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eaching out to the people of
R violence-torn Jammu &
Kashmir, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Tuesday
said the problems in Kashmir
cannot be resolved by bullets
and invited those wielding guns
to join the mainstream. Modi
said his Government is deter-
mined to restore in Kashmir its
status of heaven on earth.
However, the PM stressed that
there was no question of going
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ndia needs a whopping
I investment of C6,399 billion
for doubling farmers real
income by 2022-23. Of these,
C5,080.8 billion is required
from public sector and C1,318.4
billion from private sector for
all the major States, an inter-
ministerial committee on
doubling farmers income said
in its report.
According to Census 2011,
there are 118.9 million culti-
vators across the country. In
other words, 24.6 per cent of
the total workforce of over
481 million and 80 per cent of
the cultivators are small and
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ndian border guards on
Iattempt
Tuesday frustrated an
by Chinese soldiers to
enter Indian territory along the
banks of famous Pangong lake
in Ladakh resulting in stone
pelting that caused minor
injuries to people on both
sides, officials said. Soldiers of
the Peoples Liberation Army
abortively tried to enter the
Indian side in two areas
Finger Four and Finger Five
twice between 6 am and 9 am.
Detailed report on P4
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soft on terrorism.
Addressing the nation on
the 71th Independence Day
from the ramparts of historic
Red Fort, Modi said, Na gaali
se samasya sulajhne wali hai, na
goli se, samasya suljhegi har
Kashmiri ko gale lagane se
(Kashmir problem cannot be
resolved by either bullets or by
abuses. It can be resolved by
embracing all Kashmiris).
He said only a handful of
separatists were resorting to
different tactics to create prob-
lems in the State and asserted
that they will be dealt with an
iron hand. Not only the Jammu
& Kashmir Government, but
the entire country is with the
people of the State in helping
them realise their dreams of
development, said the PM.
He also declared that the
violence in the name of faith is
@_]Z_VXR^VYRd
marginal farmers. Presently,
the average income of an agri-
cultural household is estimat-
ed to be C6,426 per month as
against an average its monthly
consumption expenditure of
Headed by Ashok Dalwai,
the inter-ministerial committee
was set up in April last year.
The first four volumes of the
report have been released for
public comment. The remain-
ing eight volumes are yet to be
released. With the Government
continuing to play a key role in
farm sector development, the
committee said, By 2022-23,
the private investment should
increase by nearly two times
while public investment should
increase by four times.
According to report, at
present public investment is
below national average in the
States like Assam, Kerala, Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil
Nadu, Rajasthan, Punjab and
Odisha. Less developed States
in the eastern region continue
to lag behind in private invest-
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n Gods Own Country, the
Ipolitical
Left parties are resorting to
violence and intimi-
dation against supporters of
Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh
(RSS) and Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) to protect their last
fortress. They have not only
forced villagers to boycott
Sangh karyakartas and their
families, but also barred shop-
keepers from selling articles of
daily needs to them, alleged
RSS supporters in Kannur.
Narrating the Left atroci-
ties against RSS-BJP workers in
Payyanur village near Kannur
VQSUR__[S_]TQY\i`Y_^UUb
not acceptable and termed
casteism and communalism as
poison for the Indian society.
Referring to recent inci-
dents of natural calamities in
various parts of the country as
also death of children at a
State-run hospital in Uttar
Pradesh, Modi said sympa-
thies of the entire nation are
with the affected families.
Many parts of the country
faced natural calamities in the
recent past. Children died at a
hospital. The entire nation is
with them, the PM said.
Mentioning the worst flood
situations in north-eastern part
of the country, the PM said,
While good rains contribute to
prosperity of the country, cli-
mate change creates problems.
Natural calamities have become
a big challenge.
Emphasising on the pre-
ment, suggesting an urgent
need to develop financial and
other infrastructure.
To ensure 10.41 per cent
annual increase in farmers
income, 7.86 per cent invest-
ment per annum from private
sector is needed. Similarly,
14.17 per cent annual invest-
ment from the public sector in
agriculture, irrigation, rural
roads and transport and rural
energy is required to boost
farmers income at the rate of
10.41 per cent annually.
The report said that
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh
and Uttar Pradesh may require
relatively higher amounts of
private capital at C47.87 billion,
C98.79 billion, C62.75 billion,
C51.91 billion, C56.07 billion
and C146.65 billion, respec-
tively. Similarly, capital require-
ments on public account are
found to be much higher in
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,
Maharashtra and the poorer
and agriculture-dominant
States, viz.,
Continued on Page 4
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town, a villager, pleading
anonymity, said, Hundreds of
houses of RSS/BJP supporters
were torched by the Red
brigade. Water sources were
destroyed to deny availability of
drinking water to the families
of RSS-BJP supporters.
CPI(M) cadre threw a
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sent national security scenario,
the PM said it is a priority of his
Government to ensure the
country is capable of defending
itself in all spheres.
Referring the last years sur-
gical strike on terror launch
pads across the Line of Control
in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,
Modi said the world has realised
the bravery of our forces. The
stature of India is rising and sev-
eral counties are cooperating
with India in fighting against
terrorism, the PM added.
It is clear that security of
our country is our priority.
Internal security is our priori-
ty. Be it sea, borders, space or
cyber threats, India is capable
of tackling every security chal-
lenge, he said, amid the stand-
off with China in Doklam.
Our Army, our brave
hearts, every personnel in uni-
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W ith the suicide tendency
showing a spurt among
the youth, especially school stu-
dents, the Supreme Court has
asked the Centre to consider
framing a law or guidelines for
schools to detect early suicidal
signs among children in order
to arrest the trend.
Given the fact that 33 per
cent suicides reported in 2015
related to the youth, the court
requested the Union Ministry
of Human Resources
Development to consider a
public interest litigation filed by
one Kamlesh Haribhai Parekh,
a practicing doctor from
Gujarat, highlighting the need
for such a law.
The Bench of Chief Justice
JS Khehar and Justice DY
bulk of human hairs into wells
so that water cannot be used for
drinking purpose. In another
incident, CPI(M) workers
threw a vehicle into the well to
pollute drinking water, the
RSS worker added.
Payyanur is a CPI(M)-
dominated village and if any
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form, and not only the Army,
the Navy and the Indian Air
Force (IAF) have shown their
capability and grit whenever
there was a situation. Our
heroes never shied away from
sacrifices, Modi said.
While invoking Mahatma
Gandhi and Lord Buddha, the
PM said, Violence in the name
of faith is not acceptable in the
country.
Bharat Jodo (connect
India) should be the slogan like
Bharat chhodo (Quit India)
was during the freedom strug-
gle, he said.
The PM also referred the
Chalta hai attitude, and said,
Leave this chalta hai attitude Moothanthara in Palakkad asking it to
and think of badal sakta hai.
During his 54-minute-long
speech, Modi dwelt upon the
contentious triple talaq issue
Continued on Page 4
Chandrachud forwarded the
PIL as a representation to the
Centre and said, The
Department of School
Education and Literacy,
MHRD shall take such action
thereon, as it considers rea-
sonable, in the facts and cir-
cumstances of the case.
The petition filed by advo-
cate Haresh Raichura on behalf
his client cited laws passed by
developed nations to curb the
rising trend of suicides among
the youth.
India is home to the largest
adolescent population in the
world.
Continued on Page 4
villager dares to support the
RSS-BJP workers, he or she
meets a same fate of Sangh
karykartas, they alleged.
Although families of RSS-
BJP workers are shaken up by
spurt in Left brutalities, they
have resolved not to give up.
Family members of slain RSS
workers from Andalore
Santosh in Kannur to E Rajesh
in Trivandrum are firm in
their resolve to stick to their
ideology come what may.
Vismaya, the 13-year-old
daughter of slain RSS worker
Santosh, wants to become an
IPS officer to put an end to
political violence in Kerala.
Santosh was killed in January
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hose who have looted the
T nation and the poor are
not able to sleep peacefully
today, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said during his
Independence Day speech on
Tuesday. Modi, who had in
2014, promised to eliminate
black money, said that the
crackdown on ill-gotten wealth
will continue and there will be
no let-up in his fight against
black money.
The PM devoted majority
of time in his 54-minute speech
on economy, corruption and
major economic reforms,
including demonetisation, the
implementation of landmark
economic reform in the form
of Goods and Services Tax
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SS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat
R on Tuesday unfurled the national
flag to mark the Independence Day cel-
ebrations at a Government-aided high-
er secondary school in Palakkad district
of Left-ruled Kerala despite an instruc-
tion of restraint issued by the district
administration.
District Collector P Marykutty had
late on Monday night issued a circular to
the management of the Karnakiayamman
Higher Secondary School at
restrain the Sangh chief from hoisting the
flag saying that only elected peoples rep-
resentatives or school authorities could
do that as per protocol since the institu-
tion was Government-aided.
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T he Centre has directed
Facebook, Google India,
WhatsApp, Yahoo India,
Microsoft India, Instagram and
other internet giants to remove
the links of killer online game
Blue Whale Challenge, which
has led to suicide of children in
India and other countries.
The Blue Whale is a 50-day
challenge which demands play-
ers to complete tasks given by
an anonymous handler.
The player is also asked to
share photos after finishing
the challenge. The handler
instruct the players to cause
self-harm, leading up to sui-
cide. And it is because of this
that there has been a growing
demand to ban this game.
Instances of children com-
2017 while he was sleeping at
his home.
While trying to hold back
tears, Vismaya said, I know
top police officials have pow-
ers to stop violence. I do not
want anyone suffer like me.
Though Vismaya and her
mother are depending on agri-
culture for their livelihood in
Dharmadam village of Kannur
districts Thalassery Taluk, her
brother is studying in Shayam
Lal College of Delhi University.
Narayani (60) of the
Pinarayi village (the village of
Chief Minister P Vijayan), who
lost both her husband and son
in Lefts brutalities, said she
knows the accused well but still
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(GST) and the crackdown on
black money hoarders.
Expressing resolve to pur-
sue fight against black money,
Modi reeled out figures post-
demonetisation. Over C1.75
lakh crore has been deposited
in various banks post-note
ban and authorities are
investigating more than 18
lakh people with dispropor-
tionate income.
Demonetisation of old
C500 and C1,000 notes on
November 8, 2016 has helped
bring over C3 lakh crore of
unaccounted wealth into the
banking system, the PM said.
This is not Government
research, this is what experts
have said. Out of this money
deposited in banks post-
demonetisation, over C1.75
lakh crore money deposited in
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mitting suicide while undertak-
ing Blue Whale Challenge have
been reported in India...You are
hereby requested to ensure that
any such link of this deadly game
in its own name or similar
game is immediately removed
from your platform, Ministry of
Electronics and IT(Meity) said
in a letter dated August 11 to
internet majors.
Expressing concern over the
availability of such deadly game
on the internet, the Ministry
said, It is understood that an
administrator of the game uses
the social media platform to
invite and incite children to play
this game, which may eventual-
ly lead them to take extreme
steps for self-inflicting injuries
including suicide. The proponent
of this game should be reported
she waiting for the justice.
What is worse that my
house is just one km away from
CM Pinarayi Vijayans house.
Goons came in my house and
killed my son in front of me
and my grand-daughter, said
an inconsolable Narayani.
P Balakrishnan, the secre-
tary of BJP (Kerala), said
Narayanis son Rimid was mur-
dered by CPI(M) activists
because his father was an active
worker of RSS.
My son came from Saudi
Arabia on vacations. He was
unaware of what was happen-
ing at home. They (Marxists)
killed my son and hacked his
body into pieces, said Nayarani
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various banks is under scruti-
ny. Over C2 lakh crore black
money has reached banks.
Those depositing slush money
are being made to answer
questions on their origin,
Modi said. This move helped
the Government in controlling
the circulation of black money
into the market, he said.
Demonetisation has
resulted in increasing the num-
ber of taxpayers. In fact this fig-
ure has reached to 56 lakh. Last
year the same figure had stood
at 22 lakh. These are the signs
of resolute action against black
money, the PM said.
There are over 18 lakh
people who have been identi-
fied post-note ban and whose
income is more than their
declared wealth.
Continued on Page 4
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to law enforcement agencies.
The copy of the letter is
marked to Joint Secretary
(MHA) VSN Prasad and
Chetan B Sanghi, Joint Secretary
of Ministry of Women and
Child Development.
According to sources, the
letter was issued following
instructions from Union Law
and IT Minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad.
Union Women and Child
Development Minister Maneka
Gandhi had earlier asked the
Government to remove the
Blue Whale Challenge game
from the social media after
some children are suspected to
have killed themselves influ-
enced by the game.
Continued on Page 4
Related report on P7
holding the picture of Ramid
close to her heart.
In Kadirur, a town with
Thalassery Taluk, CPI(M)
workers chopped off the leg of
a woman when she came for-
ward to save his sons Sajesh
and Sarosh who were brutally
attacked by them. The attack-
ers chopped the leg of our
mother when she came to help
us, said one of the sons, who
sur vived the murderous
attempt.
All the victims of the Red
terror belong to SC/ST com-
munities and villagers in Kannur
and Payyanur are frightened to
cross the boundaries.
Continued on Page 4
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n order to tackle crime
I against women, justice has to
be certain and swift, Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
said on Tuesday, deploring
tendencies to shield sons of
politicians involved in such
cases.
While delivering his
Independence Day speech at
Chhatrasal Stadium, Kejriwal
said Governments should
ensure freedom for women
instead of imposing restrictions
on them. "A politician's son,
guilty of such crimes, should be
awarded double the punish-
ment as stipulated in statute
books, he said in the backdrop
of the Chandigarh stalking
case involving the son of
Haryana BJP chief Subhash
Barala.
"The most important thing
in such cases is deterrence.
There should be certainty and
swiftness when it comes to
punishment. Now when a
politician's son commits any
1d\Qcd7ebeWbQ]R_TiWUdc^Ug35?
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he much-awaited Gurugram
T Metropolitan Development
Authority (GMDA) has become
operational as Haryana Chief
Minister Manohar Lal Khattar
announced that Principal
Secretary of the Urban local
bodies department Anand
Mohan Sharan has been
appointed Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of the GMDA in
addition to his present duties.
The Chief Minster made this
announcement on Tuesday dur-
ing speech on the Independence
Day celebration in the millen-
nium city.
Khattar unfurled the
Tricolour and took salute from
various contingents including
those of the Haryana Armed
Police and the National Cadet
Corps (NCC).
The GMDA is proposed as
an integrated authority aimed at
overall development of the city.
"The authority has been opera-
tional and now the funding for
the development work would be
completed with the coloration
of different agencies. The fund-
ing would be increased as per
requirement," the CM said.
The State Government may
also, by notification, declare
any area falling within
Gurugram district to be the
Gurugram Metropolitan Area.
GMDA will also direct the
local authority having juris-
diction or the district magis-
trate to remove any obstruction
or encroachment on the roads.
The Gurugram Police will have
to take, as immediately as may
be practicable, action in the aid
of the authority.
The Authority aims to
develop a vision for the con-
tinued, sustained and balanced
growth of the Gurugram
Metropolitan Area by provid-
ing quality of life and reason-
able standard of living to the
residents through a generation
of employment opportunities.
It will also seek to provide
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S(IGI)ecurity personnel at the
Indira Gandhi International
airport went into a tizzy
when a 28-year-old
Irish national was
detained at the Airport
on August 14, a day
before the
Independence Day
with a satellite phone,
a device which is pro-
hibited in India and
can be used by ter-
rorists, police
said on Tuesday.
"Since satel-
lite phones are
prohibited in India, we took
action against the accused iden-
tified as Pattrick O Connor He
had come to India to visit Leh
Ladakh," Deputy
Commissioner of Police, IGI,
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such crime, the entire system
comes together to shield him,"
he added.
In his 14-minute-long
address, Kejriwal said many
countries, which got indepen-
dence after India, have raced
ahead in terms of develop-
ment as they invested more in
education.
"We have been in
Government for the last two
years. I derive the greatest sat-
isfaction from our work in the
education sector. We are in a
way bringing revolution in the
education sector. Poverty can
be eliminated if we sincerely
educate a generation," he said.
Chief Minister said that the
no-detention policy ruined the
education system while under-
lining that 60,000 students
who failed in Class X this year
will be readmitted.
"Previous Governments
introduced no-detention poli-
cy till Class VIII. It ruined the
education system. When stu-
dents took their first exam in
Class IX they failed
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Gurugram: Haryana Chief
Minister Manohar Lal Khattar
has said efforts of his
Government have led to effi-
cient governance and elimi-
nating corruption. "As a result
of concerted efforts made by
the present Government, the
winds of change are blowing
and the people have seen results
in over 1,025 days," he said
while addressing a gathering on
the 71st Independence Day.
He said with the adoption of
e-technology in the State, the
efficiency of the Government
has increased and it has been
able to eliminate corruption.
"Since the inception of the
State, the recruitment in
Government jobs had been
infested with nepotism, cor-
ruption, regionalism and
casteism, but now jobs are being
given on the basis of merit. Our
Government has infused confi-
dence among those youth who
for integrated and coordinated
planning, infrastructure devel-
opment and provision of urban
amenities, mobility manage-
ment, sustainable management
of the urban environment, and
social, economic and industri-
al development.
Besides, it will take such
measures or coordinate with
the Central Government, the
State Government or the local
Airport Sanjay Bhatia told The
Pioneer.
The accused was produced
before a Delhi court to pay fine
as is the norm in such cases. A
Kalandra under section 6 of the
Indian Wireless Act was
registered as a diary entry
in the IGI Domestic
Airport Police station
against the accused.
The official said
the accused was not
aware that satellite
phones are not
allowed, except on
special permission, in
India.
" He got the satellite phone
with him in order to keep in
touch with his relatives and to
use internet in places where
there is no connectivity. The
phone can be used during
trekking or at high altitudes
3T[WX2WXTU<X]XbcTa0aeX]S:TYaXfP[PSSaTbbTb_T^_[TSdaX]V8]ST_T]ST]RT3Ph
RT[TQaPcX^]Pc2WWPcaPbP[BcPSXd\X]=Tf3T[WX
enmassThey appeared
through open school in Class
X and 60,000 students failed,"
he said while addressing the
gathering
"I assure all 60,000 students
who failed in Class X that they
will be readmitted and special
classes will be held for them."
The Union Cabinet had
earlier this month approved the
were fed up with the corrupt sys-
tem prevailing earlier," he said.
The Chief Minister
expressed gratitude to the peo-
ple of the State for trusting him
and said he too has tried to take
steps to ensure overall develop-
ment of at an accelerated pace.
He said the Government is
emphasising on increasing
metro connectivity in the
National Capital Region
(NCR) lying in Haryana.
Meanwhile, Khattar also
pressed for setting up a sepa-
rate high court for the State in
the Punjab and Haryana High
Court building in Chandigarh,
dividing the area in the ratio of
60:40, an official release said.
The ratio of judges should
be 50:50 until the issue of a
court for Chandigarh
Administration is settled, he
said in the release.
The CM said the Haryana
has had more cases in the High
authority as may be necessary
and prudent for the purpose.
GMDA will monitor the
implementation of the annual
plan of action for infrastructure
development, mobility manage-
ment plan and the plan for sus-
tainable management of the
urban environment and make
such recommendations or pro-
vide such advice as it may decide.
MLAs representing
where there is no connectivity,
said the police officer.
Investigations into the
Mumbai terror attacks in 2008
had revealed that terrorists
used both satellite and cellu-
lar phones to coordinate the
operation and carry out the
deadly attacks in which 200
people were killed.
A satellite phone, popular-
ly known as the sat phone, is a
mobile phone which uses satel-
lites, not landline or cellular
broadcasting towers, to make
or receive calls.
While making or receiving
a call, the signal first travels to
the orbiting satellite and then to
an earth-bound gateway, before
being routed to the receiver.
The receiver's response will
follow the same path in reverse,
taking an equal amount of time
to reach the caller.
AP]YP]3X\aXk?X^]TTa
scrapping of the no-detention
policy in schools till Class VIII.
An enabling provision will
be made in the Right of
Children for Free and
Compulsor y Education
Amendment Bill which will
allow states to detain students
in Class V and Class VIII if
they fail in the year-end exam.
However, the students will
Court and that he has asked
the Supreme Court to increase
the number of judges.
A letter has also been writ-
ten to the Chief Justice of the
apex court to set up a separate
bench of the High Court in
southern Haryana, the release
said.
On the issue of shortage of
doctors in Haryana, Khattar
said that 550 doctors had
already been recruited and they
would soon join their duties.
He said that a scheme
based on remote sensing was
being prepared to make avail-
able potable water to the resi-
dents of Gurgaon.
All street lights in the city
would be replaced with LEDs
to reduce power consumption.
An amount of C33 crore would
be incurred on this project and
a Central Control Monitor has
also been approved for the
purpose, he said. BA
Assembly constituencies falling
within notified area, Mayor
and Deputy Mayor of MCG,
Zila Parishad chairman, senior
officials of Town and County
Planning (TCP). Among local
officials, Divisional
Commissioner, MCG
Commissioner, Deputy
Commissioner, and
Commissioner of police will be
part of the authority.
8]bcTPS^Ub_aTPSX]VPfPaT]TbbPQ^dc
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BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78
E xpressing concern over
rising numbers of vector-
borne diseases in the nation-
al Capital, Delhi BJP president
Manoj Tiwari on Tuesday
said it is sad that rather than
using the hoardings for
awareness on dengue and
chikunguniya, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal is using them
for his own political promo-
tions.
"What further hurts is
that Kejriwal Government
continues to play dirty poli-
tics of delaying proper finan-
cial support to the MCDs
which have to employ
Domestic Breeding Checkers
(DBC) and ensure sanitation
thus adversely affecting the
ground performance," Tiwari
have to be given a second
chance to improve via an exam-
ination before they are
detained. The Bill will now be
placed in the Parliament for
approval.
When the vector-borne
diseases have taken over the
entire country, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal said the Delhi
Government would come out
with a detailed plan to check
spread of dengue and chikun-
gunya, in the next 10 days.
Kejriwal said the
Government would take steps
on war-footing to tackle the
spread of vector-borne diseases.
He asked for the support
from the people of Delhi.
Underlining that the people
should extend their support in
eradicating Dengue and
Chikungunya from Delhi like
they extended for the AAP's
famous odd-even scheme,
Kejriwal said: "In the next 10
days, we will come out with a
detailed plan to tackle dengue
and chikungunya in Delhi.
There is a need to act on a war-
footing against these diseases."
So far, 500 cases of dengue
have been reported in the city.
The number of people affect-
ed by malaria till August 12 this
year has climbed to 385, while
the figure for chikungunya
stands at 283.
8[[d\X]PcTS;Pg\X=PaPhP]<P]SXa1Xa[P<P]SXa^]cWT^RRPbX^]^U9P]\PbWcP\XRT[TQaPcX^]X]=Tf3T[WX^]CdTbSPh
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BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78
24-year-old businessman
A was killed when his super-
bike bumped into the wall of
Lady Irwin College near Mandi
House metro station on Monday
night. Police said they pieced
together the exact sequence of
how the accident happened
through the CCTV camera
installed in the helmet of one of
his friends who was injured.
According to police,
Himanshu Bansal, a resident
of Vivek Vihar, along with his
two friends Gazi and Lakshay
were heading on their respec-
tive super bikes Benelli TNT
600i that is priced between C5
and 6 lakh when they saw an
elderly person crossing the
road.
A senior police officer
said, adding, "Delhi
Government hospitals, till
date, are not prepared to meet
any situation of medical con-
tingency as witnessed in past
two years."
He further said that our
party workers made surprise
checks and found that apart
from the LNJP hospital most
Delhi Government hospitals
are not well equipped
with dedicated fever clinics
for dengue and
chikunguniya.
"The situation at the GTB
Hospital, the largest in East
Delhi, is pathetic as patients
of dengue are being kept in
normal wards," he said fur-
ther. "Delhi BJP believes that
the Health Department of
Delhi has totally failed the cit-
izens of Delhi," he added.
_[P]cPcX^]SaXeTPc2XeXR2T]caT
BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78
orth Delhi Mayor Preety
N Agarwal on Tuesday hoist-
ed national flag to mark the 71st
Independence Day at Civic
Center. On the occasion, Mayor
said she is proud to be an
Indian and we must remember
the value of our Independence
by remembering the sacrifices
made by the freedom fighters to
make India Independent. Mayor
also administered the pledge of
cleanliness to all present that
they would not throw garbage
in the open and would also not
allow any other to do so.
To mark the day, the Mayor
also launched an ambitious
tree plantation drive to plant 1
lakh trees and shrubs in the
area of North Delhi Municipal
Corporation alone by planting
a tree in the complex of Civic
Centre. These trees will be
planted by August 23. "The
drive is aimed at creating bet-
ter environment along with
Swachchh Bharat Mission that
is to improve the cleanliness.
Hence, efforts will improve
over all environments to make
the city worth living," she said.
Meanwhile, municipal
said they received a call at
around 9 pm about a major
accident near Mandi House.
"On reaching the spot, the
cops found that the injured
was shifted to LNJP hospital
by private ambulance. The
damaged bike was lying near
the footpath of Lady Irwin
College gate at Sikandar road.
Cops found lot of blood and
pieces of flesh scattered all
over the place.
Meanwhile, police received
information from hospital that
one Himanshu was declared
brought dead. "On further
enquiry it was found that there
were three friends Gazi,
Lakshay and deceased
Himanshu who came to CP
and at around 8.45 pm and
were returning on their respec-
tive bikes in full speed. There
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n a big relief for industries in
IUnion
Manesar and commuters,
Road Transport and
Highways Minister Nitin
Gadkari, who was in Gurugram
to launch highway projects,
announced on Tuesday that
the Kherki Daula toll plaza will
be shifted eight km beyond
Manesar within three months.
If this happens, it will make
the entire stretch from Delhi to
the Manesar industrial area
toll-free. It will also benefit
lakhs of people who are in the
process of or are moving into
Gurugram's new sectors around
Dwarka Expressway and the
RP_XcP[!
commissioner of NMC
Praveen Gupta also hoisted
the National flag at kamla
Nagar multi level automatic
parking.
Deputy Mayor Vijay
Bhagat; leader of house
Jayender Dabas; Leader of
Opposition Rakesh Kumar;
Additional Commissioner
(DEMS), Deepak Hastir;
was a camera installed in the
helmet of Lakshay. Gazi and
Himanshu were ahead of
Lakshay, when they reached
near Mandi house metro sta-
tion, an elderly person was
crossing the road. Himanshu
who was allegedly over speed-
ing lost control, hit the wall of
Lady Irwin college.
Police said that passerby
helped the injured and rushed
him to hospital. Senior police
officers said the entire accident
was recorded in the camera
installed in the helmet of
Lakshay.
Police said they have reg-
istered a case under IPC 279
and 304A at the Barakhamba
Road police station.
Himanshu, the deceased and
his father own a utensil man-
ufacturing factory at Jhilmil.
southern peripheral road.
Gadkari and Haryana
Chief Minister Manohar Lal
Khattar inaugurated two
National Highway projects and
also laid the foundation stone
of the 5.5 km six-lane elevated
road on the Gurugram-Alwar
Highway connecting Rajiv
Chowk with Sohna.
The entire cost of the pro-
ject including construction of
the elevated road and road
widening till Alwar would be
around C1,700 crores.
The Minister inaugurated
a four-lane flyover at Maharana
Pratap Chowk on Mahrauli-
Gurugram Road and an eight-
lane flyover at Hero Honda
Chowk on NH-48.
The project cost of the two
flyovers is estimated to be
C34 crore and C95 crore
respectively.
Additional Commissioner
(Finance) Pankaj Kumar Singh;
Additional Commissioner
(engineering) SK Bhandari;
Additional Commissioner
(Revenue), Ms Renu Jag Dev;
former deputy speaker of Delhi
Legislative Assembly Alok
Kumar and other senior offi-
cials of the Corporations were
also present.
AP]YP]3X\aXk?X^]TTa
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caPX]X]VeXST^b
New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi
National Open University
(IGNOU) on Tuesday
announced a collaboration
with the Ministry of Electronics
and Information Technology
for preparing e-governance
training videos.
The decision to partner
with the Ministry's National e-
Governance Division (NeGD)
and Common Ser vices
Network was announced after
the varsity's Vice Chancellor
Ravindra Kumar hoisted the
national flag.
"IGNOU will be able to col-
laborate with NeGD to prepare
e-governance training videos.
NeGD will be providing all the
technical assistance required,"
Kumar said in a release. BA
The Minister also inaugu-
rated a two-lane underpass
from Chaudhary Baktawar
Singh Road towards Delhi near
Rajiv Chowk which will cost an
estimated C30 crore.
Meanwhile, the elevated
road will start at Subhash
Chowk and go beyond
Badshapur village on the
Gurugram-Alwar highway, also
known as National Highway
248 A. Once complete, it will
ensure a hassle-free ride to
commuters on this busy stretch
of 23-km-long Sohna road.
The move will especially
benefit Sectors 33, 66 and 67,
Islampur, Badshahpur, Bhondsi,
Jharsa, Sohna and Fazilpur. The
corridor will also benefit the
commuters going to Sohna or
Nuh, Palwal or Alwar, who now
have to face heavy traffic jam on
this stretch during peak hours.

