are the trends heading in2020?

As we enter a new decade, oneof the biggest trends seen in thedesign industry is the usage of recy-cled materials and handmade prod-ucts to make even the most high-endand luxurious designs. Sustainablepractices and renewable resourceshave been the focus of the design

industry of late and it’s a very posi-tive trend.

�How do you strike a balancebetween following your aestheticsand factoring in the clients’ brief aswell, while transforming spaces?

Being a designer is tougher thanit appears, people entrust you withtheir properties just on the basis ofyour vision, without any tangible evi-dence of what you are going to do.To be able to deliver somethingexcellent, not just satisfactory, to aclient is my goal and that’s whatkeeps me going.

Design comes to me naturallyand instinctively but I did spend a lotof time honing my skills, whether itwas designing our own homes andproperties to collaborating withfriends and then venturing out bymyself. Since most of my learninghappened on the job while dealingwith people from all backgrounds Ihave a certain sense of comfort andconfidence while designing for myclients which brings in that balance.

�If you want to transform theentire set-up with just one thing,what would it be?

Honestly depends on the set-up,as one needs to know what is miss-ing. But I think a signature piece offurniture, the right kind of lightingor the right pop of wall colour canmake all the difference.

�What’s the 2019’s trend of theyear?

I think practical pieces thatadorn your space with an element ofdesign is a great trend. Things withutility don’t necessarily have to lookboring.

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Liverpool manager JurgenKlopp believesManchester United will

turn their floundering for-tunes around, but wants tomake sure they have to wait atleast another week to do so.

Klopp’s men travel to OldTrafford tomorrow already 15points ahead of their rivals justeight games into the cam-paign.

United manager OleGunnar Solskjaer has calledon his side to rise to the chal-lenge of facing the Europeanchampions, citing it as the“perfect game” to motivate hisstruggling side.

Klopp has sympathy forSolskjaer’s view, but he is con-fident of winning for the firsttime at Old Trafford asLiverpool boss.

“I don’t think there are alot of teams who would love toplay against us at the moment.It looks like Man Utd is theonly team that wants to playus, and we have to make surethat is a misunderstanding,”said Klopp on Friday.

“I would do the same ifthe situation was the otherway around. This is the gamewe can change the world, thatis the way I would prepare it.

“They are in a situationthat they don’t like and theywant to change it. We just haveto make sure that if they wantto change it, they start a weeklater and that’s all.”

United will be withoutthe injured Paul Pogba andDavid de Gea, while AnthonyMartial and Aaron Wan-Bissaka remain doubts.

And Klopp expects theRed Devils to improve oncethey get a number of keyplayers back.

“They had a lot of

injuries,” he added. “A numberof really decisive players forthem. No one can play thesame football when five or sixfirst-team players are out.That will change.”

By contrast, Liverpoolcould head to Old Traffordwith a clean bill of health, withgoalkeeper Alisson Becker setto return for the first timesince the opening weekend ofthe season, while Joel Matipand Mohamed Salah haverecovered from knocks.

“There are two more ses-sions to come from this after-noon and we have to see,” saidKlopp on whether all threewill start. “Then we’ll makedecisions, that’s how it is.Nothing is fixed.”

‘SPARK REVIVAL’Meanwhile, Manchester

United manager Ole GunnarSolskjaer believes the visit ofrivals Liverpool could helpgalvanize his struggling side topull themselves out of theiralarming slump.

The difference in currentfortunes between Englishfootball’s two most successfulclubs could not be greater,with Liverpool top of thetable after eight wins out of

eight and also on a run of 17consecutive league victories,while United have made theirworst start to a season for 30years.

If results go against themtoday, United could even beteetering just above the rele-gation zone by the time theykick off tomorrow, butSolskjaer is bullish.

“They’re doing well in theleague that’s for sure but we’relooking forward to this game,”said the Norwegian on Friday.

“This is a perfect game forthe players and the fans. We’vehad a tough time and a diffi-cult time lately but I am surewe will give them a goodgame.”

United have just ninepoints from their first eightleague matches of this seasonand are currently 12th in thetable.

Stretching back toSolskjaer’s permanentappointment in March, theyhave won only five games outof 21 in all competitions.

It is far below expecta-tions, which the managerknows, but he believes that thework going on behind thescenes will pay dividendseventually.

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An exhilarating, three-monthlong season 7 of VIVO Pro

Kabaddi has reached its culminationwith Dabang Delhi KC set to battleBengal Warriors for the coveted titleat the EKA Arena by TransStadia inAhmedabad today. Judging by theseason’s performances, both tabletoppers and maiden finalists havedeserved the right to play in thefinal, after having finished theleague stages.

While the likes of Delhi’sNaveen Kumar and Bengal’sManinder Singh have walked awaywith the plaudits, the teams’ successon the mat have come largely due totheir cohesion. Delhi’s semi-finalmatch against Bengaluru Bulls wasan example of how backup raidersChandran Ranjit and Vijay are vitalcogs in the Dabang unit, contribut-ing in both tackles and raids.Similarly in defence, while RavinderPahal and Joginder Narwal grabbedthe limelight, Vishal Mane has goneabout doing his work quietly as acover defender. The seasoneddefender now has the opportunityto become the first player PKL his-tory to win the title with three dif-ferent teams (having already wonwith U Mumba and Patna Pirates).