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BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78
he 71st Independence Day
T at the iconic Red Fort left an
indelible mark on the minds of
the people who came to witness
the spectacular programme.
The two hour impressive cere-
mony included almost an hour
long speech by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, where he
spoke at length about the issues
affecting the common man,
well coordinated march past by
the armed forces of the nation,
march past by the school chil-
dren and the National Cadet
Corps (NCC) students.
Right from talking about
the issue of terror, the situation
in the strife stricken Kashmir,
Gorakhpur tragedy where over
60 children lost their lives due
to medical negligence, One
Rank One Pension scheme and
its positive impact on the sol-
diers, demonitisation and its
success, GST roll out, the Prime
Minister with his speech catered
to the needs of one and all.
With the sky gods favour-
ing the national Capital, the
aura at the Red Fort was
marked with cheers and smil-
ing faces of the tiny tots who
came dressed up as Krishna.
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With Krishna Janamashtami
coinciding with the
Independence Day this year,
hundreds of thousands of men,
women and children thronged
to the Walled City to hear the
Prime Minister's speech.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi left literally overwhelmed
by the response he received
from the children at the Red
Fort after he ventured forth to
greet them during the
Independence Day celebra-
("DE:?56A6?56?4652J
tions. After delivering a nearly
hour-long speech from the
ramparts of the iconic monu-
ment, he waved to the crowd
and moved to his motorcade for
departure. But, on his way out,
Modi halted it and broke from
the security cover to enter an
enclosure where children wel-
comed him with loud cheers.
While Modi had last year
also moved out of his security
cordon to greet children, the
response from the students
?C8
this year was far too over-
whelming as they jostled to
catch a glimpse of the Prime
Minister or shake hands with
him. 12-year-old Khushi
Sharma, a Class VII student
was on cloud nine after shak-
ing hands with him.
"He (PM) told us that we
girls should focus on education
and do well in life," an overjoyed
Khushi said. Muskan, 12, also
couldn't believe she had met the
PM of the country. "We were
very tired as we had come to the
Red Fort at 4 am to perform at
the event, but after meeting him
(Modi), the weariness all van-
ished. Everyone jostled towards
the end to meet and greet him,
but I felt I was lucky," said
Muskan, with a smile.
Children from various
schools in Delhi had formed a
'Bharat' formation in Hindi in
front of the 17th century fort, for
which they said, they had prac-
ticed quite a lot in the last two
weeks. A few children had also
come to the venue dressed up as
young Lord Krishna, as the day
coincided with Janmashtami.
Modi greeted them too
and interacted with other chil-
dren, when more students
started gathering around him.
The crowd soon swelled to a
huge mass of children, who
hankered to shake hands with
him, prompting Modi's special
security team to step in.
And, even, as Modi tried to
walk back to his car, the over-
enthusiastic crowd continued
to swamp the PM, even as he
obliged the doting children
with warm smile and gestures.
Eventually, the Prime
Minister got some relief from
the crowd, allowing him to
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move back to his car, after
which the motorcade sped away.
Meanwhile, to ensure that
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no untoward incident
occurred, Delhi Police along
with contingencies of para-
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military forces had secured
every nook and corner of the
Red Fort.

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aving made a record of
H delivering the longest
Independence Day speech last
year, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi delivered his shortest
speech from the ramparts of
the historic Red Fort this year.
Modi spoke for 56 minutes,
his shortest Independence Day
speech in four years. Last year,
he had spoken for 96 minutes,
the longest ever Independence
Day address by an Indian
Prime Minister.
India's first Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru spoke for 72
minutes in 1947 which was till
2015 the longest ever speech
from the Red Fort.
In his radio address 'Mann
Ki Baat' last month, Modi said
he had received letters from
people complaining that his
Independence Day speeches
were "a little too long" and
promised to make a shorter
speech.
Prime Minister Modi
spoke for over 65 minutes in
2014 and 86 minutes in 2015.
Modi's predecessor
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CdTbSPh
Manmohan Singh, who deliv-
ered 10 speeches over his long
tenure at the helm, stuck to the
50- minute mark in his
Independence Day speeches.
While he delivered speech-
es that lasted 50 minutes only
on two occasions -- 2005 and
2006, during remaining eight
years, his speech ranged from
32 to 45 minutes.
Tg_T]SXcdaT^]
?C8
Modi's party colleague and
the first BJP Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke for
30-35 minutes in his
Independence Day addresses.
On August 2002, he deliv-
ered a speech that lasted 25
minutes, while in 2003 he gave
a 30-minute address from the
historic 17th century Mughal
monument.
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BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78 BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78 Mohan (Lord Krishna) to
charkha propagated by anoth-
A fter the recent move to put here were several points
a cap on the price of coro- Tmade by Prime Minster
er 'Mohan' Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi.
nary stents, the Government is Narendra Modi during his Modi said January one is
working on measures to bring Independence Day address no ordinary day. On January
down the expenditure on knee from the Red Fort on Tuesday. one every year, young Indians ?aX\T<X]XbcTa=PaT]SaP<^SXX]cTaPRcbfXcWRWX[SaT]SaTbbTSd_Pb;^aS:aXbW]P
surgeries, Prime Minister Referring to children dressed as become eligible to vote as this PUcTaPSSaTbbX]VcWT]PcX^]Ua^\cWTaP\_Pacb^UATS5^acX]=Tf3T[WX^]cWT
Narendra Modi said while 'bal Krishnas' at the Red Fort, day has been listed out by the ^RRPbX^]^U& bc8]ST_T]ST]RT3Ph^]CdTbSPh ?C8
addressing the nation from Prime Minister Modi pointed Election Commission to regis-
the ramparts of the Red Fort. at the rich historical legacy of ter those who have turn 18 as eligible voters next year. honesty. He said aadhaar is one
In his Independence Day the country in which there is a voters. He said those born on He said using technology, such step to usher in more
speech from the ramparts of 'sudarshan chakra' armed January 1, 2000 while become his government is pushing for transparency.
the Red Fort here, he said
cheap medicines, being made
available through 'Jan Aushadhi
Kendras' have been a blessing
for the poor.
"The expenditure on con-
ducting operations, on stents
have gone down in our coun-
try. In the coming days, all
facilities for carrying out knee
operations will also be made
available. "It is our endeavour
that such expenses for the poor
and the middle class goes down
and we are taking steps for
that," he said.
The Government on
February 13 slashed by up to 85
per cent the prices of life-sav-
ing coronary stents, tiny metal
tubes inserted into the nar-

1[PRZZXcTRaTPcTbP\X[SU[dccTa
BC055A4?>AC4AQ =4F34;78
black kite that landed
A below the podium at the
Red Fort, created a mild flut-
ter while Prime Minister
Narendra Modi was addressing
the nation to mark the 71st
Independence Day
celebrations.
Although there was no dis-
turbance with the kite landing
as the Prime Minister contin-
ued his speech unfazed. It was
happened around the time
when the PM was about to con-
clude his 56-minute speech.
The city was put under an
unprecedented ground-to- air
security cover in view of the
twin occasions of
Independence Day and
Janmashtami festival.
Thousands of security per-
sonnel, including 9,100 per-
sonnel from the Delhi Police,
had been deployed in and
around the historic Mughal fort
which saw the presence of
rowed coronary arteries, a
move which has provided relief
to lakhs of cardiac patients.
senior ministers, top Modi further said that the
bureaucrats, foreign Government has now decided
dignitaries and com- to make dialysis facilities, which
mon people during
the prime minister's
were earlier available only at the
state headquarters, would be
address. made available in each district
Hordes of people centres of the country.
who reached the Red He said that the facility has
Fort to attend the been made available at 350 -400
Independence Day districts. The Prime Minister
function were also spoke about the amended
screened and frisked maternity benefit law under
by security personnel. which paid leave have been
Police and para- extended to 26 weeks from the
military personnel earlier 12.
were deployed along Speaking about the
the roads leading to achievements in the education
the Red Fort even as sector, Modi said that the
the areas were cov- Government's plan to set up 20
ered with hundreds of world-class universities was a
CCTV cameras to crucial step.
watch over suspects 0Q[PRZZXcT[P]Sb]TPacWT_^SXd\fWX[T?aX\T "We have taken an impor-
and any abnormal <X]XbcTa=PaT]SaP<^SXPSSaTbbTb]PcX^]SdaX]VcWT tant step in the education sec-
movement. & bc8]ST_T]ST]RT3PhUd]RcX^]PccWTWXbc^aXRATS tor of creating 20 world-class
Barricades were 5^acX]=Tf3T[WX^]CdTbSPh ?C8 universities. The Government
put up at various will not interfere in their func-
places where armed police sonnel allowed only autho- tioning and also ready to pro-
and paramilitary personnel rised vehicles to head towards vide them monetary help of
kept a strict vigil. Traffic per- the venue. upto C1,000 crore.

" T_WcXQfUdXUYbTQiQdBUT6_bd
?C8Q =4F34;78
hree-year-old Maru had a
T tiring day at the Red Fort
on Tuesday but that did not
stop him from dutifully spring-
ing up when the National
Anthem played.
ty at the 17-century iconic
monument, from where Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
addressed the nation.
"He has been here at the
Red Fort since 1 am, so has got
tired," said Maru's trainer, who
accompanied him to the
was at one point seen frolick-
ing with his trainer.
"They are fed vegetarian
and non-vegetarian food. They
eat fruits, vegetable and rice in
the morning and meat in the
evening. Diet is very important
to keep them fit," the trainer
paramilitary forces too had
put their dogs into service. Rex,
a 10-year-old dog attached to
the Indo-Tibetan Border Police
(ITBP), was among those
guarding the venue.
"We either take in dogs
when they are six-to-nine
GDYS

The fawn-coloured
Labrador was on its four feet
or paws the moment his
trainer stood at attention as the
anthem played to mark the 70th
anniversary of India's inde-
pendence. He kept an eye on his
trainer, relaxing only when the
policeman by his side did so.
Maru was among the 20-
odd dogs put into service by the
Delhi Police to ensure securi-
Mughal-era fort.
During the course of the
celebrations, which began at
around 7.30 am, Maru and two
other Labradors were seen
slouching below the chairs
kept on the front lawns in the
audience section, clearly tired
after hours of hard work, sniff-
ing around for danger.
Maru's canine colleague,
Mahan, also three in dog years,
said.
A senior police official said
the Delhi Police has 60-70
dogs in service at present.
"About 40-43 are sniffer dogs
and 15 of them trackers. About
20 canines were deployed at the
Red Fort today, while the rest
were stationed at public places
such as stations and markets,"
he said.
Besides the Delhi Police,
months old and then train
them or we get them from the
Army Veterinary Corps in
Meerut, where dogs undergo a
training for 15 months or so,"
the police official said.
During the 2010
Commonwealth Games, 110
dogs were on duty, he said.
Besides Labradors, the Delhi
Police also has German
Shepherds and other breeds.
=4F34;78kF43=4B30H k0D6DBC %! &
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?C8Q ;47=4F34;78
ndian border guards on
I Tuesday frustrated an
attempt by Chinese soldiers to
enter Indian territory along the
banks of famous Pangong lake
in Ladakh resulting in stone
pelting that caused minor
injuries to people on both
sides, officials said.
Soldiers of the People's
Liberation Army (PLA) tried to
enter the Indian side in two
areas--Finger Four and Finger
Five-- twice between 6 am and
9 am. But on both the occa-
sions their attempts were
thwarted by alert Indian troops,
they said.After Chinese troop-
ers found their path blocked by
Indian soldiers who formed a
human chain, they began hurl-
ing stones, prompting a swift
retaliation by Indian border
guards.
Personnel from both sides
received minor injuries and the
situation was brought under
control after the customary
banner drill under which both
sides hold banners before step-
ping back to their respective
=Y^_bWYb\bQ`UT 3P[XcbcWaPbWTSU^a
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`Qb[_^94Qi RaT\Pc^aXd\X]6dYPaPc U^aD=4B2>829
VFDU
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A minor girl on her way to
attend the Independence
Day function in her school on
Tuesday was allegedly abduct-
ed and raped by a man in a city
park here, the police said.
"The 12-year-old girl was
crossing the children's traffic
park, located in the heart of the
city, around 8.15 am when she
was abducted by the man, aged
around 40 years, and sexually
assaulted," Eish Singhal, offici-
ating Senior Superintendent of
Police of Chandigarh, told
reporters this evening.The area
where the crime took place in the
park has thick growth of grass
and bushes.The girl, a student of
Class 8 of a Government school,
was taken to a Government
hospital in Sector 16 where her
?`eSjX`]Z`cXRR]ZSfeV^ScRTV+A>d^R_ecR
From Page 1
and lauded the women
fighting the practice of triple
V
talaq and said the entire coun-
try is with them in their
endeavour to get their rights.
CEQUHTXLUHGWRGRXEOHIDUPHUV
LQFRPH
From Page 1
Jammu &Kashmir, Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya
Pradesh, at close to C100 billion
in each.
"Between 1995-96 and
2010-11, the average farm size
declined from 1.41 hectares to
1.15 hectares. Smallholders
now cultivate 42 per cent of
operated land and constitute 83
per cent of total landholdings
"This increase is most promi-
nent in the case of marginal
and small farms. However, a
decline in the number of hold-
ings with medium and large
farms is noticed over the peri-
od which is a matter of con-
cern. Fragmented and scat-
=^cTQP]Qa^dVWcC"; Ra^aTQ[PRZ\^]Th According to Youth in
From Page 1
They all will have to answer
questions on how they accu-
mulated such wealth," he said.
"Out of these, some 4.5
lakh people have come out in
open and have approached the
authorities and have expressed
their desire to make amends. It
has been also revealed that one
lakh people had never paid
income tax," Modi said.
Enumerating several
actions and initiatives taken by
his Government to check the
flow of black money, the PM
said the money that was hidden
has been brought to the main-
stream.
He said his Government
has closed over 1.75 lakh shell
companies that were being
used to hide back money.
"Those behind the hoarding of
black used to hide behind these
shell companies, they have
been forced to run for cover.
The data mining post note
ban has led the investigators to
over 3 lakh shell companies," he
0A<H?;0B>;384AB
CA843C>4=C4AC74
8=380=B8348=CF>
0A40B58=64A5>DA
0=358=64A58E4
CF82414CF44=%0<
0=3(0<
positions.
An Army spokesman in
New Delhi declined to com-
ment on the incident which
came amid continued stand-off
between the armies of the two
countries at Doklam in Sikkim.
Chinese troops had man-
aged to enter upto Finger Four
area in the region from where
they were sent back. This area
has been a bone of contention
between India and China as
both claim it to be a part of
their territory.
When the Indian side
staked claim to the area during
negotiations in late 1990s, the
Chinese army constructed a
metal-top road and insisted it
was part of Aksai Chin, which
is under the latter's control,
8]SXP4Vh_cbd__^ac
medical examination was con-
ducted, the officer said.
Asked about the girl's con-
dition, he said, "She is stable but
traumatised".The girl narrated
the incident to her parents fol-
lowing which the police was
informed and a case, including
under the provisions of the
POCSO Act, was registered
against the accused, who is at
large, he added."We have
rounded up some suspects and
they are being questioned.
Further probe is under
progress," Singhal said.The
police, he said, was also trying
to get the footage from the
CCTV cameras from the near-
by area to identify the accused.
Earlier, there were reports
the incident took place when
the girl was returning home
from school.
"I pay my regards to the
women who had to lead a
pitiable life due to 'triple talaq'.
They have started a movement
which has created an environ-
ment in the entire country
tered holdings do not allow
better utilisation of farm
resources and technology
adoption by the farmers as a
result reduces the productivi-
ty," the report said.
"As many as 22.50 per cent
of the farmers live below offi-
cial poverty line. India's yield
averages for most crops at
global level do not compare
favourably. The costs of culti-
vation are rising. The magni-
tude of food loss and food
waste is alarming. The markets
do not assure the farmer of
remunerative returns on his
produce," the committee said.
The average income of the
farmer is targeted to be
said.
"You will be surprised to
know that there were 400 shell
companies that operated from
the same address. There was no
enquiry and all of it was going
on in connivance (with offi-
cials). I embarked on a fight
against black money and cor-
ruption after I found this devi-
ous way being employed by the
black money hoarders," the
PM said.
Modi said Government's
note ban decision has got
money into banks and banks
are now reducing their interest
rates. "The common man is
getting money. Banks are lend-
ing to poor at lower interest
rates," he said.
Asserting that GST has
shown the spirit of cooperative
federalism, the PM said, "The
implementation of Goods and
Services Tax (GST) that sub-
sumed over a dozen central and
state levies to weave India into
one market has been smooth."
The PM said that "digital
officials said.
China had constructed a
road up to Finger Four which
falls under Siri Jap area and is
five km deep into the LAC.
Earlier, the Chinese patrols
used to come frequently from
the northern and southern
banks of this lake, whose 45 km
stretch is on the Indian side
while 90 km is on the Chinese
side.
Indian forces are now
armed with high-speed inter-
ceptor boats, bought from the
US, which can accommodate
nearly 15 soldiers and are
equipped with radars, infra-red
and GPS systems.
These boats are said to be
as good as Chinese vessels and
are used to conduct recon-
naissance and area domination
patrols.
The situation along the
banks of the lake has always
remained volatile with Chinese
troops being intercepted by
Indian Army patrol several
times after the three-week long
stand-off in the Depsang plains
of Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in
May 2013.
?C8Q 07<430103
A Dalit man and his mother
were thrashed allegedly by a
group of 15 men for skinning a
dead cow near a crematorium at
a village in Anand district of
Gujarat, instead of the place
where cattle are disposed of,
police said on Tuesday.
The incident took place
almost a year after four Dalit
men were allegedly beaten up
by cow vigilantes at Una in Gir-
Somnath. According to the FIR
lodged on Monday in connec-
tion with the incident that took
place in Kasor village of Sojitra
taluka, around 15 men from
Rajput community thrashed the
22- year-old man and his 45-
year-old mother on Saturday
night, while accusing them of
defying the rules for skinning the
against the practice," said the
PM said. The Centre has said
that it is against the practice of
triple talaq. The matter is under
consideration of a constitution
bench of the Supreme Court.
suaded some 100 children and
increased from C96,703 in
2015-16 to C2,19,724 in 2022-
23 (current prices). "The share
of income derived from crop
cultivation is relatively higher
in Punjab, Har yana,
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh and
Uttarakhand. The States with
low farmers' income are Jammu
& Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and
West Bengal. The income from
farming of animals occupies
larger share in Haryana,
Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand
and Andhra Pradesh. Kerala,
Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and
West Bengal are on the bottom
in this category,"the report
said.
payment" has registered an
impressive growth and there
has been 34 per cent increase
in digital payments during last
one year. "We are working to
bring transparency using tech-
nology. We are fighting cor-
ruption - for the bright future
of India and the wellbeing of
our people," he said.
"We are taking the nation
on a new track of development.
My Government is devoting
significant attention to eastern
Uttar Pradesh, eastern States of
Bihar, Assam, West Bengal,
Odisha and North-East. These
parts of the country have to
grow further. We want to cre-
ate an India where the poor
have a concrete house, elec-
tricity and water. We want to
create an India where farmers
do not have any worry and
sleep peacefully. An India
where farmer gets double of
what he sows," Modi said amid
a thunderous applause from
gathering at the historic Red
Fort.
?C8 Q BA8=060A
pposition National
O Conference (NC) working
president Omar Abdullah on
Tuesday said Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's words for
Kashmir in his Independence
Day speech have been received
very well by the
people in the val-
ley, but they 830H<4BB064
should be followed by action.
"PM Modi's words for
Kashmir have been very well
received by the people here but
everyone here is weary of yet
more talk and (and) no concrete
action," he wrote on Twitter."The
proof of the pudding is in the eat-
ing. We look forward to being
embraced in the warm grip of
understanding, acceptance and
respect," the former J-K Chief
Minister said."That respect must
include respect for the unique
status J&K enjoys within the con-
stitution of India that sets it apart
dead cattle.
In his complaint lodged
with the Sojitra police, the vic-
tim alleged that around 15 men,
all from Kasor, stormed into his
residence on Saturday night and
started verbally abusing him
and his mother by referring to
their caste. The mob allegedly
thrashed the duo and threatened
them with dire consequences,
Deputy Superintendent of Police,
Khambhat division, D D Damor
said.
"It all started on August 11,
when the victim brought a dead
cow for skinning from a nearby
village. Instead of the designat-
ed place, he started skinning it
near the crematorium. When
some locals raised the issue with
the sarpanch, he asked the vic-
tim to take the cow at the allot-
ted place," he said.
2T]caTPbZb
X]cTa]Tc 2<b_TTRWP[[TVTb2?<
From Page 1
Gandhi's letter said the
game is believed to have per-
young adults to kill themselves
in the US, China and other
countries. Kerala Chief
Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also
wrote to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi last week ask-
ing the Centre to ban the
online game.
The lethal trend in the
country came to light when a
14-year-old boy jumped from
the fifth floor of a building in
Mumbai earlier this month.
This is believed to be the first
case of Blue Whale game in the
country. Last week, the staff of
a Dehradun school stopped a
?ZaZ_SfUdefUV_ed 69<fX[[]TeTaR^\_a^\XbT^]
From Page 1
India 2017, a report prepared
by the Ministry of Statistics,
India has 242 million popula-
tion aged between 10 and 24
years, which is far beyond
China's tally of 185 million
young people.
The report said as many as
8,908 suicide cases were regis-
tered among children aged
below 18 years in 2015. Family
problems and failure in exam-
ination led to 3,500 cases of sui-
cide, followed by illness, love
affairs, etc. In close to 1,280
cases, the reasons were
unknown.
The National Mental
Health Survey 2015-16 point-
ed out that prevalence of men-
tal disorders and depression is
more in urban metros as com-
pared to rural areas. "Early
recognition and intervention
will help to realise favourable
outcomes," the survey said,
identifying a wide range of
mental health conditions
among children such as depres-
sion, anxiety, tobacco, alcohol,
suicidal ideation that required
urgent intervention.
hZeYAR\YV]a
from all other states," he said,
referring to the row over Article
35A, which provides special
rights to the citizens of J-K, of the
Constitution.Moderate Hurriyat
Conference chairman Mirwaiz
Umar Farooq also joined the
Kashmir-based parties in wel-
coming PM Modi's statement,
saying if humanity and justice
replace bullets
and abuses, res-
olution
Kashmir issue can become a real-
ity."Welcome @narendramodi
also believes Goli (bullets) and
gaali (abuses) will not help
resolve Kashmir if insaniyat
(humanity) and (and) insaaf
(justice) replace them Resolution
can become a Reality," he wrote
on Twitter.
Abdullah also took a dig at
news channels, asking that with-
out the goli (bullets) and the
gaali (abuses) what would hap-
pen to the TV news studios that
specialise in deploying these
weapons against all Kashmiris?
?C8Q 208A>
gypt supports India's
E Dalveer Bhandari as judge
of the International Court of
Justice (ICJ), while New Delhi
will back Cairo's nominee to
the UNESCO's Director-
General post, the Egyptian
Foreign Ministry has said.
In a statement, the
Ministry said Foreign Minister
Sameh Shoukry received a
phone call on Sunday from his
Indian counterpart Sushma
Swaraj and the two leaders dis-
cussed bilateral relations and
means of international coordi-
nation.
During the call, Swaraj
informed Soukry that India
supports the Egyptian nominee
Ambassador Moushira Khattab
to the UNESCOs Director-
General post, the statement
Class V student from killing
himself, and Pune Police res-
cued a boy who was reported-
ly on his way to complete the
challenge. Former Manipur
Minister's son, who committed
suicide in Delhi two days ago,
might be a victim of the game.
On July 26, a student from
Vilapilasala near allegedly com-
mitted suicide by hanging him-
self at his house in Kerala. The
boy's mother has told a
Malayalam TV channel that
her son had downloaded the
Blue Whale game in November
last. The Kerala police are
investigating the matter
whether boy has committed
suicide while playing Blue
Whale game.
The Journal of Indian
Association for Child and
Adolescent Mental Health in its
October 2016 issue identified
roadblocks in addressing symp-
toms of stress among school
children and they included
"stringent school timings, lack
of awareness about adolescent
mental health, untrained pro-
fessionals at schools to deal
with peer pressure, and lack of
consent of parents to address
mental health issues".
The report said when early
symptoms go unchecked it
leads to depression, anxiety,
emotional outbursts, high risk
behaviour, school dropouts,
running away from home and
suicidal ideations. The same
factors also lead to high rate of
suicides among adolescents
aged 14-16 years.
India invests roughly 0.06
per cent of its health budget on
mental health and faces 87
per cent shortage of mental
health professionals. Experts
believe that by introducing
stress coping skills and health
education programmes in
schools, a positive start can be
made in this direction.
4YZ_Ra]R__Z_X
e`ReeRT\:_UZR
T]RZ^d>f]RjR^
?C8Q 4C0F07D?
he countr y faces the
T "biggest" threat from
China, former defence minis-
ter Mulayam Singh Yadav on
Tuesday said, claiming that it
is plotting to attack India in
collaboration with Pakistan.
"There are a number of
threats before the country but
the biggest threat is from
China...It is continuously
encroaching on our land and
is planning to attack but is not
of
able to advance because of our
army," he said at a function
here.
"China is preparing to
attack India in collaboration
with Pakistan. This collabora-
tion of China and Pakistan is
dangerous for us...This matter
should be taken seriously," the
Samajwadi Party patriarch
said.
Referring to the contribu-
tion of Lohia, JP and other
socialist leaders in the freedom
struggle, the SP founder said
people have faith in the social-
ists and they need to raise their
voice against injustice.
said.
At the same time,
Shoukry said that Egypt sup-
ports Bhandari, who has been
nominated by India as its
candidate for another nine-
year term as judge of the ICJ,
it added.
"India and Egypt have
always had a very good coop-
eration in international fora,"
India's Ambassador to Egypt
Sanjay Bhattacharyya told PTI
today.
"We found that the candi-
dature of Khattab is a very
attractive one. Both, the can-
didature Khattab for the
UNESCO and of Bhandari for
the ICJ are having mutual sup-
port," the ambassador said.
The UNESCO and ICJ
elections will be held in
October and November respec-
tively.
33aTUdbTSc^Qa^PSRPbcCaX_daP
?C8Q =4F34;78
he CPI(M) on Tuesday
T alleged that Doordarshan
refused to broadcast Tripura
Chief Minister Manik Sarkar's
speech and said it would fight
this "undeclared Emergency".
CPI(M) general secretary
Sitaram Yechur y said
Doordarshan was "not the pri-
vate property" of the BJP-RSS
and accused Prime Minister
Narendra Modi of "instructing
his cronies to black out voices"
of the Opposition, including
that of an elected chief minis-
ter.
There were no immediate
reaction from the Prasar
Bharati, which runs
Doordarshan and All India
6^aZWP[P]SST\P]SbPhb6dad]V
?C8Q 30A944;8=6F1
ith the indefinite shut-
W down in Darjeeling hills
entering its 62nd day, GJM
chief Bimal Gurung on
Tuesday vowed that he will
"never compromise" with the
demand for Gorkhaland and
"continue the fight till it is
achieved".
The Independence Day
was incident-free and cele-
brated in various parts of the
ABBbd__^acTab
From Page 1
Not only the villages but
the urban towns are also wit-
nessing political violence in
Kerala. On July 29, E Rajesh
was murdered in Trivandrum
allegedly by CPI(M) cadre.
He was stabbed 89 times.
Rajesh's father said his
son was not involved in any
crime. "Rajesh was active
member of RSS since his
school days. He even sold his
wife's chain to help in a treat-
]PcX^]#
!APX[fPhbcPUUTabSTUh
caP]bUTa^aSTaaT[dRcP]c
c^Y^X]]Tf_^bcX]V
?=BQ =4F34;78
n a rare defiance of the
Iorders,
Government's transfer
two railway personnel
posted at the crucial parcel
godown at the New Delhi
Railway Station have expressed
their reluctance to join their
new postings at Old Delhi
Railway Station.
The duo has been in the
present posting for over 15
years leading to a section of the
departmental staff approaching
the Railway Ministry com-
plaining against the erring per-
sonnel, who have the backing
of the railway unions.
The Delhi Divisional
Railway Manager (DRM) office
had issued transfer orders to
Parcel Supervisor Rajesh
Chaddha and Senior
Commercial Clerk PN Singh
along with five others on June
21, 2017. Barring Chaddha
and Singh who have declined
to take up their new assign-
ments, all others have joined
their postings.
According to the rules,
there has to be a mandatory
periodical transfer of govern-
ment officials and staff in five
years but Chaddha and Singh
have been at the New Delhi
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uspected RJD supporters
SDeputy
today attacked the car of
Chief Minister Sushil
Kumar Modi near Kala Pahar
village in Bihar's Vaishali dis-
trict but he was not injured.
Officer in-charge of
Bidupur police station Ritesh
Mandal said that some uniden-
tified persons threw stones on
Sushil Modi's car when he was
on way to the village on
Tuesday evening.
Preliminary information
suggest some minor damage to
the car but there was no injury
to Sushil Modi who proceeded
on his onward journey to
attend the funeral rites of the
mother of BJP ex-MLA
Achutanand Singh.
His escort party informed
Radio.
"Doordarshan Refuses to
Broadcast Tripura CM Manik
Sarkar's Speech. Is this the
Cooperative Federalism that
PM Modi Talks About?
Shame!" the CPI (M)'s official
Twitter handle said, without
mentioning the speech of the
prime minister but believed to
be his Independence Day
address.
Tagging the tweet, Yechury
hit out at the central govern-
ment saying the channel's
alleged refusal to air Sarkar's
speech was "illegal".
"PM can pay homilies to
cooperative federalism while
instructing his cronies to black
out voices of the Opposition,
including an elected CM.
hills with the Gorkha
Janmukti Morcha and other
parties taking out rallies with
the national flag.
Gurung himself hoisted a
national flag during a cere-
mony organised by the GJM.
In a statement later, he
thanked everyone for their
support during the two-
month-long indefinite shut-
down and vowed to continue
the fight till the Gorkhaland
dream was achieved.
ment of a RSS worker," said his
father.
"My son's sacrifice will
not go in vain. We will keep
fighting against the terror of
CPI(M)," said the father.
Despite the political mur-
ders and intimidations by
CPI(M), families of Sangh
workers' are determined to
contribute in every possible
way for the emergence of RSS
and BJP as strong power in
Kerala.
Parcel godown for about two
decades.
"They come under the sen-
sitive commercial department.
Both of them have been there
for over several years which is
not fair. This needs to be inves-
tigated properly as every time
transfer orders were issued to
them they used their railway
employees' union clout to put
them on hold. Most of us have
now brought this o the notice
of the Delhi Division
Commercial Department but
still no action is being taken
against them. There is a huge
unrest among the employees,"
said a senior member of the
Commercial Department.
When a senior railway
ministry official was asked
about the matter, he said that
this particular case will be
examined and the DRM will be
asked for his comments. "This
is surprising. It is now almost
two months and they have
defied the transfer orders. This
is a serious lapse on the part of
our Delhi Division adminis-
tration, especially, against the
backdrop of Railway Minister's
zero tolerance to such issues of
irregularities which includes
corruption," said the Ministry
official.
the police about the incident,
Mandal said.
Superintendent of Police of
Vaishali Rakesh Kumar said he
is rushing to the spot.
The incident took place a
few minutes after RJD supremo
Lalu Prasad's son and now the
Leader of Opposition Tejaswi
Prasad Yadav's carcade rpt car-
cade had passed through the
area to Samastipur to launch
the second stage of his pro-
gramme against disintegration
of the Grand Alliance govern-
ment from tomorrow.
The area is a strong-hold of
the RJD, whose members are
particularly angry with Sushil
Modi for levelling a series of
allegations of corruption
against Lalu Prasad and his
family and the incident appears
to be a fallout of this.
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uducherry Lt Governor
P Kiran Bedi was on Tuesday
snubbed by political func-
tionaries, including the ruling
Congress, its ally DMK and
opposition AIADMK who
remained absent at the cus-
tomary 'Independence Day At
Home' reception hosted by her.
Chief Minister V
Narayanasamy, nominated BJP
MLA and local unit party pres-
ident, V Saminathan, were the
only leaders who attended the
reception.The virtual boycott
by the political class, barring
the saffron party, comes in the
backdrop of differences
between Bedi and elected
members over the Lt
Governor's style of function-
ing.Bedi was recently locked in
a tussle with the Puducherry
Government over appointment
and swearing-in of three nom-
inated members of the assem-
bly.
In June last, the assembly
had adopted a resolution which
in effect sought to curb powers
of the Lt Governor with the
Chief Minister demanding that
Bedi consult the elected
Government on various issues.
Besides Narayanasamy, the
reception, hosted on the occa-
sion of the 71st Independence
Day in Raj Nivas, was attended
by French Consul General in
Puducherry Catherine Suard,
officials of various departments,
Director General of Police S K
Gautam and Chief Secretary
Manoj Parida among
others.Bedi greeted the Chief
Minister on his arrival who after
staying for a while left the
venue.Most of the ministers
were away in outlying regions
participating in the
Independence Day celebrations,
sources said.Saminathan said
two other nominated BJP mem-
bers could not attend the recep-
tion as they were out of the city.
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C iting the example of how

the present President is a
Dalit, a farmers son is Vice-
President while a tea vendor has
achieved the unique distinction
of becoming the countrys
Prime Minister, Chief Justice of
India JS Khehar on Tuesday
said that no citizen in the coun-
try is inferior or superior and
this is what the Constitution has
promised to all.
Giving his maiden and
final Independence Day speech
as CJI, Justice Khehar gave his
own example to show how
despite not being an Indian cit-
izen (initially he was a Kenyan
citizen), after becoming one, he
got equal status and opportu-
nity like anyone else, that
helped him ascend the highest
seat of judiciary.
After being a citizen, you
are neither inferior nor supe-
rior to anyone. You are no less
or more than anyone else the
country has a Dalit President,
who spent his childhood in a
mud hut. We have an agricul-
turalist as our Vice-President
who started his political career
by pasting party posters. We
have a Prime Minister who
used to be a tea vendor at one
point The CJI was not a cit-
izen of this country to start
with, but when he became the
citizen of this country, he was
erence of son of judges becom-
ing judges, the CJI recalled his
experience of meeting a young
impressive lawyer who
OHDGHUVH[WHQGJUHHWLQJV
?=BQ =4F34;78 which will occur from Texas this friendship and mutual respect.
turned down the offer of month, pledging that the US We have accumulated exten-
becoming a judge because his ndias friends from near and would continue to be a reliable, sive experience of fruitful bilat-
father was a judge.
Making his point, the CJI
INarendra
far wished Prime Minister
Modi on the occa-
long-term supplier of energy.
Modi thanked Trump for his
eral cooperation in all areas
and coordination of efforts in
said, There are many wise sion of Independence Day. strong leadership uniting the tackling important regional
children in this country. They While Russian President world against the North Korean and global issues, Putin said.
may be the children of judges, Vladimir Putin in his congrat- menace. He reiterated Russias will-
Dalits, Brahmins. In indepen- ulatory message reiterated will- On behalf of the ingness to continue joint work
dent India, we stand together ingness to continue joint work Government of the United to strengthen privileged
to achieve whatever we can to strengthen privileged strate- States of America, best wishes to strategic partnership between
achieve. The CJI also used the gic partnership, US President the people of India as they cel- Russia and India for the ben-
occasion to deny a news report Donald Trump called up and ebrate their Independence Day efit of the two countries
that published his sons name as discussed peace in Indo-Pacific and continue the journey we friendly peoples and in line
one of the law officers selected areas, North Korea among began together 70 years ago. with ensuring international
to represent Punjab Govern- other issues with Modi. The United States is proud to stability and security..
5^a\Ta?aX\T<X]XbcTab<P]\^WP]BX]VWP]S733TeTV^fSP2989dbcXRT9B:WTWPa7^\T<X]XbcTaAPY]PcWBX]VW5X]P]RT
ment. It turned out to be some The leaders resolved to stand with the people of India, Sri Lankan Prime Minister
<X]XbcTa0ad]9PXc[ThP]S^cWTaSXV]XcPaXTbSdaX]VcWT& bc8]ST_T]ST]RT3PhUd]RcX^]PcATS5^acX]=Tf3T[WX^]CdTbSPh ?C8 other Khehar and was a case of enhance peace and stability the worlds largest democracy, in Maithripala Sirisena, Bhutan
mistaken identity, he clarified. across the Indo-Pacific region the cause for freedom and pros- PM Tshering Tobgay and
equal to everybody else and of the freedom movement. He ple did not run away from the Taking cue from the CJI on by establishing a new 2-by-2 perity around the globe. Prime Afghanistan President Ashraf
had equal opportunities. This urged lawyers, who usually scene. They did not tender any selecting meritorious persons as ministerial dialogue that will Minister Modis ambitious Ghani were among the world
is what citizenship or vacation to exotic locations defence. They were put to gal- judges, the Law Minister Prasad elevate their strategic consul- vision for the US-India rela- leaders who wished Modi on
Independence is the free- abroad, to plan a visit to lows in Andaman, the CJI said. backed the centralised selection tations. As the leaders of two tionship holds great promise for Twitter. I would like to con-
dom to all to achieve their Andaman and Nicobar and Attorney General KK mechanism mooted by of the worlds largest and advancing our shared interests gratulate PM. @narendramodi
hopes, ambitions, desires, said show their children the Cellular Venugopal, also present at the Supreme Court for selecting fastest-growing major in the 21st century, and we look & the great people of India on
Justice Khehar said. jail where our freedom fighters occasion, spoke saying that trial court judges. economies, President Trump forward to the many years of their Independence Day. Our
Union Law Minister Ravi spent decades to win us free- Independence is not merely Why shouldnt we have a and Prime Minister Modi friendship before us, said Rex friendshipll always remain firm
Shankar Prasad, who was also dom. It will be the best way of for those who are wealthy and good intake by having a stricter looked forward to the Global Tillerson, Secretary Department Ghani tweeted while Srisena
present at the function organ- showing respect to their con- rich but also for the poor and selection process? I fully Entrepreneurship Summit in of State in a message. said: Wishing our close friend
ised by Supreme Court Bar tribution, he told the gathering. deprived. SCBA president RS endorse it and would appeal to India this November. President In his congratulatory mes- and neighbour India a very
Association, said, India is not The CJI too recalled Suri, in his address, mentioned high courts and the states which Trump has asked Advisor to sage to Modi, Putin spoke happy #IndependenceDayIndia
secular because the Constitution Abdulla, who killed Culcutta that 33 per cent of Parliamen- are opposing it to reconsider as the President Ivanka Trump to highly of Indias achievements @narendramodi.
says so India is secular judge JP Norman in 1871 and tarians have criminal cases this initiative is for the country, lead the United States summit in the economic, social and Tobgay tweeted: Wishing
because Indias heritage is sec- Sher Ali Afridi, who assassi- against them while most judges the Minister said. He also delegation, a statement from other areas and pointed to the my Indian friends a Happy
ular. He urged the crowd com- nated Lord Mayo, Viceroy of happen to be the children of assured the High Courts that the White House said. countrys influence on the Independence Day. May the
prising judges, lawyers and their India on February 8, 1872, as senior judges in the higher this process will not impinge It added that Trump wel- international stage. Russian- friendship between India and
families to make an effort to being the unsung heroes of our judiciary. upon the rights of High Courts comed the first ever shipment of Indian ties have always been Bhutan continue to grow from
remember the unsung heroes freedom struggle. These peo- Taking offence to his ref- in any manner. American crude oil to India, based on the principles of strength to strength.

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?=B Q =4F34;78
ith the stand-off contin-
W uing in Doklam in
Sikkim, China on Tuesday did
not take part in the ceremoni-
al meeting at the Line of Actual
Control (LAC) on the occasion
of Independence Day even
though the Indian Army had
extended the invitation. These
border personnel meetings
(BPM) are held every year on
five locations on the 4,000 km
long LAC on Independence
?<[Pd]RWTbfTQbXcTX]W^]^da
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CWTRTaT\^]XP[\TTcX]VbPaT_Pac^U annual Hand-in-Hand joint Meanwhile, it is status quo with temperatures hovering
R^]UXST]RTQdX[SX]V\TPbdaTbP]SPaTWT[S exercise between the two at Doklam, sources said adding between five to six degrees ?=B Q =4F34;78 In remembrance of our
Pc3Pd[Pc1TV>[SXTP]S2WdbWd[;PSPZW armies also hangs in balance as nearly 300 to 350 Indian sol- Celsius. The Indian soldiers are heroes who have been awarded
1d\;PP]S:XQXcWd0ad]PRWP[?aPSTbWP]S the Chinese delegation to
finalise the details did not
diers and an equal number of
Chinese troops are facing each
adequately equipped and the
Army has ensured uninter- O n the occasion of the
Independence Day, Prime
gallantry awards since
Independence, launched the
=PcWd;PX]BXZZX\ come to India last month. The other at a distance of 150 to 200 rupted logistical line to look Minister Narendra Modi on site, Modi tweeted. The portal
Day, Republic Day and Peoples measures and are held at Daulat exercise held alternately in metres. after the soldiers at the stand- Tuesday launched a website http://gallantryawards.Gov.In/
Liberation Army(PLA) Day of Beg Oldie and India and China is slated to be The entire area located a off site, they said. that will tell the stories of the will preserve & tell the stories of
China. Chushul(Ladakh), Bum La and held there in late October this height of 11,000 feet is now a While China is insisting bravest men and women, civil- our bravest men & women,
Incidentally, China had not Kibithu(Arunachal Pradesh) year. The exercises comprise tented colony with the Indian that the Indian troops should ians as well as armed forces civilians as well as armed forces
invited the Indian side on the and Nathu La in Sikkim, 100-odd soldiers from each side pitching more than ten withdraw first before any pos- personnel. In a tribute to the personnel, he added.
occasion of PLA Day on sources said here on Tuesday. side practicing together tents with each tent having a sibility of a dialogue while gallantary awardees since The PM asked the public to
August one this year. The face-off between the counter-terrorism and counter- capacity to accommodate 10 to India has reiterated that there Independence, the PM share if they have any informa-
The ceremonial meetings two armies is on since June 16 insurgency drills in urban and 12 soldiers. should be mutual pull back of announced the launch of the tion/photo that is missing and
are part of confidence building and in this backdrop the fate of rural scenarios. It is raining intermittently troops for talks. website in a series of tweets. can be added to the portal.

@=cc`UUSX]_cdTYcQ``_Y^dY^W*3_^W
?=BQ =4F34;78
rime Minister Narendra
P Modis Independence Day
speech on Tuesday drew flak
from the Opposition, with the
Congress describing it as most
disappointing and the Left
terming it as nothing spec-
tacular.
Senior Congress spokesper-
son Anand Sharma said Modi
had not shown sensitivity to
the Gorakhpur tragedythe
death of infants in a UP hospi-
tal -- by comparing it with nat-
ural calamities and said the PM
should have given an account of
the failure of his Government.
While referring to the
Gorakhpur deaths, Sharma
said Modi did not reflect the
gravity of the situation. He has
in a very trivial manner equat-
ed the Gorakhpur tragedy to
national calamities, the
Congress leader said.
The Prime Ministers
Independence Day address has
been most disappointing. After
three years, it was time for him
to give an account of the fail-
ure of his Government in ful-
filling its promises to the peo-
ple, especially the youth, farm-
ers and weaker sections,
Sharma said.
On Modis call for embrac-
ing strife-hit Kashmiris, Sharma
said, We have never stopped
him from embracing Kashmiris.
He should talk to all sections
and create a national consensus
as well as in Kashmir.
CPI national secretary D
Raja said there was nothing
spectacular in Modis speech
and alleged he lacked convic-
tion when he talked about
embracing Kashmiris. They
(the Government) believe in a
military solution to the dispute
but he talks about embracing
Kashmiris. There is no con-
viction in what he said, Raja
said.
Referring to Modis asser-
tion that violence in the name
of faith was not acceptable,
Raja said the PM should first
ask RSS-BJP cadres to stop
engaging in communal attacks.
What the Prime Minister said
should be taken seriously by
the RSS-BJP themselves, the
CPI leader said.
While Sharma said Modi
had promised to create 2 crore
jobs every year but was not
talking about employment any
more, Raja hit out Modi for not
talking about jobs generated for
the countrys youth.
National Conference work-
ing president Omar Abdullah
in a Tweet alluded to Modis
remark that the Kashmir issue
would not be resolved by abuse
and bullets. I guess that cov-
ers both sides - terrorists and
security forces, he said.
On demonetisation,
Abdullah tweeted, This is wel-
come news. But he took a dig
at the Government with, It
also means RBI has finished
counting demonetised notes to
arrive at this firm figure of 3
lakh crores. Excellent.
Sharma wondered what
had stopped the Prime
Minister or Home Minister
from acting against those who
had created an atmosphere of
fear and violence due to which
people are feeling insecure.

8]SXPCdaZ\T]XbcP]SXbRdbb_^bbXQ[TcaP]b_^acR^aaXS^a
?=B Q =4F34;78
ndia and Turkmenistan have
Iestablishing
discussed the possibility of
a transport transit
corridor between India, Iran,
Oman and Turkmenistan.
The Foreign Minister of
Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov
was in India to attend the 6th
Session of the India-
Turkmenistan Inter-
Governmental Commission
(IGC) on Trade, Economic,
Scientific and Technological
Cooperation. The discussion
on road connectivity took place
between him and Union Road
Transport and Highway, and
Shipping Minister Nitin
Gadkari on Monday.
During his meeting with
External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj, the two leaders
discussed ways to improve
trade, energy and economic
cooperation. EAM Sushma
Swaraj and DPM Meredov
comprehensively reviewed the
entire gamut of bilateral rela-
tions and took stock of the
progress achieved in the areas
of energy, trade and economic
cooperation, transport & con-
nectivity, security cooperation,
civil aviation, information tech-
nology, science & technology,
cultural and educational mat-
ters, Ministry of External
Affairs said in a statement.
Meredov also called on
Vice President Shri Venkiaiah
Naidu and met with Minister of
Finance, Defence and
Corporate Affairs ArunJaitley,
and Minister of State for
Petroleum and Natural Gas
Dharmendra Pradhan.

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?=B Q =4F34;78
report by Air India to the
A Civil Aviation Ministry
(CAM) has absolved senior IPS
officer Shobha Ohatker, posted
as Chief Vigilance Officer (Dy
CVO) of the national carrier, of
all charges of irregularities
against her.
In an anonymous com-
plaint by a fake retired IAS
officer to the Prime Ministers
Office (PMO) last year,
Ohatker was accused of staying
in hotels and flying to different
destinations at Air Indias
expense despite her non-enti-
tlement, besides claiming
unauthorised HRA benefits.
Ohatker, a 1990-batch IPS
officer of Bihar cadre, has been
with Air India since 2015. The
Ministry had sought an expla-
nation from Air India CMD on
March 5, 2016 on the charges.
The report has stated that
27845E868;0=24
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HRA was inadvertently paid by
the finance department to the
CVO which was, however,
recovered immediately from
her salary when she herself
pointed it out. The report clar-
ified that Ohatkers stay in
hotel in Mumbai was approved
by the then CMD until a suit-
able residential accommoda-
tion in the city was allotted to
her, said a senior Civil Aviation
Ministry (CAM) official.
The report also mentions
that the charges that she fre-
quently undertook unautho-
rised travel between Delhi and
Pune was factually incorrect.
A total of 31 journeys were
ticketed over a period of one
year of which only 21 were uti-
lized for duty travel. Those
were frivolous complaints. How
can a person travel 31 times in
a month as was alleged. The
allegations of corruption are
not only unfounded and false,
but seems to have been made
with a deliberate malicious
intent to belittle the honesty
and integrity of a senior
officer , added the official.
Ohatker is still remem-
bered as Hunterwali in Bihar
where she served as SP in
some districts and took on kid-
nappers gangs, cracked down
on terrorists groups, and
exposed powerful Bihar politi-
cians like Md AA Fatmi. Her
raids against gang members of
Babloo Srivastava and Irfan
Goga, both having ISI links,
and dreaded associates of
Faizul Rahman, known to work
for Dawood Ibrahim were
much appreciated then.
Meanwhile, a recent order
by the Air India CMD Ashwani
Lohani has also paved the way
to recover unauthorised pay-
ments made to carriers employ-
ees who are charged with mis-
using their respective position
and mistreating public fund.
Cases have come to our
notice, wherein employees have
received payments that they are
not entitled, at times due to mis-
take or oversight. All such unau-
thorised payments given/-
received should be recovered in
least number of installments
possible from next month salary
of the employee as soon as it is
detected/brought to the notice of
the Finance Department, said
Lohanis order.
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EY`fdR_UdUVWjGR]]VjdYfeU`h_eR\VaRceZ_TV]VScReZ`_d
:7DAB7443F0=8Q BA8=060A constitution were the outcome with China, she said adding the two countries. She also said
of the conscious decision of the dialogue must be used to due to the recent tension along
mid elaborate security people of Kashmir to join the tackle the issue in J&K. the LoC, hundreds of people
A arrangements and a sepa-
ratist-sponsored shutdown, the
Union of India at the time of
partition of the subcontinent in
She hoped Pakistan to also
understand the need for peace-
living close to the borders in
the State had to migrate to safer
Independence Day passed off 1947. The Supreme Court will ful engagement with India and places. Many of them, she said,
peacefully in Kashmir Valley protect the special status of our the central Government would lost their lives, schools in these
even as thousands of people and State as it has protected it dur- also undertake a broad based areas got closed and a lot of
schoolchildren took part in the ing the past 70 years, she said. outreach treating the issues them were rendered home-
celebrations at all district head- Mehbooba said J&K is a within the ambit of humanity less. For how long it would con-
quarters including in Srinagar humanitarian issue and coun- as initiated by former Prime tinue, she asked.
where Chief Minister Mehbooba trys leadership need to take Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee. Mehbooba asked the parents
Mufti unfurled the national flag. steps to fully retrieve J&K with She said the Agenda of Alliance in Kashmir to handover books
A helicopter kept hovering honour and dignity from the of present Government has and pens in the hands of their
over the Bakshi Stadium, the political uncertainties it is also declared that dialogue wards instead of guns and stones.
venue of the main State function engulfed in for the past 70 years. with all stakeholders in the Let us ponder, how is it that the
as all roads leading to the venue Mehbooba said the entire State is the way forward. guns manufactured somewhere 2A?5^UUXRTab_PhcaXQdcTc^\PachaTS2A?52^\\P]SP]c?aP\^S:d\PPc2A?5
were sealed since Monday political class of the state is unit- Mehbooba Mufti said good far off find their use in every RP\_X]BaX]PVPa^]CdTbSPh:d\PaWPSW^XbcTScWTU[PVPccWTRP\_TgPRc[hP]
evening for highly restricted ed in defending and preserving neighborly relations between Muslim society. Why should it hTPaPV^P]SfPbZX[[TS\X]dcTb[PcTaX]P]T]R^d]cTa ?C8
entry. With internet and mobile the special status of the State. She India and Pakistan were very happen? Why cant our young-

6dYc^bTcd_ ]Tf
phones services snapped for said she met leaders of all polit- crucial for the people of the sters be put in productive, cre-
several hours, the locals large- ical parties in this regard and she State who bear the brunt of any ative streams rather than in this
ly remained confined to their was happy to note that there was bitterness in relations between confusion, she said.
homes around the venue even an overwhelming consensus on

as the old parts of Srinagar were
under prohibitory orders.
Contrary to last years desert-
ed stands, a sizeable gathering
was seen at the venue. Hundreds
of schoolchildren and youngsters
affiliated with cultural troupes
took part in the celebrations.
In her brief address,
Mehbooba Mufti exuded con-
fidence in the Supreme Court
of India to safeguard the special
status of Jammu & Kashmir in
the Indian union. Without
referring to Article 370 or 35 A
of the constitution, she said
these provisions in the countrys
CTaa^aPccPRZ^]HPcaP
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Srinagar: The Muslim driver of the
Amarnath Yatra bus, which was
attacked by terrorists in south
Kashmirs Anantnag district on July
10, has been conferred bravery award
by the J&K Government.
The driver of the bus, Sheikh
Saleem Gafoor from Valsad in
Gujarat, showed exemplary bravery
after he drove the bus even after ter-
rorists were raining bullets on the
vehicle. Eight yatris were killed and
19 others were injured in the attack
on the bus. Police claimed Lashkar-
e-Tayyeba (LeT) outfit was behind
the attack and named Abu Ismail, a
Pakistani national as masterminding
the attack with help from local over-
ground workers who have been
arrested.
Sheikh was awarded rupees
C1 lakh under Chief Ministers Special
Award of bravery on the eve of
Independence Day. Earlier, Governor
NN Vohra, who is also chairman of
Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB),
announced a special reward of C2
lakh to the bus driver. PNS
the issue among all of them.
She lauded NC President
Farooq Abdullahs gesture to
grant her audience on the issue.
Farooq Abdullah gave me valu-
able suggestions and lent his
sympathetic hand on my head.
I hope he will continue to
shower his benevolence in
future also, he said.
Mehbooba said dialogue
was the only way ahead to sort
out issues. I was pleased to see
External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj saying that dia-
9P\\d:PbW\Xa2WXTU<X]XbcTa<TWQ^^QP<dUcXd]Uda[X]VcWT]PcX^]P[U[PVPc logue was the only way ahead
1PZWbWXBcPSXd\X]BaX]PVPa^]CdTbSPh ?C8 in resolving border disputes
BcdST]cbUa^\0]Yd\P]8b[P\2^[[TVTcPZTPbT[UXT^]cWT^RRPbX^]^U8]ST_T]ST]RT3PhX]<d\QPX^]CdTbSPh
<TWQ^^QPWPX[b<^SXbb_TTRW X]SdbcaXP[TbcPcTb)2<
Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti
on Tuesday welcomed the remark of Prime Minister, Narendra ?=BQ 60=378=060A
Modi about Kashmir during his Independence Day address.
In a statement, she said she has all along believed that dialogue fter unfurling Tricolour at
and peaceful means only can help in resolving issues as the
futility of violence has been established all around.
A the State-level
Independence Day function
Mehbooba Mufti said the slogan-Bandook say na goli say, in Gujarats cultural capital
baat banay gi boli say coined by her party some 15 years ago Vadodara, Chief Minister Vijay
is as relevant today as it was then. Meanwhile, senior separatist Rupani announced to set up at
leader and Hurriyat Conference chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq least 10 new industrial estates
also welcomed the PMs statement. Welcome @narendramo- in the State for small scale units.
di also believes Goli & gaali will not help resolve Kashmir if The Chief Minister also
insaniyat & insaaf replace them resolution can become a real- announced to give financial aid
ity, Mirwaiz tweeted. PNS to fishermen as well a facility of
free Wi-Fi at educational cam-
puses across the State. The
new industrial estates
announced by Rupani will be
developed by Gujarat State
Development Corporation
(GIDC). He claimed that the
industrial estates would be
model for other States also.
According to him, the
scheme of providing diesel at
C25 per litre would be extend-
ed to small fishermen for their ?T^_[TRPaahX]V"\[^]V]PcX^]P[
fishing boats. Rupani said that C2 U[PVPcPQaXSVTX]0W\TSPQPS ?C8
lakh immediate financial assis-
tance will be given to families of Prime Minister Narendra
those fishermen who are miss- Modis work as Gujarat CM,
ing. The kin of such fishermen Rupani said that Modi set a
will not have to wait for seven benchmark by taking Gujarat
long years for the financial assis- to a new height. His extraor-
tance, he said. The amount will dinary work is worth imitating
be given from the Chief for other states also, he added.
Ministers relief fund, he added. He hailed Modis initiative as
In order to make students CM of Gujarat to hold the State-
studying in the State truly level I-Day functions at differ-
global and connect them with ent places as part of his policy of
the world, the Government is decentralisation instead of State
working to make all the col- capital Gandhinagar.
leges across Gujarat Wi-Fi Extending his
enable, said Rupani, adding Independence Day and
that his Governments initiative Janmashtami greetings to the
to put a limit on fees for the pri- people of the State, he recalled
vate schools would be benefi- the role of erstwhile Prince
cial for the students coming Sayajirao of Vadodara, espe-
from middle class families. cially the India House as the
?C8 Appreciating his mentor meeting place abroad.