Bengal Warriors also have a fairshare of unsung heroes. SukeshHegde, who will be playing his100th match, has thrown down thegauntlet to his doubters who calledhim a ‘spent force’ with vital raidpoints whenever his team needed

them. K Prapanjan has also had abreakout season for the Warriors asa raider. Both players will be keento avoid a defeat having suffered aheartbreak while playing for GujaratFortuneGiants in earlier seasons.

STOPPING UNSTOPPABLEBoth Dabang Delhi and Bengal

Warriors have a wealth of talent asfar as raiders go which would meanthat the match will come down towhich set of defenders play better.In Rinku Narwal and Baldev Singh,the Warriors have a strong cornerduo, who have impressed withtackle points this season. Both arerelatively inexperienced comparedto Delhi’s defensive stalwartsJoginder Narwal, Ravinder Pahaland Vishal Mane. However, theinexperienced duo will be lookingto show that they are no easypushovers by trying to make astatement against an in-formNaveen Kumar who will be target-ing his 21st consecutive Super 10.Both the teams are also at the toptwo in terms of most all-outs inflict-ed and least all-outs conceded thisseason (net All-Out of +16 forboth teams).

Maninder Singh’s availability stillremains undecided but BengalWarriors showed that against a tal-ented U Mumba side in the semi-finals that they can produce thegoods even without their star raider.In fact, when the teams first met thisseason, it was Prapanjan who scoreda Super 10 after Maninder was sub-stituted for a poor first-half showing.

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It would have been a dead rubber but withvaluable World Test Championship pointson offer, India would be eyeing victory

while South Africa would be desperate forsome consolation in a wretched tour when thethird and final Test starts here today.

There are 40 points on offer and a 3-0 serieswhitewash, both of which India would be tar-getting against the hapless visitors.

India, who have 200 points from fourgames, have a massive 140-point lead overnearest rivals New Zealand and Sri Lanka inthe WTC standings. Skipper Virat Kohli hasalso made it clear that there is plenty to playfor in the final Test and the team cannot afforda drop in intensity. Going into the game, Indiahave very few holes to plug, be it their battingor bowling.

The home team could not have asked formore from their top-order with Rohit Sharmashowing why he is such an impact player as hefeasted on the South African bowlers with twinhundreds in the first Test while opening for thefirst time.

The Mumbaikar’s opening partner MaynakAgarwal on the other hand went on to converthis maiden hundred into a double inVisakhapatnam and followed it up with anoth-er century in Pune.

Then it was the turn of ‘King Kohli’ whocame to the party in the Pune with a career-best double hundred —a majestic 254 not out— and made it look like a routine job.

Rohit will be eyeing a big score after notfiring in the first innings of the Pune Test whileCheteshwar Pujara, who has scored two fiftiesin the series, would be looking to cross thethree-figure mark.

That India have lost only 16wickets while routing SouthAfrica in both the Tests sums uptheir dominance.

Toss has also been kind toIndia so far and things are like-ly to get more exciting if thestroke of luck favours Faf duPlessis in the final Test.

The last time South Africatoured the India, rank-turnershad welcomed the side but thistime both the pacers and spinnershave been able to extract some-thing out of the pitch.

Umesh Yadav made a finecomeback in the Pune Test toreturn with fine figures of 3/22with some brief hostile spells aswicketkeeper Wriddhiman Sahawho took some breathtakingcatches to aid to the pacer’s tally.

Kohli played an extra pacerin Umesh at Pune by benchingHanuma Vihari but only time willtell what combination he choos-es for the final Test.

South African captain Faf duPlessis has already predicted theRanchi pitch to be a turner,bringing a third spinner intopicture.

Since Kuldeep Yadav has beenruled out of the match due to ashoulder injury, left-arm spinnerShahbaz Nadeem has been draft-ed into the squad and he mightsneak into the playing XI as well.

South Africa batsmen showedsome fight in Visakhapatnambut they let themselves down inPune.

It was only the tailenderswho showed some character andfrustrated the Indian bowling. DuPlessis has urged experiencesplayers like Dean Elgar, QuintonDe Kock and Temba Bavuma tobat with responsibility.

Their batting woes are fur-ther compounded by the absenceof opener Aiden Markram whohas been ruled out of the thirdTest with an injury.

The pace attack comprisingKagiso Rabada, VernonPhilander and Anrich Nortje hasalso not been as effective asexpected while the Indian pacershave managed to provide thebreakthroughs.

With their senior-most spin-ner Keshav Maharaj also ruledout, South Africa will find ittougher to stop the Indian jugger-naut.

SQUADSIndia: Virat Kohli (c), MayankAgarwal, Rohit Sharma,Cheteshwar Pujara, AjinkyaRahane (vc), Hanuma Vihari,Wriddhiman Saha, RavichandranAshwin, Ravindra Jadeja,Shahbaz Nadeem, MohammedShami, Umesh Yadav, IshantSharma, Rishabh Pant, ShubmanGill.South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c),Temba Bavuma (vc), Theunis deBruyn, Quinton de Kock, DeanElgar, Zubayr Hamza, GeorgeLinde, Senuran Muthusamy,Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje,Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt,Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second.