3URWHFWQDWLRQDOYDOXHV.HUDOD&0 BcP]SX]VX]Z]TTSTT_fPcTa0bbP\
?=BQ :>278

erala Chief Minister Pinarayi

K Vijayan on Tuesday led the State in
celebrating the nations 71st
Independence Day with gaiety, patriotic
fervour and enthusiasm by urging the
people to defeat any attempt to poison
and dilute the idea of nationalism that
had evolved through diversity, secu-
larism and democratic values.
Giving his Independence Day mes-
sage to the people after unfurling the
Tricolour and taking the salute of the
various forces, NCC, Scouts and
Guides, etc, at the Central Stadium in
Thiruvananthapuram, the CM said
that nationalism did not mean hatred
towards others religions and languages
and other nations.
Pinarayi said, The evolution of
Indias nationalism has been through the
principles of democratic and secular
values and diversity. Indian national-
ism is the product of a melding of diver-
sity. Such nationalism should not be
allowed to deviate into narrow religious
nationalism and hatred. All attempts to
poison and dilute this nationalism
should be defeated.
Efforts to eliminate the countrys
diversity through imposition of uni-
formity using any symbol would lead
to disintegration of nationalism.
Pinarayi said, adding that a nationalism
built on narrow-mindedness would
pose a threat to the country and its peo-
ple. He also stressed on the need to
uphold the fundamental values of the
Constitution.
Independence Day celebrations
were held at different district head-
quarters under the leadership of dif-
ferent Ministers. Health Minister KK
Shailaja led the celebrations in Kannur
by unfurling the Tricolor at the Police
Grounds. In Wayanad, Ports Minister
Kadannappally Ramachandran hoisted
the flag at the district headquarters,
Kalpetta.
Public Works Minister G
Sudhakaran, Industries Minister AC
Moideen, Water Resources Minister
Mathew T Thomas, Local
Administration Minister KT Jaleel,
Education Minister C Raveendranath
and Law Minister AK Balan led the cel-
ebrations in Alappuzha, Thrissur,
Pathanamthitta, Palakkad, Ernakulam
and Malappuram districts respectively.
Independence Day was also cele-
brated at all main centres in the State,
Government offices, educational insti-
tutions, offices of political parties, etc.
Apart from Independence Day pro-
cessions by students and children,
parades were held across the State by
the Kerala Police, Fire Rescue Force and
NCC and Scouts and Guides.
bcdST]cbcTPRWTabbP[dcTCaXR^[^da
0=D?B70A<0Q 6DF070C8
lood-hit Assam celebrated Indias 71st
F Independence Day on Tuesday with large
participation of people in many places even as
schoolkids and teachers saluted the Tricolour
and sung the national anthem riding on boats
and standing atop the roof of school buildings
in many areas of the State.
Schoolchildren and teachers in some of the
flood-hit areas of Morigaon, Barpeta, Dhubri,
Nagaon etc. districts came to the school on boats
to take part in the Independence Day celebra-
tions along with their teachers while some oth-
ers stood in the knee deep water to salute the
Tricolour and sang the national anthem.
Several photographs of children and teachers
hoisting the Tricolor in flooded areas have also
gone viral on social media since morning.
While Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda
Sonowal unfurled the Tricolour at the
Veterinary College ground at Khanapara area
in Guwahati, his other Cabinet colleagues and
top officials also hoisted the national flag at dif-
ferent venues of the celebrations across the State.
The celebrations assume signifincane as ter-
rorist outfits of the Northeastern States includ-
ing anti-talk faction of the Ulfa, the Garo
National Liberation Army (GNLA) and
Manipur based CorCom have given the boy-
cott call of the celebrations.
As many as 25 districts of the State have
been under flood waters for the last few days.
Over 33 lakh people have been affected.
According to official records ten people have
died due to flood related incidents in last 24
hours taking the death of the second wave of
floods to 30 so far. Besides this human causal-
ity, 84 people have lost their lives in the first wave
of floods that have hit the 29 districts of the State
between April to June this year and affected mil-
lions of people.
The Chief Minister reiterating the
Governments commitment to ensuring equal The Chief Minister also reiterated their com-
development of all the tribes and communities mitment to implementing the Assam Accord in
of the State and said that the Government had its letter and spirit and added the Government
taken up several steps to ensure development is equally sincere in sealing the Indo-Bangladesh
of all across the State. border to stop infiltration from Bangladesh.
Focusing the zero tolerance policy of the Steps have been taken to update the National
Government against corruption, Sonowal said Register of Citizens (NRC) so that we can detect
that the Government after taking charge last and deport the illegal foreigners living in the
year had initiated a massive drive against cor- state, he said adding that efforts are also on to
ruption which has led to transparence in func- seal the Indo-Bangladesh border to stop infil-
tioning of the Government machinery. tration from the other side of the border.

ABBRWXTU<^WP]1WPVfPcd]Uda[X]VcWT]PcX^]P[
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EA90H0A09Q :>278
SS Sarsanghchalak Mohan
R Bhagwat on Tuesday unfurled
the national flag to inaugurate the
Independence Day celebrations at
a Government-aided higher sec-
ondary school in Palakkad district
of Left-ruled Kerala despite an
instruction of restraint issued by the
district administration.
District Collector P Marykutty
had late Monday night issued a cir-
cular to the management of the
Karnakiayamman Higher Secondary
School at Moothanthara in Palakkad
asking it to restrain the Sangh chief
from hoisting the flag saying that
only elected peoples representatives
or school authorities could do that
as per protocol since the institution
was Government-aided.
However, Bhagwat went ahead
with the programme and unfurled
the national flag at the school
courtyard and delivered his
Independence Day address to the
students as per schedule after the
RSS and the Karnakiayamman
Educational Society managing the
school stuck to their decision. The
Sarsanghchalak was in Palakkad for
a two-day RSS Baithak that started
on Monday.
Marykutty told the media that
the district administration would
take action over the matter and
would instruct the police to regis-
ter a case. Legal experts said that the
administration could take action as
per Section 188 of the IPC for dis-
obeying an order promulgated by
public servant. The Education
Department has reportedly sought
the managements explanation on
the matter.
Sources said that a case was
likely to be initiated against the
schools manager and principal.
The Tahsildar of Palakkad Taluk has
reportedly found violation of the
rules related to hoisting of the
national flag and has reported this
to the district administration but
the school management stuck to its
position that there had been no
such violation.
This was entirely a decision of
the school management, said U
Kailasamani, a member of the man-
agement committee. And this was
absolutely legal. What has hap-
pened here has nothing illegal
about it. It was not in violation of
the rules. Let the Government tell
us that the RSS Sarsanghchalak is
not a public activist. The circular
had come very late, he added.
The BJP alleged that the
District Collector was acting like a
branch secretary of the CPI(M).
Partys district president E
Krishnadas said, That is why such
a circular was sent at 11.00 pm
Tuesday. There is no rule that stip-
ulates that only the schools head
can hoist the national flag. No cir-
cular can be issued on the basis of
rules that dont exist, he said.
The development has already
triggered a hot political debate in
the State in the context of the ten-
sion prevailing between the RSS-
BJP and the ruling CPI(M), par-
ticularly after the series of violent
incidents that had hit State capital
Thiruvananthapuram last month-
end, including the brutal murder of
an RSS functionary, E Rajesh, by a
Marxist killer gang.
Leaders of the CPI(M) and
Congress were quick to term the
unfurling of the Tricolor by
Bhagwat as an act in violation of
the law of the land and rules
while the BJP rejected the criti-
cisms saying that the District
Collectors order that politicians
could not hoist the flag at
aided schools was not relevant in
this case as the RSS chief was not
a politician.
Addressing the students after
unfurling the flag, Bhagwat said
hoisting the Tricolor was not just
a ceremony but it was a sacred duty.
It is our duty to remember the
hard efforts and sacrifices of those
who had laid down their lives dur-
ing the Independence struggle
With our efforts and sacrifices we
will make this world peaceful and
blissful, he said.
The RSS chief said, With all
our efforts and sacrifices, our land
will become the Vishwa Guru
Our Independence is a very sacred
thing to us. We have to protect it.
India did not get Independence in
one day, he said.
The incident instantly trig-
gered a war of words with the BJP
justifying the RSS chief s action and
the CPI(M) and Congress
denouncing it as disrespect for
law of the land. Keralas Marxist
Law Minister AK Balan said, This
is nothing but misuse of and dis-
respect to the national flag. It is an
act of anarchy that can derail our
democracy.
State BJP general secretary K
Surendran countered the CPI(M)-
Congress attack by stating that
those who were asking the RSS
chief not to unfurl the Tricolour
were fools as they refused to learn
lessons from history.
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he game of numbers is on
T in Tamil Nadu as the group
led by TTV Dinakaran of
AIADMK (Amma) claiming by
late Monday night that 20
MLAs attended the MGR
Centenary Public Meeting held
at Melur near Madurai. The
group led by Chief Minister
Edappadi K Palaniswami has
been claiming that it had the
support of 122 MLAs in the
House, which has a total
strength of 234.
As on today, we have the
support of 115 MLAs. It is not
a big problem for us to get the
support of two or three MLAs
when it is time for the vote of
confidence, said Dindigul
Sreenivasan, Minister for
Forests and Environment who
is a powerful leader of the
AIADMK (Amma) group.
This has set the ball rolling
H^dcWbU^a\PWd\P]_haP\XSc^QaTPZcWT3PWXWP]SXPb_Pac^URT[TQaPcX^]bc^
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?=BQ :>278
n a shocking revelation, a 16-
IVilappilsala
year-old boy from
near Kerala capital
Thiruvananthapuram com-
mitted suicide last month in a
suspected case of addiction to
the online killer game, Blue
Whale Challenge.
As per reports, Manoj, a
Plus 1 student, had committed
suicide by hanging on July 26,
nine months allegedly after he
had started playing the game.
His mother, Anu, told the
media that there were reasons
to suspect that Manoj could
have been a victim of the killer
game. The police have started
a probe into the incident on the
basis of a complaint from the
boys parents.
Manojs relatives have hand-
ed over the phone, in which he
used to play the game, to the
police which will now be sub-
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oa Chief Minister
G Manohar Parrikar on
Tuesday articulated his coali-
tion Governments resolve to
come down harshly on the
increasing drug menace in the
coastal State, linking it to
increasing frustration among
youth, who he said, were found
wanting for direction.
Parrikar also announced
that the State would be made
plastic free within the next two
years, while also adding that
and the EPS Government has
been put on notice by the
Dinakaran faction by staging a
mammoth rally on Monday.
Unconfirmed reports tell that
there were 20 MLAs and six
MPs who decided to throw in
their lot with the Dinakaran
faction.
The DMK, the principal
Opposition party, has made it
known that it would bring in a
no-confidence motion against
the EPS Government on the
first available opportunity and
this may happen in August
itself. The DMK can ask for
convening a special session of
the House in the backdrop of
statements and counter state-
ments being issued by the two
factions of the ruling party.
The possibilities of the
AIADMK (Amma) and the
AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi
Amma) groups merging look
bleak as the Monday discussion
between Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and former
Chief Minister O Panneersel-
vam, who heads the AIADMK
(PTA), did not bear fruit.
Though OPS group has set two
demands as pre-condition for
the merger, the positions to be
jected to examination by the
departments Cyber Cell. The
Blue Whale Challenge game
installed in Manojs phone had
been deleted from the mobile
before his death. The police on
Tuesday recorded the state-
ments of Manojs relatives.
Anu said that Manoj had
started playing the killer game
in November last and that she
had noticed big changes in his
behaviour. She said Manoj could
have downloaded Blue Whale
Challenge last November, sev-
eral months before Keralites had
become aware of the existence
of such an online killer game.
such a vision for plastic-free
Goa by 2020 would only be
possible with active co-opera-
tion of the residents of the State.
I am saying this because,
we are getting news from many
quarters that drug proliferation
has increased. I have given
instruction to police, but I
believe the reason for increase
in drugs is frustration. If youth
is direction-less they move in
unwanted directions, Parrikar
said in his Independence Day
speech delivered in the State
capital on Tuesday morning.
Parrikar, who faces a bypoll
on August 23, also said that his
Government was firm on
cracking down on rave parties,
which are regularly held in the
North Goa coastal belt, in
which two young holidayers
allocated the confidants of the
former Chief Minister in the
merged entity is remaining as
a stumbling block, according to
sources in his camp.
OPS insists that he should
be made either the general
secretary or the Chief Minister.
But the EPS camp is not will-
ing to part with both the posts.
The grapevine is that OPS may
be made the deputy Chief
Minister with one or two
money spinning departments
(preferably the Home or the
Public Works Departments). In
addition to this, his trusted
aides like MaFoi Pandyarajan,
and Semmalai have to be
accommodated in the Council
of Ministers.
Uncertainty could be as
the only word which could be
used to describe the political
landscape of Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, buoyed by the
success of Mondays rally,
Dinakaran has decided to
undertake a tour all over the
State to address public meet-
ings and to interact with party
cadre. The two-way group
war in the AIADMK has
become a no holds barred
three-way fight.
GHDGKXUWLQ0DKDGDKLKDQGL :cPZP2<bPhb]^
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C=A067D=0=C70Q <D<108
wo persons were killed and
T at least 120 others injured in
[P]VdPVT^]BcPcT
dahi handi-related incidents in
the metropolis and neighbour-
ing Thane and Palghar dis-
tricts on Tuesday, even as the
Janmashtami revelers made the
most of the absence of height
restrictions this year and scaled
as tall as nine-tier human
pyramids of the height of 40
feet each at several places in the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region
(MMR) exposing themselves
to considerable risk.
One Rohan Gopinath Kini
(21) collapsed after climbing
down a human pyramid in
Kashipada village in Palghar
district around 6.30 pm. He was
rushed to Palghar district civil
hospital where he was declared
dead before admission. The
deceased had epilepsy. We have
sent Rohans body for post-
mortem. We will get to know the
exact cause of death as soon as
we get the report, Palghar
District Police Superintendent
Manjunath Shinge said.
Another reveler, identified
as Jayesh Charan, was electro-
cuted during a dahi handi
0? event organised at Radikabai
He told me some months
ago that there was a game
named Blue Whale. I taunted
him by asking him whether
there would be any game with
such a name but he explained
that those who played it would
either commit murder or sui-
cide eventually. Otherwise, the
player would become mad, he
said. I asked him not to play it,
the mother told a TV channel.
Since then, Manoj had start-
ed behaving strangely, she said.
He would jump into river though
he never learned swimming, go
to the beach all alone though he
was not in the habit of going any-
from Kerala and Tamil Nadu
died due to suspected drug
overdose on Sunday.
Goa, one of the top beach
tourism destinations, is also
emerging as a major centre for
narco-tourism, with its coastal
villages serving as a backdrop
for drug-fueled rave parties and
5[^^SPUUTRcTSeX[[PVTabfPXcU^aaT[XTU\PcTaXP[^]PQa^ZT]a^PSfPbWTSPfPhQhU[^^SfPcTaX]<^aXVP^]SXbcaXRcTPbc^U6dfPWPcXX]0bbP\
school ground at Airoli in Navi
Mumbai. The event was organ-
ised by Vijay Choughule of the
Shiv Sena.
In yet another incident, a
Govinda survived a major
mishap at Tardeo in south
Mumbai, where a reveler was
left hanging to the dahi handi
rope after the human pyramid
collapsed. The stranded revel-
er was safely brought down.
Till 8 pm, 117 revelers
were injured in dahi handi
incidents reported from dif-
ferent parts of the metropolis.
Of the injured, 67 were treat-
ed and allowed to go, while two
revelers are undergoing treat-
ment (one each) in KEM, Nair
and Siddarth Hospitals.
With the Bombay High
Court refusing last week to
impose height restrictions on
Dahi handis, there was marked
enthusiasm among Govindas
as the revelers are commonly
called in the city, with many
organising mandals erecting
nine-tier human pyramids
equivalent to height of 40 ft.
Last year, the Maharashtra
Government had declared
dahi handi as an adventur-
ous sport. However, following
a submission made by the State
where alone, go to a cemetery at
night and undertake long jour-
neys without telling the family,
according to the mother.
He had even once wound-
ed himself with a divider nee-
dle. As he could not do it by
himself he had made a friend
do it for him. He had asked me
once whether I would feel sad
if he died but I told him not to
speak like that. Then he said I
shouldnt feel sad and asked me
to give the love I had for him
to his sister, the mother said.
Police officials in
Thiruvananthapuram said the
threat of Blue Whale Challenge
was real in the State but added
that it was yet to be confirmed
whether Manojs death could
have been linked to the game.
They said an awareness drive had
become inevitable in the context.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
had on August 12 urged the
Centre to ban the online game.
late music events, where
Parrikar says, drugs are ped-
dled.
Late night rave parties
are illegal and it is where drugs
are consumed and distributed.
Rave parties on beaches or
remote areas should be totally
stopped, Parrikar said.
Government in response to a
public interest litigation before
it last week, a HC division
Bench had accepted the State
Governments submission that
it would not permit the chil-
dren below 14 years to take part
in the dahi handi celebrations.
In a nine-tier event held at
Thanes Naupada locality, the
Govindas owing affiliation to
the Borvili Shivayi Mandal
broke the dahi-handi and won
a cash prize of C11 lakh. The
human pyramids were
formed at many places like
Worli, Kala chowki, Dadar
Ghatkopar, Jogeshwari, neigh-
bouring Thane city, Kalyan,
Navi Mumbai and Palghar dis-
trict. Not wanting to take any
chances, the police had
deployed strong posse of police
persons at various sensitive
areas across the metropolis.
Though the dahi handi cel-
ebrations coincided with
Independence Day, there was
considerable fervour and verve
among the revelers. Slogans like
Govinda Ala re... and Govinda
re Gopala, Bol Bhajrang Bali ki
jai, Go Go Govinda... rent the
air, as boisterous revelers bet-
ter known as Govindas
climbed human pyramids to
3Te^cTTbcPZT_PacX]PW^[haP[[h=PVPaBP]ZXac^]SdaX]VcWTRT[TQaPcX^]b^U
BaX:aXbW]P9P]\PbcWP\X<PW^cbPePX]:^[ZPcP^]CdTbSPh
While stating that the State
police had been asked to act on
intelligence-based drug cases,
the Chief Minister said that the
drug scenario was much more
complex, as newer narcotic
substances can be camouflaged.
Parrikar also linked the
increasing drug menace in the
State to rising frustration
amongst Goan youth, who he
said only hankered after white-
collared jobs.
In a place like Goa,
employment will always remain
an issue, but Goa one more
question is added. Goans want
white coloured jobs, we have
forgotten dignity of labour...
Everyone desk and clerical
jobs. If in the coming years, we
have to rein in the monster of
unemployment, then we will
break the traditional dahi han-
dis. These dahi-handis contain
a mixture of milk, curd, dry
fruits and prize money for
Govindas break them. The rit-
ual involving dahi handi sym-
bolises the manner in which
young Krishna stole butter from
an earthen pot suspended from
the ceiling.
Meanwhile, like every year,
the matter relating to the age
limit and height restrictions
had reached the Bombay High
Court this year as well.
On August 7, after refus-
ing to pass orders on imposing
age and height restrictions on
human pyramid formations
during for the dahi handi cel-
ebrations, the Bombay High
Court had accepted the State
Governments stand banning
the children below the age of 14
years from participating in the
event.
It is not for the High
Court to impose restrictions on
the age of the participants and
height of the pyramids as this
falls exclusively in the domain
of the state legislature. If we
enter into this arena we will be
infringing upon States
domain, Justice Gavai BR
Gavai had said.
?C8
?=BQ ?0=098
ontinuing with its crack-
C down on drugs and rave
parties in the State, the Goa
Police on Tuesday arrested the
owners of two high-profile
beach shacks Curlies and Club
Nyex near Anjuna beach for
their connection to drug trade.
Edwin Nunes of Curlies
shacks and Rohan Shetty of
Club Nyex were arrested
according to Superintendent of
Police (North Goa) Chandan
have to instil dignity of labour,
Parrikar said.
The former Defence
Minister also announced 2020
as the target for making Goa
plastic free, but also said that
such an ambition would only
]PcX^]&
:4BCDAE0BD:8Q 14=60;DAD
arnataka Chief Minister
K Siddaramaiah on
Independence Day reiterated
that imposition of any language
is unacceptable and while giv-
ing primacy to Kannada. He
said that the official language
of the State is need of the hour.
The Chief Minister said, Every
State has its own official lan-
guage and our Constitution
recognises the primacy of that
language in the State to the
exclusion of other languages.
Imposition of any other
language in a State is uncon-
stitutional and it is against the
spirit of Formation of States on
Linguistic basis, he added.
Addressing a large gather-
ing at the Field Marshal
Manekshaw Parade Grounds in
Bengaluru on a rain-soaked had also mooted the idea of a
morning, he unfurled the
Tricolour on the occasion of
the countr ys 71st
Independence Day.
He also said the concept of
cooperative federalism man-
dates that while local language
primacy cannot be compro-
mised, opportunities could be
given to learn other languages
too.
The strength of our nation
lies in the fact that all these not
only co-exist but are flourish-
ing by retaining their respective
identities within the democra-
tic set-up as ordained by our
Constitution, he said asserting
This is unity not only in
diversity but also unity through
diversity.
Siddaramaiahs assertion
on the State Governments
resolve to grant primacy to
Kannada in the State comes in
the backdrop of the huge pub-
lic protest against the imposi-
tion of Hindi language from
Central Government and his
direction to Bengaluru Metro
Rail Corporation Limited
(BMRCL) officials to remove
the Hindi signboards in Metro
stations across Bengaluru.
It may be recalled that the
Choudhury after waiters as
well as customers at the busi-
ness establishment were found
in possession of drugs.
The arrests were con-
ducted after some waiters and
customers were found in pos-
session of drugs, Choudhury
told reporters. The official
said that apart from the cases
filed against the customers
and waiters found with drugs
in their possession, the owner-
duo had been booked under
section 25 of the Narcotics,
succeed if the States populace
pitched in.
There are many advan-
tages to make Goa plastic free.
There are health benefits and
since Goa is a tourism centre,
it will benefit tourism too.
0??W^c^
:Pa]PcPZP2WXTU<X]XbcTaBXSSPaP\PXPW
VaTTcb_T^_[TSdaX]VcWTRT[TQaPcX^]b^U
& bc8]ST_T]ST]RT3PhPc?PaPST
6a^d]SX]1T]VP[dad^]CdTbSPh ?C8
ruling Congress Government
separate flag for Karnataka by
constituting a nine-member
committee of officials and lead-
ing Kannada writers and
activists.
Speaking about new cul-
tural policy brought out ahead
of ensuing elections he said,
We propose to showcase to the
world not only our achieve-
ments in every sphere of life,
but also the exquisite and
unique quality of grandeur of
our land and language.
He lamented that the coun-
try was witnessing the phe-
nomena of communalism and
casteism raising their ugly
heads all around, joined by fas-
cist forces. This is a very dan-
gerous development about
which all right thinking citizens
are concerned, he said.
The Chief Minister said
religion is a personal matter. It
is sacrilegious to derive politi-
cal benefit by sowing seeds of
hatred amongst persons, com-
munities and religious sects.
Today, the time has come to
pledge ourselves to the task of
annihilating those divisive forces
actively promoting these kinds
of practices, which are nothing
but anti-national, he said.
Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances Act.
The arrests are a part of a
strict crackdown on drugs and
rave parties in North Goas
beach belt, considered to be the
party circuit for the hundreds
of thousands of tourists who
flock to the State every year.
The crackdown started
after two young holidayers
from Kerala and Tamil Nadu
died due to suspected drug
overdose on Sunday after
attending late musical events.
Garbage is dumped every-
where. Government will
arrange for everything, but
without co-operation from
people. By 2020, we have
resolved to make Goa plastic
free, Parrikar said.
>5G45<89lG54>5C41I l1E7ECD !&" !' ^_X]X^]'

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[TccTabUa^\aTPSTabR^\_[PX]X]VPQ^dccWT[T]VcW^UWXbb_TTRWTb0b_a^\XbTS
WTST[XeTaTSWXbbW^acTbcb_TTRWc^SPcTPc$%\X]dcTb1dcSTb_XcTXcbbdRRX]Rc
]PcdaT<^SX^dc[X]TSbTeTaP[^QYTRcXeTbU^aWXb6^eTa]\T]c0[^]VfXcW?aTbXST]c 0B7>::
AP\=PcW:^eX]Sb\PXST]8]ST_T]ST]RT3Phb_TTRWST[XeTaTScWT_aTeX^dbSPh >69E2
XcXbR[TPacWPccWT<^SX6^eTa]\T]cWPbbTcXcbT[UbTeTaP[\X[Tbc^]TbU^acWT]Tgc
UXeThTPabP]S\^bc^UcW^bTPaTc^S^dQ[TS^f]^]b^\TZTh\XbbX^]bU^acWXb nusually, both Prime
6^eTa]\T]cbdRWPbcWTBfPRWW1WPaPcP]S3XVXcP[8]SXP<^SXP]S:^eX]Sb
b_TTRWTbaTUTaaTSc^cWT\PX]b^RXP[^QYTRcXeTb^UcWXb6^eTa]\T]cbcPacX]VfXcW
cWT]TRTbbXchU^a_Ta\P]T]cW^dbX]VP]SPSSaTbbX]VXbbdTb^UX]R^\TX]T`dP[
XchCWT?aX\T<X]XbcTa^dc[X]TSWXb6^eTa]\T]cbV^P[^UQdX[SX]VX]UaPbcadR
cdaT8cXbR[TPacWPc\PbbXeTb_T]SX]V^]ZThX]UaPbcadRcdaT_a^YTRcbXbbTT]Pb
eXcP[QhcWXb6^eTa]\T]c2[TPa[h&hTPabPUcTaX]ST_T]ST]RTP]d]PRRT_cPQ[T
U Minister Narendra Modi and
Defence Minister Arun
Jaitley conspicuously skipped
mentioning China or
Pakistan in their traditional indepen-
dence day speeches. Though speaking in
the Rajya Sabha last week, Jaitley was less
_a^_^acX^]^U8]SXP]bPaTbcX[[_^^aP]ScWT6^eTa]\T]cUTT[bcWPc\PbbXeTbRWT\Tb than accurate when he said that the
Armed Forces were strong enough to
fX[[ QT c^^[b ^U TR^]^\XR T\_^fTa meet any challenge to the countrys
\T]c 2adRXP[[h <^SX P[b^ dbTS cWXb security, underlining that lessons have
^__^acd]Xch c^ cP[Z PQ^dc cWT been learnt from the 1962 war.
6^eTa]\T]cbSTRXbX^]c^ST\^]TcXbT The statement is generic but can be
WXVWeP[dT RdaaT]Rh ]^cTb FWX[T challenged on two counts: Operational
readiness and learning lessons.
ST\^]TcXbPcX^]bcX[[WPbXcbRaXcXRb_Pa Incidentally, both these incomplete mis-
cXRd[Pa[h VXeT] cWT bTeTaT TR^]^\XR sions are for the political leadership to
bW^RZXcVPeTc^cWTR^d]cahd]S^dQc accomplish. Jaitley added that compared
TS[h QTX]V P RPdbPcX^] UPRc^a X] cWT to 1962, the Armed Forces were stronger
aTRT]cX]SdbcaXP[b[^fS^f]P]S[^f in 1965 and 1971 wars. He forgot to men-
tion that in 1965, India was poised to
TaTS Va^fcW _a^YTRcX^]b Xc P[b^ Q^[ make strategic gains in Pakistan but had
bcTaTS<^SXbX\PVTPbP]X]R^aad_c to settle for the British-brokered cease-
XQ[T_^[XcXRXP]fW^X]cT]Sbc^V^PUcTa fire as it had run out of critical ammu-
R^aad_cX^]HTccWT6^eTa]\T]cbW^d[S nition for tanks and artillery. He did not
dbTcWT]Tgc!\^]cWbc^V^PUcTaQXV mention Kargil when Army chief, Gen
Ved Malik said, We will fight with what
]P\T [^P] STUPd[cTab P]S ^cWTab we have. But for emergency help from
PRRdbTS ^U R^aad_cX^] B^\T bcT_b South Africa and Israel, Kargil might have parity in preparedness said, The way years after junior minister, Gen VK reactions outlined above would not have
WPeTQTT]cPZT]X]cWXbSXaTRcX^]Qdc gone the other way. national security is being handled is not Singh, the Army chief in 2013, referred obtained had the Defence Ministry and the
PaTb^[dcTTUU^acc^UXgcWTQP]ZX]VbTR Then, as now, except for 1971 war, commensurate with the security environ- to critical hollowness in defence prepared- Armed Forces been in sync on long-term
there is no long-term planning and ment which is extremely serious at the ness. Reason: Neither the ordnance fac- defence planning, based on realistic
c^aXb]TTSTSCWT6^eTa]\T]cWPbQTT]aTb^[dcTX]X\_[T\T]cX]VQXVbRWT\Tb political resolve based on a systematic moment. Our service chiefs have not tories have enhanced production nor the defence and security assessments and
QdccWTaTXb[Xcc[TS^dQccWPccWX]VbPaT]^cTeT]X]cWXaSVTPaPbhTc strategic defence and security review to shown the courage to put their job on the procurement process streamlined. Of review and fiscal guidelines, leading to
7^fTeTaXcXbR[TPacWPc<^SXd]STabcP]Sbb^\T^UcWTQXVRWP[[T]VTbWXb invest sufficient resources in defence pre- line. Only last month, the French Chief the 152 types of ammunition, stocking is tasks and matching resources. In absence
6^eTa]\T]cUPRTb7XbRP[[U^abd__^acPbZX]VcWT_T^_[T^UcWXbR^d]cahc^RWP]VT paredness and deterrence. You only have of Defence Staff, Gen Pierre de Villiers done at different levels. But critical of any higher political direction and
cWTXaRWP[cPWPX P]hcWX]VV^TbPccXcdSTc^QPSP[bPZcPWPX fTRP]RWP]VT to read successive reports of the resigned as he could not ensure securi- ammunitions are sufficient to fight a short defence reforms, adhocism prevails.
Parliamentary Standing Committee on ty of France since Euro one billion was and intense war. It is not clear if this war Outgoing Vice President Hamid
PccXcdST\XVWccPZTb^\TcX\Tc^aTb^]PcTfXcWcWT_dQ[XR2^d[S<^SXWPeTQTT] Defence and Comptroller and Auditor- cut from the defence Budget. In UK, is 10, 20 or 40 days and whether it is two- Ansari, speaking on Make in India
bca^]VTafXcWWXbd]T`dXe^RP[R^]ST\]PcX^]^UeX^[T]RTX]8]SXPc^SPh.7TbW^d[S General of Indias (CAG) reports where Admiral David Luce resigned on cancel- front. It is reported that training ammu- lamented that India cannot produce
WPeTQTT]QTRPdbTbTeTaP[_Pacb^UcWTR^d]cahWPeTQTR^\TR^\\d]P[CWXb shortfalls in operational readiness are reg- lation of the aircraft carrier programme. nition has also been cut drastically. even an indigenous rifle the one made
aT\PX]bPWdVTRWP[[T]VTc^cWXb6^eTa]\T]c0[b^X]cTa]P[eX^[T]RTP]ScWT ularly red-flagged, not to mention the American Generals have invariably Last month, the Department of failed miserably in field trials. Our
]TfTgcTa]P[cWaTPcUa^\2WX]PR^d[SWPeTQTT]b_^ZT]^UX]bca^]VTacTa\b pronouncements of Service chiefs. demanded resource-matching missions, Defence Production approved higher investment in research and develop-
Defence Budget for the year 2017-18 was quitting when their pleas were ignored. scales of ammunition for tanks, infantry ment is peanuts. Two Indian T90 tanks
4eT]cW^dVW<^SXb_^ZTfXcWcWTR^]UXST]RT^Ub^\T^]TfW^Z]^fbcWT]Tgc the lowest at 1.56 per cent of the gross Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray fighting vehicles, third generation mis- sent to Russia for an international com-
T[TRcX^]XbWXbc^[^bT_PacXRd[Pa[hfXcWWXbUXeThTPa_[P]U^a!!!WTP[b^_a^Q domestic product since 1962 and capital counselled his ally, the Modi siles and L/70 air defence ammunition in petition crashed out due to mechanical
PQ[hZ]^fbcWPcX\\T]bTRWP[[T]VTbUPRX]VWX\\XVWc\PZTcWT]TgcVT]TaP[ account for modernisation barely suffi- Government, to focus on conflicts with the Make in India category where only failures. The indigenously produced
T[TRcX^]P\PY^aWdaS[T>eTaP[[Q^cW<^SXP]S:^eX]S[^^ZTSPccWTa^PSPWTPS cient to meet old liabilities. China and Pakistan rather than on win- Indian vendors are eligible. The products Bofors Dhanush gun was found to con-
QdcfXcWPeTah]Paa^fU^RdbCWT8]ST_T]ST]RT3Phb_TTRWbW^d[SWPeTQTT] Chief of Army Staff General Bipin ning elections. Prior to a by-election, the from this process could take years to tain fake Chinese parts (marked made in
Rawat, earlier in the year, noted that the BJP in Goa hailed former Defence materialise. In addition, last year, Vice Germany) and is being investigated by
\^aTPbcPcT^UcWT]PcX^]PSSaTbbcWP]P\XbbX^]bcPcT\T]c services were not getting their due share Minister Manohar Parrikar for enabling Chiefs of the Armed Forces were empow- the Central Bureau of Investigation.
of resources due to the perception that India to stand up to Beijing and the sur- ered to acquire emergency ammunition This is akin to Israelis inserting Stucknet
expenditure on defence was a burden on gical strikes. But it was during the brief and equipment without the clearance of virus into Iranian centrifuges.

4`_dZdeV_eZ_ScVR\fad
the economy. Within 48 hours, he was
told by Jaitley to contact him when he ran
short of funds. Gen Rawat had also said
that the Army was tasked to fight a two-
6KDUDG
debate in the Rajya Sabha on foreign pol- the Defence Acquisition Council to With Doklam staring us in the face,
icy that Samajwadi Partys Ram Gopal ensure ammunition and spares for a min- it is time to catch up with Chinas reform
Yadav observed that defence and military imum of 10 days of intense fighting. and modernisation drive supervised by
power are key to Indias regional pre-emi- Some progress has been here. President Xi Jinping himself. Seventeen
VUHYROWDJDLQVW1LWLVKFRXOGVSOLW-'8 and-a-half front war. Air Chief Marshal
BS Dhanoa has observed that he needs
minimum 42 combat squadrons against
DQGIXUWKHUGLVLQWHJUDWHWKH-DQDWDSDULYDU the current 32 to dominate a two-front
collusive situation and likened the hand-
PVVTabPaTSaPf]X]cWT9P]PcP3P[D]XcTSJ93DLCWTbPVP^UcWT9P]PcP icap to a cricket team playing with seven
nence. Congress leader Anand Sharma
quoted George Washington, To be pre-
pared for war is the best way to preserve
peace. Sadly, Governments are forever
planning the next election victory.
The CAG report tabled last month in
Last month, the Defence Ministry
sought an additional C20,000 crore for slip-
pages in defence modernisation as well as
routine operating costs five months ahead
of the next Budget likely to be announced
on January 1, 2018. It seems the Doklam
Mountain Corps under raising to be any
deterrent requires to be made operational
and Sikkim and Ladakh provided with
infrastructure to make it deployable in
both places. Obviously, all the lessons of
1962 have not been fully learnt.

3
instead of 11 players. Chief of Naval Staff, Parliament pointed out drastic shortfalls face-off and political uncertainty in (The writer is a retired Major General
_PaXePabSXbX]cTVaPcX^]Xb[XZT[hc^fXc]TbbcWTPSSXcX^]^UP]TfRWP_cTa Sunil Lanba, whose fleet is precariously in ammunition inventories though some Pakistan have created the possibility of a of the Indian Army and strategic
X]cWTSPhbc^R^\T6XeT]cWT_PaXePabWXbc^ahXcb]^bda_aXbTcWPccWT deficient in submarines, speaking on dis- progress has been made in the last three worst case two-front scenario. Some panic affairs expert)
cWaTPc^UPUdacWTaUaPV\T]cPcX^]XbR^\X]VUa^\fXcWX]Xcb^f]bcPQ[Tb8cbcWT
^[SfPaW^abTBWPaPSHPSPe^]T^UcWT_aX]RX_P[PaRWXcTRcb^UcWT93Db^\T
$hTPabPV^fW^Xb]^f^dcRWP[[T]VX]V1XWPa2WXTU<X]XbcTa=XcXbW:d\Pab
PdcW^aXch^eTacWT_PachHPSPeXb_TTeTS^eTa:d\Pabd]X[PcTaP[STRXbX^]c^`dXc B>D=318C4 ;4CC4ABC>C74438C>A
cWT\PWPVPcWQP]SWP]P]SY^X]WP]SbPVPX]fXcWcWT1WPaPcXhP9P]PcP?Pach19?

De`aeYVS]R^VXR^VR_U
cattle for slaughter. We cannot
c^U^a\cWT6^eTa]\T]cX]1XWPa0UcTaP[[cWT\PWPVPcWQP]SWP]R^\_aXbX]V 9^TYQ^c]ecdVYWXdcU`Q CX_S[Y^WY^SYTU^d expect such decencies from peo-
bQdYc]dUbb_bYc]Q^TQ\\
cWT93D;P[d?aPbPSbAPbWcaXhP9P]PcP3P[A93P]ScWT2^]VaTbbfPbU^a\TS ceSXV_bSUcgX_TYfYTU
ple who give more priority to keep
Sir This refers to the editorial, ambulances ready for cows than

W`Tfd`_YVR]eYTRcV
c^cPZT^]cWT\XVWc^UPaP\_PVX]V19?cWPcWPbQTT]bfTT_X]VBcPcTPUcTaBcPcT dXUc_SYUdiDXUi Murder by any standard oxygen cylinders for humans.
8]S^X]Vb^HPSPeXbR[PX\X]VcWTbd__^ac^UcWT_Pachb #BcPcTd]XcbP]SPbbTac ]ecde^YdUd_`b_dUSd (August14). Honestly speaking, Tharcius S Fernando
X]VWXbVa^d_X]Vc^QTcWTaTP[93D:d\PaWPbaT\^eTSHPSPePbcWT_Pachb dXURQcYS`bY^SY`\Uc the death of more than 60 children Chennai
_Pa[XP\T]cPah[TPSTaX]cWTAPYhPBPQWPP]SbPRZTS! ^UWXb[^hP[XbcbUa^\cWT _V9^TYQ^^Ucc WXbaTUTabc^cWTTSXc^aXP[<daSTaQhP]hbcP]SPaS0dVdbc #CWTSTPcW

C
in Gorakhpur owing to Japanese
Encephalitis (JE) is heart-wrench- ^U\^aTcWP]%RWX[SaT]X]Pb_P]^UPfTTZX]6^aPZW_daWPb^]RTPVPX]
93DU^aP]cX_PachPRcXeXcXTb8]cTaTbcX]V[hHPSPeXbQPRZTSQh;P[d?aPbPSfXcW
ing. The tragic incident has trig- Qa^dVWcc^U^aTcWTX]SXUUTaT]RT^UcWTBcPcTc^fPaSbcWT_[XVWc^UXcbbdQ 2ebYUTdbedX
fW^\WTWPS[^RZTSW^a]bX]cWT\XS 3_^WbUcc`
`bUcYTU^d gered widespread outcry and YTRcb8cXbbW^RZX]VcWPccWTPS\X]XbcaPcX^]^eTa[^^ZTScWTaTSU[PVbaPXbTS^eTa
(b U^a bd_aT\PRh ^eTa cWT cWT] C_^YQ7Q^TXY drawn flak from all quarters, cWTXbbdT^UT\TaVT]RhaT`dXbXcX^]X]VU^a^ghVT]bd__[hX]cWTW^b_XcP[P]SX]bcTPS Sir This refers to the article,
9P]PcP3P[HPSPeWPSV^]T^]c^Y^X] including from some prominent T\Qa^X[TSXcbT[UX]cWTR^]ca^eTabXP[^dbcTa^UcWT_aX]RX_P[^U1PQPAPVWPe3Pb Shia initiative is laudable
DXUVUQb_VVQY\ebUYcgXQd
WP]SbfXcW:d\Pac^U^a\cWT93D leaders, who have termed the <TSXRP[2^[[TVTW^b_XcP[APYTTe<XbWaP8cXbUdacWTaSXbWTPacT]X]VcWPccWTBcPcT (August 14) by Prafull Goradia.
]Q[UceccdYS[d_]UTY_S childrens deaths as murder. 6^eTa]\T]cWPb[TPa]c]^[Tbb^]bc^aTSdRTX]RXST]RTb^U9P_P]TbT4]RT_WP[XcXb It is most welcome that the Uttar
P]ScWTSd^^dbcTS;P[d?aPbPSUa^\ bYdiDXQdccQT6_bde^QdU\i Worse is the cause of the ?^^abP]XcPcX^]_PcWTcXRWTP[cWRPaTbhbcT\bX]PST`dPcT_dQ[XRPfPaT]Tbb Pradesh Shia Waqf Board, in rev-
_^fTaX]1XWPa^][hc^QTR^\TUaXT]Sb 9T_^dXQfUQ`b_R\U]Y^ tragedy which happenned due to RP\_PXV]P]SP_PcWh^UcWT6^eTa]\T]cP]ScWT\d]XRX_P[XchaTbd[cbX]cWTb_aTPS erence to Lord Rams birthplace,
fXcWWX\[PcTa^]c^R^d]cTacWT19? T_Y^WQ^i[Y^T_VVY\]c the non-availability of oxygen in ^UcWTca^_XRP[SXbTPbTTeTahhTPaX][PaVT_a^_^acX^]b8cXbcX\TcWTR^]RTa]TS has countenanced the building of
CWThV^cPSadQQX]VX]cWT! #;^Z RUYdcUbY_ec_^U the medical college due to non- bcPZTW^[STabbc^__TSPSSX]V_^[XcXRP[R^[^dac^cWTcaPVTShP]SX]bcTPSPRZ]^f[ mosque at a distance from the
BPQWP_^[[QdcPeT]VTScWTSTUTPcX] _bQS_]UTi payment of dues to the supplier. TSVTPS\X]XbcaPcXeTUPX[daT4]bdaX]VPS^_cX^]^U_a^_TabP]XcPcX^]\TPbdaTbcWa^dVW disputed Babri mosque site at
0bbT\Q[hT[TRcX^]CWTBWPaPS=XcXbW This is shocking. Matters worsen \PbbXeT_dQ[XRPfPaT]TbbRP\_PXV]bRXT]cXUXRfPbcT\P]PVT\T]c_T]P[chU^a Ayodhya. This should hopefully
due to the inability of the State to ^UUT]STabaTb_^]bXQ[TU^aZTT_X]VbcPV]P]cfPcTaPccWTXa_aT\XbTbUd\XVPcX^] should settle the festering cause
;P[dcaX^R^TgXbcTSU^aPfWX[TQTU^aT 1Sd_b cope up with this seasonal epidem- X]P[[R^[^]XTbP]S^Q[XVPcX^]U^aW^b_XcP[b_dQ[XRP]S_aXePcTc^caTPcRPbTb^U clbre soon. However, its not
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I faced with twin problems: First,

reforms as initiated, are directionless.
And second, future of researchers lie in
limbo. Both of these create an adverse
public perception of research and teach-
ing. To explain, an example would be
appropriate. In Shrilal Shuklas book,
Raag Darbari, Ranganath, the protago-
nist, ironically equates research with ghas
khodna (as menial and unproductive as
digging up grass) and explains his
vocation to a truck driver in these terms:
I told you, main ghas khod raha hun.
In English, we call it research. I did my
MA last year. This year I have begun
research. This self-deprecatory remark
of a callow young man not only gives an
insight as to how people have tradition-
ally perceived research being done in the
Indian universities but also speaks vol-
umes about successive Governments
indifference to higher education.
Problems with the great reform:
The question that demands attention
here is that since the 1960s, what (if any-
thing) have the intellectuals, policy-mak-
ers, the Government and the society
done to change the lukewarm response
to research and teaching profession in
general and to the humanities in partic-
ular? The failure of Indian universities
to make it to the list of the top univer-
sities across the world has received a
plethora of responses from our intelli-
gentsia and the Government, but noth-
ing substantial seems to have been done
to bring the much-needed transforma-
tion in the education sector.
One does not necessarily need to
adopt international benchmarks for
evaluation of universities, which hard-
ly includes the parametre of social
inclusion that our publicly-funded insti-
tutions are ethically and constitutional-
ly committed to. One cannot, neverthe-
less, blatantly reject them. Ironically,
whenever our policy-makers have gone
overboard to initiate the great reform,
they have done so without consulting
multiple actors, namely, students, pro-
fessors, researchers and teachers.
In the last 10 years or so, the
University of Delhi (DU) alone has been
bombarded with a slew of hasty reforms
such as the introduction of semester sys-
tem, the Four-Year Undergraduate
Programme and its withdrawal soon
after, the Choice Based Credit System
and many others. Even before students
and the faculty members get to under-
stand and act according to the new sys-
tem, another reformatory measure is
imposed on them, without properly
assessing the old system and seeking the
opinion of students and teachers.
Consequently, both, international
ranking and quality of education, have
plunged sharply. Academicians-turned-
administrators, in their keenness to
please their bosses, often privilege their
administrative selves over the academ-
ic ones which eventually benefits none
except the hangers-on. Incidentally, in
comparison to previous year, there has
reportedly been a decline of some
45,000 applicants seeking admissions in
DUs undergraduate courses, this year.
University is a space where the youth
are taught how to think critically on
debatable issues such as structured gen-
der and economic inequalities, nation-
alism, and the violation of rights of the
marginalised communities. Students
learn how to empathise with the weak-
er sections of society, a virtue which is
essential to the exercise of nation-build-
ing, irrespective of the profession one
chooses. To undermine the signifi-
cance of such an important space, or any
other institution which does not gener-
ate money directly, will be detrimental
to the society in the long-run.
If we want to reap benefits of
demographic dividend, as pointed out
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
various occasions, we will have to bring
an end to apathy and crass utilitarian
approach to the education sector. As a
student and then teacher at DU, this
writer observed a large number of
issues, hitherto unresolved, which
include inter alia skewed student-
teacher ratio, lack of hostels for students,
indefinite delay in regularisation of
temporary teachers, misguided educa-
tion reforms, and promotion and pen-
sion of hundreds of permanent faculty.
These problems are equally affecting and
dismantling other Indian universities.
Ad hocs: Foot soldiers of teaching
community: Today, various colleges of
DU alone have more than 4,000 tempo-
rary faculty, aka ad hocs. The unlucky
ones have been teaching for a decade or
so (losing their jobs frequently) as their
appointment letter is renewed every four
months, depending on their rapport with
students, principal, senior faculty and the
administrative staff. Basically, they have
the daunting task of remaining in every
ones good books, or be ready for dis-
C7427>8248B>DAB missal in the upcoming semester, which
F74C74AF4F0=C makes them the subaltern foot soldiers
of the teaching community in true sense.
C>A48=5>A24C74 It is worth mentioning here that they
cannot stake claim to medical facilities,
BC4A4>CH?4>50 insurance, study leave, maternity leave
?>>AB27>;0A>A and some other benefits enjoyed by per-
manent faculty members. In light of this,
4=BDA4C70CC74 one can well imagine the miserable con-
dition of some of the colleges located in
1A867C4BC>5 tier II and tier III cities across India,
BCD34=CB0A4 where one professor, like a one-man
army, takes care of an entire department,
0CCA02C43C> let alone taking classes regularly or con-
ducting exams on time. Those living in
A4B40A270=3 metropolitan cities may find it unbeliev-
C40278=61H able but there are still Government uni-
versities in India, where it takes students
?A>E838=6C74< around five years to graduate. I wonder
if the respective Governments or the
58=0=280;B42DA8CH University Grants Commission ever
0=30;8E01;4 considered initiating action against the
erring officials for ruining the two
54;;>FB78?;4CDB most productive years of thousands of
young graduates across the nation.
2A40C40=0<184=24 Is the pursuit of knowledge anti-
B>C70CA4B40A274A thetical to the pursuit of comfort?:
Nowadays, doctor of philosophy schol-
<0H=>CA46A4CC74 ars enrolled in a central university of
India gets a meagre sum of C8,000 per
27>824>578B month as stipend, in comparison to their
?A>54BB8>=1DC American counterparts, who get around
2,000. And then, if we expect them to
?A>D3;H0==>D=24 survive in an expensive city and produce
78B2>=CA81DC8>=C> world class research, we are either being
too naive or we assume that they will
C74:=>F;4364>5 continue to work in the midst of abject
poverty, a characteristic of students in
C74F>A;3 pre-modern times. Incidentally, for
Chanakya, the pursuit of knowledge was
antithetical to the pursuit of comfort:
Sukharthinah kuto vidya kuto vidyarthi-
nah sukham. sukhaarthi wa tyajeeat
vidyam vidyarthi wa tyajeat sukham
it roughly translates as those who run
after comfort will not gain knowledge
and those who pursue knowledge, will
not get comfort. Those who crave for
comfort should forget about knowledge
and those who seek knowledge should
forget about comfort. The choice is ours
whether we want to reinforce the stereo-
type of a poor scholar and make him
poorer, or conversely, ensure that the
brightest of students are attracted to
research and teaching by providing
them financial security.
If we are really committed to trans-
forming our universities into world class
institutions, we must safeguard the
interests of young researchers and thou-
sands of temporary faculty members by
expediting the permanent appoint-
ments in a time-bound framework and
transparent manner. We can continue to
defer their regularisation at the cost of
reducing a large segment of budding
intellectuals to malcontents whose low
self-esteem and constant exploitation will
never let them stand as the model of imi-
tation for the younger talents. In these
trying times teachers must also realise
that if they do not inspire students
through their exemplary actions and a
wide range of reading and intensive
research, they are to be equally blamed
for the decline of academics.
The recent move of the Government
to start permanent appointments in uni-
versities and the Niti Aayogs announce-
ment to promote research are welcome.
We sincerely hope that these promises
will not amount to paying lip service and
hollow rhetoric but will translate into
concrete action by bringing in all the
major stakeholders on board.
(The writer is an Assistant Professor
at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya college,
University of Delhi)
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c^QT8U8ZTT_ ple, but what is worrying is that dren died because of lack of oxygen healthcare. Despite making huge lakh doctors (are) available for active sector is also growing fast. All
even successive Budget allocations supply and Chief Minister Yogi strides, it continues to be at the bot- service (in the country), Minister of these would push up the health sec-
^]bPhX]Vc^ continue to be meagre as compared Adityanath has set up an inquiry tom as it has failed to achieve most State, Health, Anupriya Patel said. tor delivery. If India proposes to
\hbT[UcWPc8 to what it should have been. committee headed by Chief healthcare goals. Moreover, only 48 per cent of make use of the demographic div-
RP]]^cS^P This year, while the over all Secretary Rajeev Kumar (who is India performed worse than the 1.35 million beds are function- idend health and education sectors
:0;H0=8 health Budget was increased from right under him) to study the exact expected in tuberculosis, diabetics, al and about 65 per cent of these are need to have more focus.
RTacPX]cWX]VXc C39,879 crore (which is 1. 9 per cent cause of deaths. rheumatic heart diseases and chron- located in top 20 cities, indicating Innovative measures are need-
Xb_^bbXQ[TcWPc8 D92?<2C of the total budget) to C48,878 crore It is anybodys guess what the ic kidney diseases. While the coun- the deficit in medical professionals, ed, both in Government and private
\PhT]SQhaTP[[h (which is 2.27 per cent of total report is likely to be. Uttar Pradesh trys health needs undergoing a dra- and inadequacies of the health sys- sector healthcare systems. For this,
he tragic death of more than Union Budget), it needs to be at is important for the BJP. To this end, matic transition, in recent years, tem today. Calling for a mandato- rationalisation and prioritisation of
QTR^\X]V
X]RP_PQ[T^U
S^X]VXc>]cWT
T 60 children in Gorakhpur,
Uttar Pradesh, has brought to
limelight the failure of successive
least doubled, if not tripled for
improved healthcare for all.
There are two sectors which are
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
deputed health Minister JP Nadda
to visit the hospital and get a first
chronic diseases claim more than 50
per cent of the deaths.
To top it all, budgetary policies
ry shift to generic drugs, even the
Economic Survey 2016-2017, point-
ed out that the country faces health-
limited resources, as also raising
new public and private resources to
augment funds, is the need of hour.
Governments, both at the Central vital for Indias development hand report. He also promised all of the country have evidently care challenges, including a decline Above all, healthcare delivery at
R^]caPahXU8WPeT and State level, to deliver health and education both sec- help from the Centre. And why not, failed to keep pace with the chang- in the role of public delivery of doorstep needs to be enhanced.
cWTQT[XTUcWPc8 healthcare facilities to the people, tors need more focus. For example, Uttar Pradesh had given a massive ing disease demographics and health services, accessibility and India should take the advantage of
RP]S^Xc8bWP[[ who voted them to power with high the country has not had a single mandate to the BJP in the Assembly healthcare needs. affordability of medical care. range of insurance offerings.
bdaT[hPR`dXaT hopes. It is just gross negligence Health Minister who was interest- poll, which came as a morale boost- In India, there is one doctor for On the other hand, healthcare The Government has approved
that results in tragedies like what we ed in their ministry since Rajkumari er for the party. every 1,700 people against the has become one of the largest sec- the National Health Policy 2017,
cWTRP_PRXchc^ witnessed in Gorakhpur last week Amrit Kaur, who was the first The bigger question, however, World Health Organisations recom- tor, both in terms of employment as which will provide the policy frame-
S^XcTeT]XU8 and elsewhere in the country. Health Minister of independent is: Why is India not able to improve mendations of a doctor-patient well as revenue. The Indian work for achieving universal health
\Ph]^cWPeTXc If one looks at the plight of the India. Most politicians, who have its healthcare situation? No doubt, population ratio of 1:1000. The medicare market is worth about coverage but the problem lies in
patients in various Government been put in charge of the Ministry, this is a difficult question to ask as health Minister told in the Lok $100 billion and is growing fast. implementation. Every citizen has
PccWTQTVX]]X]V and even private hospitals, one simply bid their time as the system even affluent countries like the Sabha recently that India has a doc- Revenue of this sector in 2017-19 the right to healthcare. The
would realise that India is perhaps also does not allow them to work. United States and the United tor-patient ratio of 0.62:1000, mean- is also expected to grow at 15 per Gorakhpur tragedy should be a
<PWPc\P a country where human life does In such a situation it is not sur- Kingdom are struggling with their ing theres one doctor serving cent. Medical tourism alone is wake up call to bring the much-need-
6P]SWX not get due attention that it needs. prising that incidents like the healthcare system. almost 1,613 people. expected to double from the present ed healthcare reforms.
Admittedly, it is difficult to take Gorakhpur tragedy happens. It is India ranks 154 out of 195 Assuming 80 per cent availabil- three billion dollar to six billion dol- (The writer is a senior political com-
care of the needs of 1.25 billion peo- indeed shocking to hear that chil- countries in terms of access to ity, it is estimated that around 8.18 lar by 2018. The Indian pharma mentator and syndicated columnist)
=4F34;78 kF43=4B30H k0D6DBC %! & \^]Th 

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=4F 34;78) LPG, kerosene, 0B4=8>A58=0=24<8=8BCAH>558280;B083C746BC postal baggage as also cur- October.
?=BQ =4F34;78

he abolition of inter-state check

jewellery and currency are
among the common use items
that have been exempted from
the requirement of obtaining
electronic permits for trans-
portation under the GST
regime.
The Goods and Services
Tax (GST) regime, rolled out
from July 1, mandates obtain-
ing permits called e-way bills
for transporting goods con-
signment of more than
C50,000 in value with a view
to checking tax evasion.
A senior finance ministry
official said the GST Council
in its last meeting on August
5 approved a list of 153 items
that have been exempted from
the requirement of obtaining
e- way bills.
These include domesti-
cated animals like live bovine
animals, swine and fish, fruits
and vegetables, fresh milk,
posts after the implementation
State border check posts scru-
tinised material and location-
based tax compliance, resulting in
delays in delivery of goods and
2>D=28;8=8CB;0BC<44C8=6>=0D6DBC$ rency, jewellery and used per- Such a permit has to of GST has reduced time for cause environment pollution as
sonal and household effects, detail the goods being trans- movement of goods by 30 per cent trucks queue up for clearance.
0??A>E430;8BC>5 $"8C4<BC70C70E4144= he said. ported, the mode used, origin and saved thousands of crores of Modi said crores of people are
4G4<?C435A><C74A4@D8A4<4=C>5>1C08=8=64 E-way bill is also not and destination besides details rupees, Prime Minister Narendra behind the success of GST and the
F0H18;;BC74B48=2;D343><4BC820C430=8<0;B required if goods are trans- of the supplier, recipient and Modi said on Tuesday. implementation of the new indi-
;8:4;8E41>E8=40=8<0;BBF8=40=358B75AD8CB ported by non-motorised transporter. The Goods and Services Tax, rect tax regime is an example of the
0=3E464C01;4B5A4B7<8;:7>=4HB443B conveyances. Goods trans- The official said there is which unified more than a dozen benefits that can be reaped if there
ported from international no need of conveyance details central and state levies, is a result is cooperative federalism in place
24A40;B0=35;>DA0;B>4G4<?C438B<>E4<4=C ports to hinterland ports for when the distance of trans- of cooperative federalism and its between the Centre and states.
>514C4;;40E4B=>=0;2>7>;82C>33HA0FB8;: clearance by customs have port is less than 10 km with- smooth rollout from July 1 has in transport sector by 30 per cent Technology is a miracle.
:703840AC74=?>C0=32;0H;0<?B?D90 been exempted from the in a state. increased efficiencies of business, and because of GST such a big Some find it astonishing that GST
B0<06A80=3740A8=6083B7D<0=708AB4<4= requirement. The e-way bills, which can he said. change has happened, he said. has been rolled out in such a vast
8=2;D38=65A>I4=B4<4=0=32>=3><B0=3 The electronic permit be checked by designated tax Addressing the nation from The biggest tax reform since country in such short span of
2>=CA024?C8E4B70E40;B>144=4G4<?C43 would have to be generated officials by intercepting a the ramparts of the Red Fort on the Independence, GST was rolled out time, he said.
when consignment value transporting vehicle, are aimed occasion of 71st Independence from July 1. The new indirect tax He said in initiatives like GST,
honey, seeds, cereals and have also been exempted. exceeds C50,000 and is at helping authorities keep Day, Modi said technology has regime has subsumed over a dozen ease of doing business and clean-
flour. The official said cooking optional if the value is less track of goods and inter-state made the rollout smooth in a short state and central levies like excise liness drive, the Centre and states
Also exempted is move- gas (LPG) for supply to than that. commerce. span on time. duty, service tax and VAT, and has have worked shoulder to shoulder
ment of betel leaves, non- households and kerosene for The provision would This is particularly useful Trucks (carrying goods) are replaced them with four tier tax to make them a success. He said the
alcoholic toddy, raw silk, sale under public distribution kick-in from a date to be noti- when most states have dis- saving 30 per cent (travel) time post structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per steps taken by the government will
khadi, earthen pot and clay system (PDS) too have been fied by the C entral mantled border checkposts GST as check posts have been cent for goods and services across benefit the country and with GST
lamps, puja samagri and hear- exempted from the require- Government after the back- that operated under the pre- removed. This has helped save the country. the country will benefit.
ing aids. ment of getting the consign- bone software for generating vious indirect tax administra- thousands of crores of rupees and GST has removed inter-state Modi said there was a time
Human hair, semen ment registered online before such permits is ready by the tions, thereby reducing the more importantly time, he said. barriers to convert India into a sin- when the Centre and states used
including frozen semen and moving them. National Informatics Centre time needed for the movement Business efficiency, he said, has gle market where goods and ser- to fight over allocation of urea and
condoms and contraceptives On the exempt list is also (NIC), which is likely by of goods across states. ?C8 increased. Efficiency has increased vices can flow seamlessly. kerosene.

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?=BQ=4F34;78
ppreciating the
A Governments efforts to
deal with corruption and black
money, industry chamber CII
on Tuesday called for strength-
ening policy reforms, includ-
ing a new industrial policy, cre-
ating jobs and empowering
women at the workplace.
It said Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, in his
Independence Day speech
from the ramparts of the Red
Fort, has outlined a vision of
a secure, prosperous and capa-
ble nation by 2022.
While welcoming lower
inflation and downward inter-
est rate cycle, CII called for
strengthening policy reforms
including a new industrial pol-
icy, entrepreneurship and
employment creation, and
empowerment of women in
288?aTbXST]cBW^QP]P:P\X]T]X
the workforce, the industry
body said in a statement.
CII President Shobana
Kamineni said, The develop-
ment task to 2022 is challeng-
ing and will require strong pol-
icy action across multiple eco-
nomic and social sectors. The
Government has made a sig-
nificant beginning, and all of us
will need to put our hands
together to move the needle of
development.
The Prime Minister has
outlined a vision of a secure,
prosperous and capable nation
by 2022, driven by the collective
power of 125 crore citizens of
India, she said.
CIIs India@75 campaign
launched in 2008 is in line with
Prime Ministers objectives and
emphasises crowd-sourcing of
ideas and spread of volun-
teerism to build a developed
India, she added.
The government has taken
multiple steps to address cor-
ruption and black money which
are delivering notable results.
CII believes that reforms
such as GST and ease of doing
business will further contribute
to formalisation of the econo-
my and widening the tax net,
and we look forward to a
more transparent and efficient
economy by 2022, added
Kamineni.
=4F34;78)The countrys sec-
ond largest telecom player
Vodafone expects Jios effective
free phone with unlimited
calling to erode operators rev-
enues which are already under
pressure and sought reduction
in various levies imposed by
the government as a breather
to the industry.
...The new operator con-
tinues to aggressively under-
price its services, including
announcing launch of
Effective Zero Price Feature
Phone with unlimited voice.
This is likely to cause
further erosion in revenue for
existing operators, the com-
pany in a letter to the Telecom
Commission Member
(Finance) Anuradha Mitra.
RIL Chairman and MD
Mukesh Ambani recently
launched JioPhone, a 4G fea-
ture phone at a one-time fully
refundable deposit of C1,500
per unit. Jio is slated to beta-
test the low-cost phone from
August 15. The booking will
start from September 24 online
as well as through Reliance
Retail and Jio stores.
Vodafone said there is con-
tinuous decline in its revenue
from telecom services and it
has recorded further decline of
3.41 per cent in the the quar-
ter ended June 2017.
It also called for reducing
the interest rate applied for
deferred spectrum payments.
...A reduction in the inter-
est rate applied for deferred
spectrum payments is neces-
sary to reduce burden on oper-
ators. Hence, we have request-
ed reduction from 10 per cent
to G Sec rate of 6.25 per cent
- 6.5 per cent on deferred
payment, the letter said.
Vodafone said that revenue
share with the Government
imposes huge burden on tele-
com operators even though
companies purchase spectrum
at market price.
The company requested
CWT]Tf^_TaPc^aR^]cX]dTbc^
PVVaTbbXeT[hd]STa_aXRTXcbbTaeXRTb
At present, a telecom oper-
ator charges 14 paise for every
incoming call that it gets from
X]R[dSX]VP]]^d]RX]V[Pd]RW^U4UUTRcXeT network of other operators.
ITa^?aXRT5TPcdaT?W^]TfXcWd][X\XcTS Therefore, we earnestly
request kind consideration and
e^XRTCWXbXb[XZT[hc^RPdbTUdacWTa
Ta^bX^]X]aTeT]dTU^aTgXbcX]V^_TaPc^ab
early decision on reduction in
the USO levy from 5 per cent
cWTR^\_P]hX]P[TccTac^cWTCT[TR^\ to 3 per cent and reduction of
2^\\XbbX^]<T\QTa5X]P]RT0]daPSWP interest charges along with
<XcaPA8;2WPXa\P]P]S<3<dZTbW rescheduling the payment
0\QP]XaTRT]c[h[Pd]RWTS9X^?W^]TP#6 period, which has been tabled
UTPcdaT_W^]TPcP^]TcX\TUd[[h before DoT and IMG (inter-
aTUd]SPQ[TST_^bXc^UO $_Tad]Xc9X^ ministerial group), Vodafone
Xbb[PcTSc^QTcPcTbccWT[^fR^bc_W^]T said.
Ua^\0dVdbc $CWTQ^^ZX]VfX[[bcPac As per official data, rev-
Ua^\BT_cT\QTa!#^][X]TPbfT[[Pb enues of telecom operators
from services dipped by about
cWa^dVWAT[XP]RTATcPX[P]S9X^bc^aTb 15 per cent to C40,831 crore in
the January-March quarter this
the DoT to consider recom- are very low. year compared to C48,379
mendation of the Telecom ...Despite having rolled crore in the same period of last
Regulatory Authority of India out in rural areas, we still year.
for reducing Universal Service have to pay USO and the The Government has
Obligation Fund from 5 mobile termination rates are formed an IMG which is
per cent to 3 per cent as private also below cost which adverse- expected to submit its recom-
operators have already rolled ly impact us since majority of mendation ver y soon to
out services in rural areas and the calls in the rural areas are address financial woes of the
current call termination rates incoming, the letter said. telecom sector. ?C8

*RYWVODSVPSHQDOW\RQ5,/%3
=4F34;78)The Government
has imposed a new penalty of
$264 million (about C1,700
crore) on Reliance Industries
Ltd and its partners for pro-
ducing less than the targeted
natural gas from eastern off-
shore KG-D6 fields in 2015-16.
The total penalty now,
which is in the form of disal-
lowing recover y of cost
incurred for missing the target
during six years beginning
April 1, 2010, stands at $3.02
billion, an oil ministry official
said.
The Production Sharing
Contract (PSC) allows RIL
and its partners BP Plc of the
UK and Canadas Niko
Resources to deduct all capital
and operating expenses from
the sale of gas before sharing
profit with the Government.
Disallowing costs will
result in Governments profit
share rising.
The Government has
claimed an additional $175
million as its profit share after
the cost disallowance, the offi-
cial said.
Gas production from
Dhirubhai-1 and 3 gas field in
the eastern offshore KG-D6
block was supposed to be 80
million standard cubic meters
per day but actual production
was only 35.33 mmscmd in
2011-12, 20.88 mmscmd in
2012-13 and 9.77 mmscmd in
2013-14. The output has con-
tinued to drop in the subse-
quent years and is now below
4 mmscmd.
Emails sent to RIL and BP
remained unanswered. The
two companies have chal-
lenged the cost disallowance of
the past years and have initi-
C746>E4A=<4=C703
5>A!  38B0;;>F43
#$&<8;;8>=>52>BC
$#'<8;;8>=5>A!  million has been disallowed for
!&(!<8;;8>=5>A
! ! "$&(<8;;8>=
5>A! " #0=3"' The output was behind
<8;;8>=5>A! # $ target in 2016-17 as well and
=>F0=0338C8>=0;!%#
<8;;8>=70B144=
38B0;;>F435>A>DC?DC
;0668=61478=3C0A64C
8=! $ %
ated an international arbitra-
tion seeking dropping of the
same on grounds that the PSC
does not provide for any such
punishment.
The Government had for
2010-11 disallowed $457 mil-
lion of cost, $548 million for
2011-12, $792 million for
2012-13, $579 million for
2013-14 and $380 million for
2014-15.
Now an additional $264
output lagging behind target in
2015-16.
the cost disallowance will be
calculated only next year, the
official said.
RIL had previously stated
that every year, based on its
own interpretations of the PSC
and assumptions (with which
the contractor group does not
agree), the Ministr y of
Petroleum and Natural Gas
revises the total cost it proposes
to disallow and consequently
aggregates the figure with fig-
ures of the previous years.
It also demands addi-
tional profit petroleum (in
total including previous year
claims as well) as Government
of India share.
Of the additional profit
petroleum claimed, the gov-
ernment has already collected
gross $81.7 million in the gas
pool account by taking away
any gas price higher than $4.2
per million British thermal
unit during November 2014 to
March 2016 period.
From April 2016 to date,
the gas price has been less than
$4.2 and no deposits were
made to the gas pool account.
Contractor group refers to
RIL and its partners BP and
Niko.
RIL holds 60 per cent
interest in block KG-DWN-
98/3 or KG-D6 in Bay of
Bengal. BP has 30 per cent and
Niko the remaining 10 per
cent. ?C8
6LFN368VFORVXUHKDYHJRQH
YHU\ZHOOVD\V3DQDJDUL\D
=4F 34;78)  Outgoing Niti
Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind
Panagariya has said the closure
of 18-20 sick public sector units
(PSUs) have gone very well,
even as he made a case for expe-
diting privatisation of loss mak-
ing state-owned companies.
The Prime Ministers Office
(PMO) had asked Government
think-tank Niti Aayog to look
into viability of sick state-run
companies.
Closure of 18-20 sick PSUs
have gone very well actually.
And 17 loss-making PSUs are
cleared for privatisation by the
cabinet. Unfortunately, progress
on those have been slow.
But it is happening in
many cases, transaction advis-
ers have been appointed. So
even (in the case of) PSUs that
were identified for strategic dis-
investment, (progress) is hap-
pening, only thing is that it is
slower, Panagariya told the
news agency.
The Government has bud-
geted to raise C72,500 crore
through stake sale in PSUs in
the current fiscal. This includes
C46,500 crore from minority
stake sale, C15,000 crore from
strategic disinvestment and
C11,000 crore from listing of
PSU insurance companies.
Answering questions on
labour reform, Panagariya said
he thinks the Government does
want to do labour reforms.
The labour ministry has
been working on four different
labour codes (Wages, Industrial
Relations, Social Security &
Welfare and Safety and Working
Conditions) which will replace
the 40 plus laws that currently
exists at the central level.
When asked about his
meeting with leaders of
Bharatiya Majdoor
Sangh(BMS), Panagariya said
after their criticism they (BMS
leaders) had come here and we
had one hour long chat.
We may not agree on
everything but you know, ulti-
mately I see what is in the
national interest, he said.
Panagariya was often out-
spoken on issues including
labour reforms, privatisation of
Air India and sick PSUs, for
which RSS-affiliate Bharatiya
Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) had
accused Niti Aayog of further-
ing corporate lobbys agenda in
the country. ?C8

6HELVWHSVXSVXUYHLOODQFHRQPRQH\ODXQGHULQJDFWLYLWLHV
=4F34;78)Cracking down on
misuse of stock market for
money laundering, regulator
Sebi said it has stepped up
focused inspection of sus-
pected brokers and other enti-
ties leading to action against
hundreds of them.
The capital markets watch-
dog has also enhanced its coop-
eration with other regulators
and agencies in India as well as
abroad for investigations.
Giving details of the trend
in investigation cases in its lat-
est annual report, Sebi said
there was a significant increase
in the number of cases taken up
during 2016-17 mainly due to
the references received from the
Department of Income Tax in
the matter of long term capital
gain/short term capital loss in
various scrips.
In 2016-17, 245 new cases
were taken up for investigation
and 155 cases were completed,
compared to 133 new cases
taken up and 123 cases com-
pleted in 2015-16.
Sebi said it is constantly
striving to upgrade its inves-
tigative skills by making use of
IT and other latest investigative
tools.
Regarding the surveillance
measures taken during last year,
Sebi said it regularly conducts
meetings with stock exchanges
and depositories to keep track
of market movements and sur-
veillance activities.
Subsequently, action has
been taken in the matter of deal-
ing in shares of companies with
poor fundamentals, as also in
cases of misuse of the stock
exchange trading platform for
tax evasion purposes, focused
inspection of suspicious brokers
and depository participants
undertaken.
To deal with increasing
instances of bulk fraudulent
SMSes to investors at large,
action was taken in a few cases
to send a message to the mar-
ket, while the depository alert
system has been strengthened.
In one case, Sebi said, a tele-
marketer circulated bulk SMSes
containing false news pertain-
ing to a listed company on
behalf of its alleged client. The
telemarketer did not do due dili-
gence of its alleged client and
accepted cash for rendering
services, thus engaging in
deceitful activity.
The exchanges also sought
explanation from listed com-
panies in hundreds of cases of
rumour-mongering.
Inspections were also con-
ducted of books of account,
records and other documents
pertaining to various market
intermediaries such as venture
capital funds, portfolio man-
agers, mutual funds and invest-
ment advisors including to
check compliance with respect
to anti-money laundering
(AML), combating of financing
terrorism (CFT) and KYC
norms.
Sebi said money laundering
is globally recognised as one of
the largest threats posed to the
financial system of a country,
while terrorist financing is
another such emerging threat
with grave consequences for
both the political and econom-
ic standing of a jurisdiction.
As in the past, during
2016-17 too Sebi continued
focused efforts on strengthen-
ing the regulatory framework
and minimising the risks ema-
nating from money laundering
and terrorist financing in the
securities market, Sebi said.
It added that specific
theme-based inspections of
intermediaries focusing on
compliance with KYC norms
(including client due diligence)
and AML/CFT guidelines were
carried out.
During 2016-17, with
respect to stock brokers, Sebi
said it carried out over special
purpose inspections to check
their compliance with the
AML/CFT and KYC norms of
various market entities.
The compliance with
AML/CFT norms was also ver-
ified by stock exchanges and
depositories during their inspec-
tions of stock brokers and
depository participants, while
appropriate sanctions were
applied for any discrepancy.
Giving details of the action
taken for AML/CFT related
discrepancies, Sebi said the BSE
took action against 195 entities,
CDSL against 236, MCX against
59 and the NSE against 27.
Besides, the BSE and the
NSE issued warnings to 152
and 24 entities respectively,
while monetary penalties were
also imposed on several of
them.
Sebi said it has consistent-
ly been in touch with global
bodies and other Indian regu-
lators to keep the regulatory
framework for AML/CFT
robust in the Indian securities
market.
The Indian markets regu-
lator also stepped up its engage-
ments with the IOSCO
(International Organisation of
Securities Commissions)
regarding information-sharing
and cooperation with its peers
in other countries.
During 2016-17, Sebi
received 61 requests for infor-
mation from overseas regula-
tors seeking its assistance. Sebi
said it executed such requests
subject to the provisions of the
Multilateral Memorandum of
Understanding (MMoU). ?C8
=4F34;78kF43=4B30H k0D6DBC %! & \^]Th

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#!!V_eZeZVdWRTVUVcVXZdecReZ`_ NEW DELHI: Indias gold
imports more than doubled to
$13.35 billion during the April-
July period of the current fiscal,
^aVP]XbTSQhcWT=PcX^]P[CadbcPc=XcX<PaV ?C8Q =4F34;78 C74B4;;?B70E4=>C144=20AAH8=6>=0=H With the Government crack- according to the data of the
=TWad?PaZ2WP]PZhP_daX=Tf3T[WX^]cWT 1DB8=4BB>A>?4A0C8>=5>A0?4A8>3>5CF> ing the whip on the black money commerce ministry. Gold
[Pbc<^]SPh<X]XbcTa^UBcPcTU^aB^RXP[ he Government has started 8<<4380C4;H?A42438=658=0=280;H40AB>F8=6C> menace, over 1.75 lakh companies imports, which has bearing on
9dbcXRT4\_^fTa\T]c:aXbW]P?P[6daYPa
P[b^VaPRTScWT^RRPbX^]<TT]PZbWX;TZWX
T weeding out Limited Liability
Partnership (LLP) entities that
5;4G818;8CH8=8CBBCAD2CDA40=3>?4A0C8>=BC74 have already been deregistered
and more such action is expected
the countrys current account
deficit (CAD), stood at $4.97 bil-
<?=Tf3T[WXP]S::BWPa\P3XaTRc^a have been inactive for long, as ;;?8B<>BCBD8C01;4E4782;45>AB<0;; in the coming weeks. In his lion in April-July 2016-17.
6T]TaP[^U1^aSTaBTRdaXch5^aRTfTaTcWT stepped up efforts continue 4=C4A?A8B4B0=35>A8=E4BC<4=C1HE4=CDA4 Independence Day speech today, In July this year, imports of the
6dTbcb^U7^]^daCWT<X]XbcTabPXScWPcWXb against illicit fund flows. LLPs are 20?8C0;BD1B4@D4=CC>8=2>A?>A0C8>=850 Prime Minister Narendra Modi precious metal rose to $2.10 bil-
\X]XbcahXbUd[[hR^\\XccTSc^cWTfT[UPaT^U registered under the Limited 2><?0=H8B5>D=3C>145>A<435>A5A0D3D;4=C said more than 1.75 lakh shell com- lion from $1.07 billion in the same
3XehP]VYP]bP]SbTeTaP[]TfbRWT\TbP]S_a^VaP\\TbWPeTQTT]X]XcXPcTSSdaX]V_PbccWaTThTPab7TbPXScWPc Liability Partnership Act, 2008 - panies have been deregistered. month of the previous year. Surge
cWTRPcTV^aXTb^U3XehP]VYP]bWPeTQTT]X]RaTPbTSUa^\&c^! c^R^eTa\^aT3XehP]VYP]b7T_aPXbTScWT - which came into force in 2009 >AD=;0F5D;?DA?>B48C8B;801;45>A?4=0; Till July 12, over 1.62 lakh in gold imports in July con-
=PcX^]P[CadbcU^a^aVP]XiX]VP]8]R[dbXeT8]ST_T]ST]RT3PhRT[TQaPcX^]bPbP_Pac^UXcb8]R[dbXeT8]SXP -- and the law is implemented by 02C8>=8=2;D38=65>AF8=38=6D? companies that were not carrying tributed to the widening of trade
8]XcXPcXeTP]PfPaT]TbbRP\_PXV]CWTSPhWPS_PacXRX_PcX^]^UPa^d]S!$_T^_[TUa^\P[[fP[Zb^U[XUTP[^]V the corporate affairs ministry. D=34AB42C8>=!& >5C7402C out business for long were dereg- deficit to $11.44 billion as against
fXcW$_T^_[TfXcWX]cT[[TRcdP[P]SSTeT[^_\T]cP[SXbPQX[XcXTbCWT8]R[dbXeT8]ST_T]ST]RT3PhRT[TQaPcX^]bXbP Along with clamping down on istered, with Mumbai, Delhi and $7.76 billion in July 2016. The rise
_P]8]SXPTUU^acP]SbX\X[PaPRcXeXcXTbfTaTP[b^R^]SdRcTSPc1P]VP[^aT6d]cda9^aWPc<d\QPX7hSTaPQPS companies that have not been car- ceding financial years, as per sim- professionals and enterprises pro- Hyderabad together accounting in imports assumes significance as
:^[ZPcP:P]hPZd\PaXCaXeT]Sad\EPaP]PbX?Pc]PAPXVPaW0W\PSPQPSDSPX_da3WP]QPS1W^_P[ rying out business activities for a ilarly-worded communications viding services of any kind or for nearly half of such firms, the India is recording surge in the
1WdQP]TbWfPaP]S7^bWXPa_daWTPSSTSCWTSPhWPSUd]Rd[cdaP[PRcXeXcXTbU^aP[[[XZTh^VPPTa^QXRbfWTT[RWPXa long time, the ministry has started issued by various Registrar of engaged in scientific and technical Government informed Parliament inbound shipments of the precious
QPbZTcQP[[YdS^ZPaPcTQ^RRT]dZZPS]PcPZcWTPcaT_[PhP]SRd[\X]PcTSfXcWP]X]R[dbXeTfP[Z cracking the whip on similar LLPs Companies (RoCs). Subsequently, disciplines to form commercially last week. Last week, Corporate metal from South Korea, with
across the country. Nearly 200 LLPs these entities have been asked to efficient vehicles, as per the ministry. Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley told which India has implemented a
ADA0;4;42CA85820C8>=2>A?>A0C8>=?>BCB0=4C?A>58C>5C '(2A>A4 that have been inactive for at least explain reason or face deregistration. Owing to flexibility in its the Lok Sabha that the term 'shell free trade agreement since 2010.
AdaP[4[TRcaXUXRPcX^]2^a_^aPcX^]A42 two straight financial years have Among others, 81 such LLPs structure and operations, the LLP company' is not defined under the Officials have stated that the
;X\XcTSP]]^d]RTSXcbUX]P]RXP[aTbd[cbU^acWT come under the scanner of the min- came under the scanner of RoC is most suitable vehicle for small Companies Act, 2013 and that government is contemplating steps
`dPacTaT]STS"cW9d]T! &X]P\TTcX]V istry, as per communications sent (Odisha) while the number was at enterprises and for investment by the Act requires that a company to check the surge in imports from
WT[S^] cW0dVdbc! &CWTC^cP[8]R^\T out by it in the last two months. least 70 in the case of RoC (Madhya venture capital, the ministry said may be set up for any lawful pur- that country. Gold imports from
^UcWT2^\_P]hPb^]"cW9d]T! &WPb Sending out a strong message, Pradesh). Around 37 LLPs that have in its recently published Strategy pose only. Subsequent to incor- South Korea has jumped to $338.6
X]RaTPbTSc^ C"#% #RaPbPVPX]bcC!(($!Ra these entities are in the process of not been carrying out business Document 2017. Official data poration, if a company is found million during July 1-August 3 this
X]cWT_aTeX^dbR^aaTb_^]SX]V`dPacTaCWT being struck off from the register for came to the notice of RoC showed that as many as 319 com- to be formed for fraudulent or year. The import in 2016-17 stood
?a^UXcQTU^aTCPg?1CU^acWT`dPacTaXb not carrying out any activities. (Meghalaya). More such LLPs are panies were converted into LLPs in unlawful purpose, it is liable for at 470.46 million. Under the free
C '(Ra?a^UXcPUcTaCPg?0CbcP]SbPc (These) LLPs have not been car- likely to face action from the min- the last financial year, which is high- penal action, including for trade pact between India and
C " RaCWT=Tcf^acW^UcWTR^\_P]hWPb rying on any business or operation istry. The LLP form of business er than 258 seen in 2015-16. The winding up under Section 271 South Korea, basic customs duty
X]RaTPbTSc^C"#% #RaaTVXbcTaX]VPVa^fcW^U %_TaRT]c^eTacWTR^aaTb_^]SX]V`dPacTa;^P]1^^Z^UcWTR^\_P]hWPbX]RaTPbTS for a period of two immediately pre- organisation enables entrepreneurs, number stood at 167 in 2014-15. of the Act, he had said. on gold was eliminated. PTI
c^C!&'!RaP]ScWT^dcbcP]SX]VQ^aa^fX]VbXbPcC %'!'#RaPb^]"cW9d]T! &6a^bb=?0bbcP]SPc!%_TaRT]cPb^]

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! &CWT0dcW^aXbTS2P_XcP[^UcWT2^\_P]hPb^]"cW9d]T! &XbC$Ra3daX]VcWT_aTeX^dbhTPaA42WPSP[[^ccTSQ^]db
bWPaTbc^XcbbWPaTW^[STabX]cWT_a^_^acX^]^U^]TQ^]dbbWPaT^UC TPRWU^aTeTahTgXbcX]V^]TUd[[h_PXSd_bWPaT^UC TPRW >=62ThTbS^dQ[X]VVPb_a^SdRcX^]X]$%hab
?=BQ =4F34;78

SUHPLXPXSWR
0RR^aSX]V[hcWT_PXSd_RP_XcP[X]RaTPbTSc^C (&#(!RaUa^\C('&#%Ra_^bcQ^]dbbWPaTbCWTQ^^ZeP[dT_TabWPaT^UC TPRW Its flagship project includes
bcP]SbPcC &$!&Pb^]"9d]T! &4Pa]X]Vb_TaBWPaT4?BU^acWT`dPacTaT]STS"9d]T! &XbC%$(_TabWPaT^UC TPRW CWTbT_a^YTRcbf^d[S Cluster-II in Bay of Bengal
tate-owned Oil and Natural _a^SdRT%(<C^URadST block KG-DWN-98/2 (KG-
=122B86=B<>DF8C78CBBD1B8380AH7B2;5>A5H! & ' STuesday
Gas Corp (ONGC) on ^X[P]S 'QX[[X^]RdQXR D5). The project would pro-
=122P=PeaPc]P2?B4d]STacWT<X]Xbcah^UDaQP]
3TeT[^_\T]c<^D3^]9d[h!$! &bXV]TS
<T\^aP]Sd\^UD]STabcP]SX]V<^DU^acWT5H
CFURUHLQ-XO\ said it plans to double
gas production to over 100 mil-
lion standard cubic meters per
\TcTab^U]PcdaP[VPb
SdaX]VcWTXa_a^UX[T
_TaX^S2d\d[PcXeT
duce about 25 million tonnes of
oil and 50 BCM of gas over the
life of the project with peak
! & 'fXcW7X]SdbcP]BcTT[f^aZb2^]bcadRcX^] NEW DELHI: The new pre- um income rose 25.3 per cent to day in the next 5-6 years. In a production of 4 million tonnes
_a^SdRcX^]Ua^\cWTbT
;X\XcTS7B2;7B2;WPbaTRT]c[hQTT]cPZT]^eTaQh mium of life insurance compa- C847.91 crore, ICICI Prudential statement issued on of oil and 5.5 BCM of gas. This
_a^YTRcbf^d[S_TPZ
=1228]SXP;cSPbXcbBdQbXSXPahCWT<^DbXV]TS nies increased by 47.4 per cent Life earned new premium Independence Day celebra- would be equivalent to 17 per
QTcfTT]3a0]^^_:d\Pa<XccP[2<3=122P]S< to C20,427.68 crore in July, data income of C 759.08 crore, up 34.2 tions at the companys head- SdaX]V!!! Pc%%$ cent and 24 per cent of ONGC's
1WPSdaX2<37B2;bTcbcWTcPaVTcbU^a7B2;d]STa from sector regulator Irdai per cent from July 2016. HDFC quarters in Dehradun, ONGC <C^URadSTP]S ""' current standalone oil and gas
ePaX^db_PaP\TcTabU^acWT5HB:?P[3XaTRc^a5X]* shows. Comparatively, all the 24 Standard Life reported an said despite tumbling oil prices 12<^UVPbfWXRWXb#$ production, respectively.
APYT]SaP2WPdSWPaX3XaTRc^a2^\\TaRXP[*=TT[TbW life insurers in the country had increase of 68.8 per cent at in the last three years, it not _TaRT]c^UXcb^X[P]S During the last three years,
BWPWBa43=1228]SXP;cSP]S^cWTabT]X^a^UUXRTab earned C13,854.44 crore as C880.29 crore as against C521.43 only sustained production VPbbcP]SP[^]T ONGC completed 15 produc-
^U=122P]S7B2;fTaT_aTbT]c^]cWT^RRPbX^]0VT]TaP[aTeXTf^UcWTePaX^db_a^YTRcbd]STa7B2;fTaTP[b^cPZT] insurance premium from new crore in the year-ago period. from existing fields through _a^SdRcX^]SdaX]V5H & tion related projects (including
^]cWT^RRPbX^]fWT]3a<XccP[_a^eXSTSeP[dPQ[TX]_dcbc^7B2;U^aX\_[T\T]cPcX^]SdaX]VcWThTPa business in July 2016. Birla Sun Life witnessed a rise incremental inputs but has 8 brownfield and 7 greenfield)
Country's largest and the of 57.2 per cent at C195.61 crore also taken large meaningful These projects would pro- with capital investment of
!:8AC8270:A0!B70DAH0270:A00=3$"?<6<430;B68E4=C>2A?5>=830H only public sector insurer LIC and Canara HSBC OBC Life stood and calculated investment deci- duce 69 million tonnes (MT) of C54,000 crore. These would
2T]caP[ATbTaeT?^[XRT5^aRT2A?5WPbQTT]PfPaSTS!:XacX2WPZaP!BWPdahP2WPZaPP]S$"?<6<TSP[b^]cWT^RRPbX^]^U reported an increase of 51.4 per at C99.87 crore, up 75 per cent from sions to ensure sustained vol- crude oil and 118 billion cubic produce 87 million tonnes of
8]ST_T]ST]RT3Ph! &CWTU^aRTXbcWT[PaVTbc_PaP\X[XcPahU^aRTfWXRWWPbPVPX]QTT]STR^aPcTSfXcWcWTWXVWTbc6P[[P]cah cent in premium during the the year-ago period. Sahara Life's umes and financial growth. meters of natural gas during crude and 56 BCM of gas dur-
<TSP[bP\^]V_^[XRTU^aRTb8cWPbQTT]PfPaSTSfXcW$&VP[[P]cah\TSP[bCWT5^aRTfWXRWXbTgcT]bXeT[hST_[^hTSX]cWT\PY^a month at C16,254.91 crore as premium income showed no value Government is targeting their profile period. Cumulative ing their profile period, the
R^]U[XRccWTPcaTbWPbQTT]PfPaSTScWTQd[Z^UcWTVP[[P]cah\TSP[bU^aTgWXQXcX]VaPfR^daPVTP]STgcaP^aSX]PahSTTSb^UeP[^daX] against C10,737.92 crore in July against C2.27 crore in July increase in share of gas in the production from these projects statement said, adding during
cWT\^bccahX]VP]SSXUUXRd[ccTaaPX]b^UcWT;TUcFX]V4gcaT\Xb\;F4PUUTRcTSbcPcTb!:XacX2WPZaP^]TTPRWc^BWPWTTS 2016. For the rest 23 private sec- 2016.Cumulative premium col- energy basket from 6.5 per cent would peak during 2020-21 at FY17, ONGC produced 5 mil-
?aP\^S:d\Pa2^\\P]SP]c_^bcWd\^dbP]S2WTcP]:d\Pa2WTTcPW2^\\P]SP]c!BWPdahP2WPZaP^]TTPRWc^2WP]SP] tor players, the total business pre- lection by all insurers during April- to 15 per cent in the next few 6.65 million tonnes of crude lion tonnes of crude and 3.5
:d\Pa0bbXbcP]c2^\\P]SP]cP]S2^]bcPQ[T0\Pa]PcW<XbWaPWPeTQTT]PfPaSTSU^acWTXaR^]b_XRd^dbVP[[P]cahP]STgT\_[Pah mium last month increased 34 July of 2017-18 rose 18 per cent to years. ONGC said 17 projects and 13.38 BCM of gas which is BCM of gas from these projects,
R^daPVTBWPWTTS2^]bcPQ[T0YPh:d\PaP]SBWPWTTS2^]bcPQ[T1P[T]7PaXiP]WPeTQTT]PfPaSTS?^[XRT<TSP[U^a6P[[P]cah per cent to C4,172.76 crore from C53,659.66 crore from C 45,247 with a combined capex of 45 per cent of company's oil and which is 22 per cent and 16 per
_^bcWd\^db[hU^acWTXaTgWXQXcTSaPfR^daPVTd]U[X]RWX]VSTcTa\X]PcX^]P]SWXVWSTVaTT^U_a^UTbbX^]P[Xb\2A?5XbcWT\^bc C3,116.52 crore, the IRDAI data crore in the same period last fiscal, C76,000 crore have been gas standalone production dur- cent of its standalone crude and
STR^aPcTS2T]caP[0a\TS?^[XRT5^aRTfXcW %#"\TSP[bfWXRWX]R[dSTb 6T^aVT2a^bb":X]Vb?<6 0bW^Z2WPZaP":XacX showed. While SBI Life's premi- according to the data. PTI approved in the last three years. ing FY17, it said. gas production, respectively.
2WPZaP ?PS\PBWaX EXa2WPZaP %BWPdahP2WPZaPb#(??5B<6 (!??<6 HdSWBTeP<TSP[$BT]P<TSP[#EXbWXbc

9^fUcd]U^dc[Uid_U^cebUWb_gdXbUQc_^cCeRRQBQ_
BTeP<TSP[ !#!?<6$8?<6"9TTeP]APZbWP?PSPZP]S ?<b?^[XRT<TSP[U^a;XUTBPeX]V!(&QaPeT^UUXRTabP]S\T]
WPeTQTT]\PachaTSbX]RTXcbU^a\PcX^]X] ("(cWTWXVWTbcQhUPaU^aP]h2T]caP[0a\TS?^[XRT5^aRT2A?5WPbP[b^QTT]
R^]UTaaTSfXcW%?aTbXST]cb?^[XRT<TSP[U^a3XbcX]VdXbWTSBTaeXRTP]S%!?^[XRT<TSP[5^a<TaXc^aX^dbBTaeXRT

?A4B834=CB?>;824<430;0F0A343C>B0=90H:8B7>A42B2=A;H>=830H HYDERABAD: Investments, especially in
>]cWT^RRPbX^]^U8]ST_T]ST]RT3Ph! &BP]YPh:XbW^aT2WXTUBTRdaXch2^\\XbbX^]TaRd\8]b_TRc^a the manufacturing sector, is the key to
6T]TaP[^U?^[XRT2B2=^acWTa]APX[fPhfPbQTbc^fTSfXcWcWTW^]^da^U?aTbXST]cb?^[XRT<TSP[U^a ensure sustained growth in the country, for-
SXbcX]VdXbWTSbTaeXRT0]8]SXP]?^[XRTBTaeXRTb>UUXRTa^U ('&QPcRW:XbW^aTWPbQTT]W^[SX]VcWT mer RBI Governor D Subba Rao has said.
_^bXcX^]^U2WXTUBTRdaXch2^\\XbbX^]TaRd\8]b_TRc^a6T]TaP[^U?^[XRT=^acWTa]APX[fPhU^acWT_Pbccf^ I am sure all of you have read about eco-
hTPabWP]S[X]VcWTR^\_[TgXcXTb^URaX\TP]SX]cT[[XVT]RT^]cWTT]cXaT]^acWTa]i^]TUa^\:PbWXc^:PbW\Xa nomic survey that was presented to the
7TWPbQTT]R^]UTaaTSfXcWcWXbW^]^daX]eXTf^UWXbcPRcXRP[RaX\TR^]ca^[\TPbdaTbP]SX]XcXPcXeTbPbfT[[ Parliament last week. What the econom-
PbPbcdcTWP]S[X]V^UX]cT[[XVT]RT\PccTabU^a_aTeT]cXeTRaX\TQTbXSTbWXbU^Rdb^]PS^_cX^]^UcTRW]^[^VXRP[ ic survey said was that in a situation where
c^^[bU^abTRdaXch^]APX[fPhb8c\PhP[b^QTaT[TeP]cc^\T]cX^]cWPccWTSXbcX]VdXbWTSbTaeXRTb^UBP]YPh you have such low real investment, low
:XbW^aTfPbP[b^aTR^V]XbTScWa^dVWP]^cPQ[TaTR^aS^UW^]^dabeXi6T]TaP[<P]PVTab0fPaSX]cWThTPa ((#APX[fPh export volume, low credit growth, you can-
<X]XbcTab0fPaSX]!"8]SXP]?^[XRT<TSP[X]!'P]SSTR^aPcTSfXcW36b8]bXV]XPX]cWThTPa! &7TP[b^aTRTXeTScWT not sustain seven plus per cent growth.
36APX[fPh1^PaSb;TccTa^U2^\\T]SPcX^]U^aWXb_Xe^cP[a^[TX]cWTX]eTbcXVPcX^]^UcWTRPbT^USTPcW^U9d]PXScWa^dVWWXb So, if you ask me give a one word
dc\^bcSX[XVT]RTX]VPcWTaX]V^UTeXST]RTP]SR^[[PQ^aPcX^]fXcW6T]TaP[APX[fPh?^[XRT^UBcPcTX]cWTRPbT answer to what should be done to get India
to continue to grow, I would say invest-
=3<22708A<0=03<8=8BC4A43?;4364>5B0=:0;??0AEC>4<?;>H44B>=830H ment, he said. Subba Rao was speaking at
a meeting jointly organised last night by
the Rotary Clubs of Hyderabad and the
Federation of Telangana and Andhra
Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (FTAPCCI). Investment and
growth rate have a
strong correlation,
he said.
When we
grew at nine plus
per cent before the
global financial
crisis from 2003 to
2008, there was very high investment.
Again after the crisis, growth dropped
because investment dropped. Today, there
is no investment taking place. So, unless
investment is jacked up, it is difficult to
accelerate growth, he said. India holds
great promise, at a time when advanced
economies are struggling with low growth
and deflation, but growth in the country
is not inevitable, he said.
Today, we are growing at seven plus
per cent. But, that growth has a very nar-
row base. There is no investment taking
place. Exports are quite muted. Inflation
is low. But, inflation is low because of low
oil prices and low food prices. Low food
prices because of the good monsoon.
Rupee is steady of course. But, rupee is
steady because of FII inflows. The most
important worry for us today is that invest-
ment is not taking place, he said.
Some spoke highly about Indias
growth, before the global financial crisis
when the country clocked a growth of nine
per cent, but the high growth rate did not
continue, he said. Job creation on a large
scale would happen in the manufacturing
and not in agriculture or services sector,
he added. "In order to get the elephant
(Indian economy is often compared with
an elephant) to dance..., the first thing we
should do is invest in manufacturing.
Because, manufacturing is key to cre-
ating jobs,added the former RBI Governor.
The main thing everybody pointed out
when the NDA government completed
three years in office was its alleged failure
to deliver on massive job creation though
what was witnessed was not a jobless
growth, he said.
Two things everybody has pointed
out. Two things that the Government has
failed on or not delivered on. Two
things.Jobs and (addressing) agriculture
distress. So, creating jobs is something that
the government has not done as well as it
should have. It is not a jobless growth. But,
the number of jobs created with seven per
cent growth, I think has been less than ade-
quate. That's the reason the Prime Minister
talks about Make in India, Start Up India,
Stand Up India etc, he said. PTI

44B;C>64C :420AB5>A<8=8BCA84B 1B=;bTTZb!haTgcT]bX^]U^a\^QX[T[XRT]RTeP[XSXch

NEW DELHI: State-run firm
EESL has floated a tender for
C^R^\\T\^aPcTcWT&$cW0]]XeTabPah^UcWT@dXc8]SXP<^eT\T]ccWT2WPXa\P]=3<2=PaTbW:d\PaPS\X]XbcTaTScWT_[TSVT^U procuring 10,000 Electric cars and
BP]ZP[_bTBXSSWXPb^]BP]ZP[_?Pae^]CdTbSPhc^XcbT\_[^hTTbc^caP]bU^a\X]V^UcWPcaTb^[eTBXSSWX^aPccPX]\T]cQhf^aZX]V 4,000 chargers for coal, mines,
c^VTcWTaX]cWTbP\Tb_XaXcPbXcfPb_aPRcXRTSQh[PZWb^U8]SXP]bUa^\ (#! (#&CWT_[TSVTWTPSSTScWPcf^d[ScPaVTcc^VTcaXS power and new & renewable ener-
^UbXgT]T\XTb[XZT3Xac?^eTach2^aad_cX^]CTaa^aXb\2PbcTXb\P]S2^\\d]P[Xb\P]STgW^acTScWTcTP\=3<2c^f^aZfXcWbT]bT gy ministries as well as for pro-
^USTSXRPcX^]STe^cX^]P]SiTP[c^fPaSbcWXbSXaTRcX^]b^Pbc^\PZTXcPaTP[Xch0]ScWThbW^d[SbWPaTcWTXaXSTPb^]=Tf8]SXPP]S viding them on rent to other
X]b_XaTcWTXa]TPaTbcP]SSTPaTbcc^VTcPbb^RXPcTSX]Xcb^cWPcXcR^d[SQTR^\TP\Pbb\^eT\T]cFWX[T_PhX]VWXbaXRWcaXQdcTbX]cWT departments. Energy Efficiency
\T\^ah^UVaTPc\Pachab^UUaTTS^\bcadVV[TWTbPXScWPcfTbW^d[SR^\TU^afPaSc^bPUTVdPaSP]S_a^cTRccWTWPaSTPa]TS Service Ltd (EESL) has floated a
UaTTS^\fWXRWWPSQTT]PccPX]TSQhcWTbd_aT\TbPRaXUXRT^U^da\PachabfW^WPS[PXScWTXa[XUTU^aUaTTS^\^UcWT]PcX^]CWTSXVXcP[ tender for procurement of 10,000
cTRW]^[^VhU^aTgcT]SX]VcWTRXeXRP\T]XcXTbP]SR^\\d]XchUPRX[Xchc^cWT_T^_[TPc[PaVTU^acaP]b_PaT]cP]SPRR^d]cPQ[T\d]XRX_P[ electric cars including complete
bhbcT\bW^d[SQTPS^_cTSQhcWT=3<2WTbPXSCWT2WPXa\P]d]Uda[TScWT=PcX^]P[5[PV^U %UTTcPc=3<27TPS`dPacTa?P[XZP system warranty under the faster
:T]SaP=Tf3T[WXP]SaT[TPbTScWTcaXR^[^daQP[[^^]bfXcWcWTbRW^^[RWX[SaT]P]SSXbcaXQdcTSbfTTcb^]cWT^RRPbX^] adoption and manufacturing of
electric vehicles in India (FAME)
34;7858A4B4AE824>558280;B0F0A343<430;B>=830H scheme of the ministry of new &
renewable energy. According to
the tender, 3,000 AC (alternate cur-
rent) or slow charger's and 1,000
DC (Direct Current) fast charger's
compatible with Bharat AC-001
and DC-001 charger specification
would be procured.The tender is
part of the Governments plan to
promote electric vehicles in the
country in a big way. In April,
Power, Coal, Mine, New &
Renewable Energy Minister
Piyush Goyal had said that
India would sell only electric
vehicles by 2030. PNS
NEW DELHI: After MTNL, state-
owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd
(BSNL) has written to the
Government to extend the
validity of its cellular licence
and spectrum for two
more years till 2022,
according to a top official.
We were given licence in
2000 subject to finalisation
of terms and conditions by
licensor on recommendations of
TRAI, and the first rollout was
done in 2002. Therefore, the
licences effective date should be
from 2002 for a period of 20 years.
That is, up to 2022, BSNL
Chairman Anupam
Shrivastava told PTI.
He said BSNLs request
for extension pertains to all
its circles. As of now, the
licence is valid until 2020.
BSNL operates telephony
services across India except
two circles of Mumbai and
Delhi. Its mobile subscriber base is
close to 10 crore and it has a mar-
ket share of 8.7 per cent. When
BSNL took over the business of the
then Departments of Telecom
Services (DTS) and Telecom
Operations (DTO) way back in
2000, the Government gave the tele-
com corporation permission to pro-
vide all types of Telegraph services
that were being offered by the two
erstwhile departments.
DTS had the permit for tech-
nology neutral cellular services but had
not started providing mobile opera-
tions. Further, the terms and condi-
tions of the licence were to be outlined
in due course after the recommen-
dations from the TRAI. PTI

86=>DRT[TQaPcTb& bc83PhP]]^d]RTb<^DfXcW=T632B2 6^SaTY8]cTaX^ThTb

C"$Ra^aTbP[Tb
?=BQ =4F34;78

h e Ind i r a G an d h i
T National Open University
(IGNOU) celebrated the 71st
Independence Day in its
campus in Maidan Garhi,
Delhi. The Vice Chancellor
of t he Un ive rs it y, Prof
Ravindra Kumar hoisted the
national flag and announced
CWT[Xbc^UPfPaSTTb^UcWT3T[WX5XaTBTaeXRT>UUXRXP[bfW^ the Universitys partnership
WPeTQTT]VXeT]\TSP[b^]cWT^^RPbX^]^UcWT& bc with National e-Governance
8]ST_T]ST]RT3Ph^]CdTbSPhc^aTR^V]XbTcWTXa\TaXc^aX^db D iv i s i on ( Ne G D ) and
P]SSXbcX]VdXbWTSbTaeXRTb?aTbXST]cb5XaTBTaeXRT<TSP[ Common Services Network
5^a6P[[P]cah?^bcWd\^db[h)Bd]X[:d\Pa5XaT\P]!$& of Ministry of Electronics
<P]YXcBX]VW5XaT>_TaPc^a!(% 7PaXBX]VW<TT]P and Information Technology
;TPSX]V5XaT\P]! $%7PaX>\;TPSX]V5XaT\P]  $" and in the form of a MoU on
5XaTbTaeXRT\TSP[U^aVP[[P]cah)0]^^_BX]VW5XaT\P] 22nd August.
!$$&CTY?P[BdQ>UUXRTa'("=PeTT]5XaT>_TaPc^a After the MoU, IGNOU
!! %#APeX]STaBX]VW5XaT>_TaPc^a&"%#?aTbXST]cb will be able to collaborate with
5XaTBTaeXRT<TSP[5^a3XbcX]VdXbWTSBTaeXRT)EX_X]:T]cP[ NeGD to prepare e-governance
2WXTU5XaT>UUXRTa5XaTBTaeXRT<TSP[5^a<TaXc^aX^db training videos. NeGD will be
BTaeXRT)APYTbW:d\Pa0bbccFXaT[Tbb>UUXRTaAPYQXaBX]VW providing all the technical
BdQ>UUXRTa(!$7PaXbW2WP]S;TPSX]V5XaT\P]("( assistance required for the
LMS. While partnering with
CSCs will be fruitful for
IGNOU students. They are the
access points for delivery of
various electronic services to
villages in India, thereby con-
tributing to a digitally and
financially inclusive society.
All the CSC centres can be used
by IGNOU students in the
form of CSC wallet, he
announced on Tuesday.
The Vice Chancellor also
launched the digital version of
the open news letter called the
'IGNOU DIGI NEWS' which
shall be distributed to the
IGNOU students, staff mem-
bers, academia and others. He
also launched the digital ver-
sion of the Bachelors
Preparatory Programme in the
form of a CD which shall also
be distributed with the study
learning materials.
X]]TgccWaTThTPab
NEW DELHI: Godrej Interio, the
furniture arm of Godrej Group, is
eyeing C3,500 crore sales in next
three years and would go online
by the end of this year to tap the
upwardly mobile Indian con-
sumer. Besides, it is also expand-
ing presence in the B2C category
and expects both B2B and B2C
formats to contribute equally
three years from now.
We are working on a new
website and by the end of this year
our online e-commerce would be
ready, Godrej Interio Chief
Operating Officer Anil Mathur
told PTI. He added: It is difficult
to put an estimate of the total sales
revenue which would be gener-
ated from the ecommerce ven-
ture, however, we estimate to
generate a revenue of 10 crore
from online sales this year. PNS
=4F34;78kF43=4B30H k0D6DBC %! &
?<`cVRY`]Ud`WW
ReeRT\`_8fR^ N
05?Q 7060C=06D0<
uam officials were ecsta-
G tic on Tuesday as North
Korea appeared to back away
from its threat to fire four mis-
siles towards the US territory in
the western Pacific.
There doesnt appear to be
any indication, based on what
were hearing, that there will be
any missiles attacking in the
near future or in the distant
future, Lieutenant Governor
Ray Tonorio said.
Guam Homeland Security
George Charfauros dismissed
reports of satellite images
showing North Korea moving
a missile into place for a pos-
sible launch.
He said he believed this
was just a show of force to
mark North Koreas Liberation
Day celebrations on Tuesday.
It may be just a ruse.
Today is an historic day for the
Korean peninsular. It is their
Liberation Day .... North Korea
tends to use symbolism as part
of their decision making.
We are almost ecstatic
Cad\_b_TPZbc^ ?<`cVRdRjd_`h_`eeZ^V
0QT^]=:^aTP e`UZdTfddFDUVeRZ_VVd
Washington: President Donald
Trump has assured Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
that the US stands ready to
respond to any threat to
America and its allies from
North Koreas nuclear weapons,
the White House said on
Tuesday.
In a readout of the phone
call between Trump and Abe,
the White House said Trump
reaffirmed that the US was
ready to respond to any North
Korean threat to its allies.
The two leaders exchanged
views on the growing threat, it
said, adding that the two lead-
ers also discussed a range of
DYRcZWWZ]VdeYcVVRaaVR]dZ_D4
e`cVgZVhZedAR_R^RgVcUZTe
Islamabad: Pakistans ousted
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
on Tuesday filed three separate
appeals in the Supreme Court
to review its verdict in the
Panama Papers case that result-
ed in his disqualification.
A five-member Supreme
Court Bench last month dis-
qualified Sharif for dishonesty
and ruled that corruption cases
be filed against him and his
children over the Panama
Papers scandal, forcing the
Prime Minister to quit.
Sharif s lawyer Khawaja
Harris filed the three review
appeals, in reply to the petitions
filed by Imran Khan, Sheikh
Rashid and Sirjul Haq, in the
Lahore registry of the apex
court.
The decision to file the
appeal against the verdict was
taken before 67-year-old Sharifs
road journey from Islamabad to
>dcaPVTPbBfXbbW^cT[
^aSTab9TfXbWVdTbcbc^
bW^fTaQTU^aTbfX\\X]V
Geneva: A Swiss hotel that
posted signs telling Jewish
clients to shower before using
the pool and restricting their
access to the facilitys freezer
has unleashed outrage and
official complaints from Israel.
The Paradies apartment
hotel in the Alpine village of
Arosa in eastern Switzerland is
being accused of anti-Semitism
after an outraged guest posted to
Facebook a picture of a notice
plastered outside the hotel pool.
To our Jewish Guests,
women, men and children,
please take a shower before you
go swimming, it said, adding
that If you break the rules Im
forced to (close) the swimming
pool for you.
A second notice, in the
kitchen, meanwhile instructed
Our Jewish guests that they
could only access the facilitys
freezer between 10 and 11 am
and between 4:30 and 5:30 pm.
I hope you understand
that our team does not like being
disturbed all the time, it said.
The story quickly made the
that Kim Jong Un has backed
off, he added.
CNN reported that US spy
satellites detected a North
Korean mobile missile launch-
er being moved in a way indi-
cating preparations were being
made for a possible launch.
However, tensions began to
ease in Guam after Pyongyangs
official Korean Central News
Agency (KCNA) reported that
Kim had examined plans to fire
missiles near Guam, but made
no move towards an immedi-
ate strike.
Instead he hinted he would
hold off by saying he would
watch a little more the foolish
and stupid conduct of the
Yankees spending a hard time
of every minute of their mis-
erable lot.
Tonorio said Kim appeared
to have calmed down some of
his rhetoric and were happy
that he has taken a look at their
plans and will be holding off
on, at least it appears, the
imminent threats to Guam.
At this point, our govern-
ment is operating, our tourism
other regional and global issues
of mutual interest during the
call on Monday.
Tensions in the Korean
peninsula worsened after
Pyongyang tested two inter-
continental ballistic missiles
in July.
Trump has warned North
Korea that it would face fire
and fury if it attacked the US,
while the North threatened to
test-fire its missiles over Japan
and towards the US Pacific
island of Guam, home to US
Air Forces Andersen air base.
The North Korean missile
tests prompted a new round of
UN economic sanctions. PTI
Lahore but the legal team took
time to prepare the case.
Harris also submitted rele-
vant documents concerning the
iqama a United Arab Emirates
work visa that led the judges
to declare Sharif unfit to hold
office, Dawn reported.
Sharif has argued that the
July 28 decision should have
been given by a three-member
bench since Justice Asif Saeed
Khosa and Justice Gulzar
Ahmeds jurisdiction had
expired after their dissenting
judgement on April 20, the
paper said.
By signing the the final
order of the court on July 28,
Justice Ahmed and Justice
Khosa have actually passed
two judgments in the same case,
which is unprecedented in judi-
cial history, reads the appeal
petition, according to the paper.
Sharif also chaired a meet-
rounds on social media and
was published by Israeli papers,
prompting a harsh reaction
from Israeli officials.
Deputy Foreign Minister
Tzipi Hotovely described the
incident as an anti-Semitic act
of the worst and ugliest kind.
Israels ambassador to
Switzerland, Jacob Keidar,
reportedly contacted the hotel
and informed Hotovely the
signs had been removed.
But she was not satisfied and
has reportedly demanded a for-
mal condemnation from Bern.
Swiss foreign ministry
spokesman Tilman Renz told
AFP in an email that the min-
istry had been in contact with
Keidar and had outlined to
him that Switzerland condemns
racism, anti-Semitism and dis-
crimination in any form.
Paradies manager Ruth
Thomann, who signed the
notices, meanwhile insisted to
Swiss daily 20Minutes that she
was not an anti-Semite, and
acknowledged that her choice
of words was a mistake. AFP
is continuing to grow, there
have been no major changes in
our forecast.
Tensions have been mount-
ing in the region since North
Korea tested two interconti-
nental ballistic missile tests last
month, which appeared to bring
much of the US within range.
Responding to the tests, US
President Donald Trump
warned Pyongyang of fire and
fury like the world has never
seen.
The North replied by set-
ting a mid-August deadline to
finalise plans to test-fire its mis-
siles towards the US Pacific
island of Guam.
Although tensions have
eased in Guam, which is home
to two large US military instal-
lations and more than 6,000
military personnel, Tonorio
said there was no change to the
threat level.
I think the rhetoric is one
thing but if we have any belief,
as a country or as an island, that
there is going to be a threat, we
are going to be prepared. We are
going to be ready for it, he said.
Seoul: North Korea appeared to
link the fate of its US prisoners
to ongoing tensions on Tuesday,
saying now is not the right time
to discuss their release.
Three Americans, accused
of various crimes against the
state, are behind bars in the her-
mit nation, which is engaged in
a tense standoff with the admin-
istration of US President Donald
Trump over its banned missile
and nuclear weapons programs.
The issue of detained
Americans is not a subject of
discussion given the current
state of... Relations, a
spokesman for the Norths for-
eign ministry was quoted as
saying by the official Korean
ing of party leaders at his
Raiwind estate in Lahore to
prepare a strategy for his cam-
paign to contact the masses
over his disqualification.
The meeting was attended
by Hamza Shahbaz, Foreign
Minister Khawaja Asif,
Railways Minister Saad
Rafique, and Punjab Law
Minister Rana Sanaullah,
among others.
National Assembly Speaker
Ayaz Sadiq told the media
after the meeting that he still
considers Sharif his Prime
Minister.
Sadiq said that Sharif will
fight for his rights but he will
not create any tension between
the national institutions.
Sharif s plan is to go to the
public and garner support for
his plan to bring changes in the
country for sanctity of the
vote, the speaker added. PTI
ER]ZSR_`aV_ CTgPbd]XeTabXch
]VeeVce`5`_ RP]RT[bfWXcT
fcXVdFDe` bd_aT\PRXbcaP[[h
]VRgV2WXYR_ Chicago: A Texas university
has cancelled a planned white
supremacist rally on its campus
Kabul: The Taliban have sent
an open letter to President
Donald Trump, reiterating
their calls for America to leave
Afghanistan after 16 years of
war.
In a long and rambling
note in English that was sent
to journalists on Tuesday by
Zabihullah Mujahid, the
Taliban spokesman, the insur-
gents say Trump recognized
the errors of his predecessors
by seeking a review of the US
strategy for Afghanistan.
Mujahid says Trump
should not hand control of the
US, Afghan policy to the mil-
itary but rather, announce the
withdrawal of US forces and
not an increase in troops as the
Trump administration has
planned.
The note, which is 1,600
words long, also says a US
withdrawal would truly deliv-
er American troops from
harms way and bring about
an end to an inherited war.
AP
=:^aTP[TPSTaQaXTUTS
^]6dP\\XbbX[T_[P]
05?Q B4>D;
orth Korean leader Kim
Jong-Un has been briefed
on a plan to fire missiles near
Guam but hinted that he would
hold off on the launch,
Pyongyangs state media said
on Tuesday.
Kim examined the plan
for a long time and discussed
it with commanding officers
yesterday during his inspection
of the command of the
Strategic Force in charge of the
Norths missile units, according
to the Korean Central News
Agency (KCNA).
He said that the US impe-
rialists caught the noose around
their necks due to their reckless
military confrontation racket.
But Kim hinted he would
hold off on the plan to test-fire
missiles towards the US Pacific
island territory, saying he
would watch a little more the
foolish and stupid conduct of
the Yankees spending a hard
time of every minute of their
miserable lot.
In order to defuse the
tensions and prevent the dan-
gerous military conflict on the
Korean peninsula, it is neces-
Central News Agency (KCNA).
Pyongyang has arrested
and jailed several US citizens in
the past decade, often releasing
them only after high-profile
visits by US officials or former
presidents.
In June, student Otto
Warmbier who was sen-
tenced to 15 years hard labour
for allegedly stealing a political
poster while visiting
Pyongyang as a tourist was
sent home in a coma. He died
a week later.
His release was secured
through back channel negotia-
tions with Pyongyang led by the
US envoy for North Korea pol-
icy Joseph Yun. Media reports
?^[XRT)'ha^[SVXa[ 9<1d[caPb
ZX[[TSPbRPa_[^fb _[P]]X]Vc^
X]c^5aT]RW_XiiTaXP PccPRZ3WPZP
Paris: French police say an 8-
year-old girl was killed and at
least five people were injured
when a driver slammed his car
into the sidewalk cafe of a pizza
restaurant in a small town east
of Paris.
An official with the nation-
al gendarme service said the
driver was arrested soon after
the incident tonight in the
town of Sept-Sorts.
The official said it is
unclear whether the act was
deliberate. The official was not
authorized to be publicly
named according to police
policy.
An Algerian man drove his
car into a group of French sol-
diers last week, and a truck
attack in the French city of Nice
left 86 people dead a little
more than a year ago. Several
other countries have seen cars
used as weapons in recent
years. AP
next month, citing safety con-
cerns following the deadly vio-
lence at a rally in Virginia at the
weekend.
Texas A&M University, one
of the most prestigious public
colleges in the United States,
scrapped a September 11 rally
at which known white suprema-
cist leader Richard Spencer was
scheduled to speak.
Spencer was one of the
leading figures in a rally that saw
hundreds of white supremacists
gather Saturday in the town of
Charlottesville, triggering vio-
lence that left one person dead
and 19 others injured.
The universitys decision to
cancel the event came after it
emerged that organisers were
billing the event as Today
Charlottesville, Tomorrow
Texas A&M.
Linking the tragedy of
Charlottesville with the Texas
A&M event creates a major
security risk on our campus,
the university said in a
statement. AFP
sary for the US to make a prop-
er option first and show it
through action, as it commit-
ted provocations after intro-
ducing huge nuclear strategic
equipment into the vicinity of
the peninsula, he was quoted
as saying by KCNA.
He urged the US to stop at
once arrogant provocations
against the North and not pro-
voke it any longer.
North Koreas military said
last week that it would finalise
by mid-August its detailed plan
to test-fire four intermediate-
range ballistic missiles in an
enveloping fire around Guam
and report it to its leader for
approval.
Tensions have been
mounting since the North test-
ed two intercontinental ballis-
tic missile tests last month,
which appeared to bring much
of the US within range.
Responding to the tests, US
President Donald Trump
warned Pyongyang of fire and
fury like the world has never
seen.
The North in turn threat-
ened to test-fire its missiles
towards the US Pacific island of
Guam.
over the weekend suggested
similar talks have continued.
Last week, the North
released a Canadian pastor on
medical parole after having held
him for more than two years.
Tensions have been
mounting between Washington
and Pyongyang since the
Norths testing of two inter-
continental ballistic missiles
that appeared to bring much of
the US within range.
Responding to the tests,
Trump warned the North of
fire and fury like the world
has never seen, while
Pyongyang threatened to fire
missiles close to the US terri-
tory of Guam.. AFP
aP[[hZX[[TS
?C8Q 370:0
n Islamist militant was
A killed in a suicide blast
during a counter-terror raid at
a Dhaka hotel as he was plot-
ting to attack a rally taken out
to pay homage to Bangladeshs
founder Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, police said on
Tuesday.
The police said Saiful
Islam, an operative of the out-
lawed Jamayetul Mujahideen
Bangladesh (JMB) group, was
under surveillance for the past
two days and was killed in
operation August Bite.
The elite SWAT team shot
the militant when he triggered
to blow the the door of his hotel
room and tried to trigger
another bomb, police chief
AKM Shahidul Haque told
reporters.
6aPRT<dVPQTcda]bbT[U
X]c^B^dcW0UaXRP?^[XRT
^eTaP[[TVTSPbbPd[c
Johannesburg: Zimbabwes
first lady Grace Mugabe hand-
ed herself over to South African
police and was due in court on
Tuesday, officials said, after
allegedly assaulting a model
who was at a Johannesburg
hotel with her two sons.
During the incident, which
occurred on Sunday, Mugabe,
52, allegedly attacked Gabriella
Engels, 20, with an extension
cord, leaving her with wounds
on her forehead and the back
of her head.
Shes not under arrest
because she cooperated and
handed herself over to the
police, South African Police
Minister Fikile Mbalula told
reporters.
In terms of foreign citi-
zens, they must understand
they have responsibilities
especially those who hold
diplomatic passports.
I cannot just go to
Zimbabwe and beat up people
there and then the matter will
disappear.
From the police side, we
have had to act in the interests
of the victim, we have opened
a case. AFP
<@C62?4C:D:D
6FTR]]dW`c
aVRTVWf]
_`e^Z]ZeRcj
Raac`RTY
05?Q 1ADBB4;B
he European Unions for-
T eign policy chief has called
for peaceful, not military
means to resolve the Korean
peninsula crisis, urging
Pyongyang to avoid any fur-
ther provocative action that
could stoke tensions.
At such a critical juncture,
the European Union supports
diplomatic work with our part-
ners aimed at the de-escalation
of the situation and achieving
the complete, verifiable and
irreversible denuclearisation
of the Korean Peninsula
through peaceful, not military,
means, Federica Mogherini
said in a statement on Monday.
The statement was issued
after a meeting of a key EU
panel which agreed the bloc
would reach out to North and
South Korea, the United States,
China, Russia and Japan.
There is an urgent need
for a de-escalation of tensions
on the situation on the Korean
Peninsula, Mogherini said.
(...) We therefore call on
the Democratic Peoples
Republic of Korea (DPRK) to
refrain from any further
provocative action that can
only increase regional and
global tensions.
North Koreas continued
acceleration of its nuclear and
ballistic missile programmes
constitutes serious and wor-
rying violations of its inter-
national obligations,
Mogherini warned.
Tensions have been
mounting since the Norths
two intercontinental ballistic
missile tests last month, which
appeared to bring much of the
US within range.
Its military said last week
that it would finalise by mid-
August its detailed plan to
test-fire four intermediate-
range ballistic missiles in an
enveloping fire around the
US Pacific island of Guam.
@gVc$!!UVRUZ_DZVccR=V`_V
^fUd]ZUVdR_UW]``UZ_X
05?Q 5A44C>F=
t least 312 people were
A killed and more than 2,000
left homeless on Monday when
heavy flooding hit Sierra
Leones capital of Freetown,
leaving morgues overflowing
and residents desperately
searching for loved ones.
An AFP journalist at the
scene saw bodies being carried
away and houses submerged in
two areas of the city, where
roads turned into churning
rivers of mud and corpses
were washed up on the streets.
Red Cross spokesman
Patrick Massaquoi told AFP
the death toll was 312 but
could rise further as his team
continued to survey disaster
areas in Freetown and tally the
number of dead.
Mohamed Sinneh, a
morgue technician at
Freetowns Connaught
Hospital, said 180 bodies had
been received so far at his facil-
ity alone, many of them chil-
dren, leaving no space to lay
what he described as the over-
whelming number of dead.
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Beijing: The top US military
officer told a top Chinese gen-
eral on Tuesday that the US and
China have many difficult
issues to work through, but
that he hoped meetings
between the sides this week will
lead to progress.
Marine Corps Gen Joseph
Dunford, the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the
remarks at the opening of a
meeting with Fang Fenghui,
chief of the Peoples Liberation
Armys joint staff department.
US officials say Dunfords
visit aims to create a mecha-
nism for improving commu-
nication between the sides,
especially on sensitive issues
such as North Korea.
Dunford is visiting South
Korea, Japan and China after a
week in which President
Donald Trump said he was
ready to unleash fire and
fury if North Korea continued
to threaten the US.
Fang said Dunfords visit
was a key part of efforts to
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Kathmandu: The death toll
from widespread flooding and
landslides in Nepal on Tuesday
climbed to 120 with nearly 40
people still unaccounted for
and over six million affected by
incessant rainfall across the
Himalayan country.
Most of the displaced, liv-
ing in temporary shelters for
the past three days, were yet to
receive relief supplies in the
flood-hit interior areas, the
Kathmandu Post reported.
More than 2,800 houses
have been completely destroyed.
Normal life in parts of
Nepal has been hit and a large
number of people have been
displaced due to flooding and
landslides.
Authorities recovered
seven bodies from the no
Many more bodies were
taken to private morgues,
Sinneh said.
Images obtained by AFP
showed a ferocious churning of
dark orange mud coursing
down a steep street in the cap-
ital, while videos posted by
local residents showed people
waist and chest deep in water
trying to traverse the road.
Fatmata Sesay, who lives
on the hilltop area of Juba, said
she, her three children and
husband were awoken at 4:30
am by rain beating down on
the mud house they occupy,
which was by then submerged
by water.
She managed to escape by
climbing onto the roof.
We have lost everything
and we do not have a place to
sleep, she told AFP.
Local media reports said a
section of a hill in the Regent
area of the city had partially
collapsed, exacerbating the
disaster.
Other images showed bat-
tered corpses piled on top of
each other, as residents strug-
gled to cope with the destruc-
expand dialogue between the
US and China as agreed by
Trump and Chinese President
Xi Jinping when they met ear-
lier this year.
To that end, China has
arranged a series of important
meetings and visits to help
Dunford know more about
our military, (boost) our coop-
eration and build up our
friendship, Fang said.
Dunford responded that
the US considered the meetings
important to making progress
on areas of disagreement, with-
out citing any specific examples.
I think here, we have to be
honest - we have many, many
difficult issues where we dont
necessarily share the same per-
spective, Dunford said.
I know we share one
thing: We share a commit-
ment to work through these
difficult issues, he added, say-
ing that with the guidance of
political leaders we are going
to make some progress over the
next few days. AP
mans land near the flood-hit
BiratnagarJogbani border
with India today and the death
toll has hit 115, Home Ministry
sources said.
A committee has been
formed under Home Minister
Janardan Sharma to ascertain
the extent of the loss. The
chief secretary and secretaries
of 12 ministries are members of
the committee, home ministry
spokesman Ram Krishna
Subedi said.
The Ministry said that the
Nepal Government has accel-
erated rescue and relief opera-
tions. It said nearly 27,000
security personnel have been
engaged in post-disaster oper-
ation and a search for those
missing was underway.
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tion.
Meanwhile disaster man-
agement official Candy Rogers
said that over 2,000 people are
homeless, hinting at the huge
humanitarian effort that will be
required to deal with the fall-
out of the flooding in one of
Africas poorest nations.
Freetown, an overcrowded
coastal city of 1.2 million, is hit
each year by flooding during
several months of rain that
destroys makeshift settlements
and raises the risk of water-
borne diseases such as cholera.
Flooding in the capital in
2015 killed 10 people and left
thousands homeless.
Sierra Leone was one of
the west African nations hit by
an outbreak of the Ebola virus
in 2014 that left more than
4,000 people dead in the coun-
try, and it has struggled to
revive its economy since the
crisis.
About 60 percent of peo-
ple in Sierra Leone live below
the national poverty line,
according to the United
Nations Development
Programme.
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>E4AB40B?>AC5>;8>
030AB7:70=34;F0;[XbcbS^f]_a^bP]SR^]b^Ud]STaVaPSR^dabTbX]SXUUTaT]cR^d]caXTb
DB0
he US is by far the most popular des-
T tination for Indian undergrads, for the
following reasons:
Q Large number of colleges (Over 2000
institutes), including the famous Ivy
League Universities
Q Large amount of financial aid and
scholarships
Q Affordability of some community col-
leges and smaller state-sponsored col-
leges
Q Ease of travel (Most connected country
on earth)
Q An American degree is accepted almost
all over the world
Q It has a great job market. Placements
post UG is high.
Q Liberal Arts curriculum is widespread
Cons: Some programmes like Medicine
and Law are very competitive, and few, if
any, international students get in. If you
dont get scholarship, cost of education
becomes higher.
0DBCA0;80
ustralia is quite popular in
A the undergraduate mar-
ket, narrowly beating out
T for Indian students is the UK,
which has the following attribut-
Singapore
PROS:
Q Relatively low cost of tuition
plus living
Q Favourable job market
Q Not very competitive
CONS:
Q Many violent hate crimes
have been recorded against
Indians
Q There is no financial aid at
all for international appli-
cants
Q Journey to and from
Australia is difficult and
costly
7>=6:>=6
Relatively
up:
new, but fast picking
PROS:
Q Aggressive marketing of inter-
national enrollment there-
fore less competitive
Q A few very high-offer schol-
arships are available
D:
he next most popular country anada is a stable choice for
C undergrads looking for quali-
ty education in the America, with-
es:
PROS:
Q Degrees accepted worldwide
Q Home of the famous Oxbridge
colleges
CONS:
Q Costs are very high, especially
at the premier institutes
Q Availability of scholarships is
low, and there is no financial
aid
Q Visa is restrictive, and the job
prospects are bad
Q There have been many cases of
racism against Indians in par-
ticular.
CONS:
Q Housing is not always guar-
anteed (to be checked with
individual university)
Q STEM subjects have better
prospects (along the lines of
Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology
(HKUST).
20=030
ingapore is wildly popular among
S Indian students who are attracted by
the short distance & low fees:
out the price tag
PROS:
Q Lower fees as compared to
USA, but with almost all the
facilities
Q Relatively new to the interna-
tional UG market, in that they
are aggressively promoting
international student enroll-
ment
Q Very highly ranked colleges
with internationally recognised
degrees
CONS:
Q Cost of living is high
Q Really inclement weather.
4DA>?4
Avery popular choice for the fol-
lowing reasons:
PROS:
Q No tuition fees at all only fees
are for student service and hous-
ing
Q Very rigorous courses with inter-
nationally acclaimed research facil-
ities
Q ERASMUS-MUNDUS tie-up with
Indian Government makes it very
easy to apply
Q Easy transition to PG
available
B8=60?>A4
PROS:
Q Full tuition scholarships are available
for international students
Q Very close to India, thus airfare is low
Q Very supportive job market
Q New venture of Yale-National
University of Singapore has added
the liberal arts dynamic as well
CONS:
Q Tuition bond forces the student to
work in Singapore for up to 2 years
Q Three institutes Singapore
Management University, Nanyang
Technological University and NUS
are most popular and thus compe-
tition is very high.
Q A lot of emphasis is placed on
JEE/NTSE scores
CONS:
Q Housing is difficult to find and
quite costly (though not compa-
rable to tuition fees in other
regions)
Q Some countries (Germany, Austria,
France) are thought to be racist.
These countries also often require
a certification of native language
proficiency
Q Job market is limited for UG,
though it is very friendly (up to six
months of work on the student visa
itself)
Q The pass percentage is very low
because of large number of student
in-take because of low tuition
Q You need a PG
degree to get a job.
CWTfaXcTaXbR^U^d]STa2^[[TVXUhP
R^]bd[cX]VUXa\U^abcdShPQa^PS IGNOU also extends last
FWT]fTbTaeTfTTg_TaXT]RT
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fWT]fTcTPRWfT[TPa]fWT]fT
[TPa]^da[XeTbPaT_Ta\P]T]c[h
RWP]VTSP]SPb^da[XeTbPaT
RWP]VTSfTPaTT]aXRWTSQTh^]S
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9PaT];3PeXb
?638?;><08=<4=C0;740;C7
The Indira Gandhi
National Open Universitys
(IGNOU), School of Social
Sciences (SOSS) has launched a
Post Graduate Diploma in
Mental Health (PGDMH) pro-
gramme from July 2017 session.
The programme is offered by
the Discipline of Psychology,
SOSS, and aims at providing the
learners a sound base in the field
of mental health through an in-
depth study into a broad range
of psychological issues and con-
cerns related to mental health.
The programme would
help address the mental health
requirements of people in view
of shortage of trained mental
health personnel in India. The
prospective learner for the pro-
gramme should be post gradu-
ate in Psychology or Social
Work or Nursing or be a med-
ical graduate in any of the med-
icine fields ie Allopathy,
Homoeopathy, Ayurvedic,
Unani and Siddha.
The courses covered under
the programme range from
fundamentals of mental health,
mental disorders to services
for the mentally ill. The last date
to apply for the programme is
August 18, 2017 through online
admission procedure of the
university.
The programme follows
open and distance mode of
education and uses multiple
media approach ie self-instruc-
tional print material, audio-
video programmes, counselling
sessions, teleconferencing and
interactive radio counselling
through FM channel of IGNOU
Gyan Vani.
date of admission for its masters,
bachelors degree, diploma, and
PG diploma programmes,
including the semester based
programmes to August 18, 2017.
The admission forms can be
filled online at https://onlinead-
mission.ignou.ac.in/admission.
;4034AB<0=064<4=C
The Pearson and the
National University of
Singapore (NUS) Business
School, has announced the
launch of the Emerging Leaders
Management Acceleration
Programme (ELMAP), a blend-
ed executive programme for
young business professionals.
The admissions to the pro-
gramme is open till October 6,
2017. Interested applicants can
find details of the program at
h t t p : / / p e a r s o n -
professional.com/career-pro-
grams/nus/.
Commencing on October
14, 2017, this programme brings
together business skills and
superior content from NUS to
offer in-depth understanding of
various functional areas of man-
agement and leadership. With
an approach focused on the pro-
gram aims to better equip busi-
ness leaders of the future with
desired skills to drive results and
execute business strategy effec-
tively.
Working professionals with
two to 10 years of work experi-
ence, who are keen to work in
cross-functional teams or need
to coordinate with multiple
business functions, would ben-
efit most from the six-month
part-time weekend course.
The programme will equip
participants with the funda-
mental concepts of leadership,
business strategy, marketing
and sales management, big data,
service operations, supply chain
management, business inno-
vation and finance analytics.
Additionally, the programme
will include four to six webina-
rs with industry leaders.
Candidates will be awarded
with a certificate from NUS
Business School upon success-
ful completion of the pro-
gramme.
The direct-to-desktop live-
online classroom sessions with
NUS Business School faculty
members will provide flexibil-
ity to participants to learn from
anywhere.

BZX[[X]V8]SXP]
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U
nemployment is a major
hurdle in Indias growth.
The Government had
decided to give a better platform
for the Indian youth so that they
can polish their professional skills
with initiatives like Make in India
which aims to generate employa-
bility and increase the GDP.
Platforms like Youth4work,
which are not directly involved
with this mission, are playing a
major role in skilling people and
providing employability. Rachit
Jain, CEO of Youth4work says:
The challenge is big skilling
Indian youth and making them
more efficient as per the industry
requirements which are diverse
and to focus on specific skills with-
out the assurance of placements is
even tougher.
Skill training is a bigger prob-
lem than uneducated, untrained
people looking for jobs. There are
about 20,000 NSDC users with the
availability of 80,000 jobs on our
platform, Jain says. The training
is not aligned to the demand,
which means lot of people are
there in certain job roles but
there is no demand for these
trained people. They have man-
aged to help the potential youth
and gave them a platform to
prove their competencies and
improve them to level up with
global standards.
F^a[STSdbd\\Xc
W ith over 27 lakh engineer-
ing seats lying vacant
across various engineering col-
leges in the country, the All India
Council for Technical Education
(AICTE), the regulatory body for
technical education, has decid-
ed to close down those techni-
cal colleges having less than 30
per cent admissions in last five
years starting from the session
next year.
In the last few years,
AICTE has been actively work-
ing on reducing the quantity of
engineering institutions across
the country due to increased
institutes and poor demand and
falling quality education. The
regulatory body has also reduced
the penalty for closing down an
engineering institution that was
a deterrent for many colleges
which were willing to shut in the
midst of poor demand, Anil D
Sahasrabuddhe, chairman of
AICTE said. He was speaking at
a two-day World Education
Summit 2017 organised by Elets,
along with Government of
Rajasthan, AICTE and National
Skill Development corporation.
There are 10,361 engineer-
ing institutions in the country,
that are approved by AICTE,
with a total intake of 37,01,366
students. Apart from closing
several colleges, the AICTE is
now focussed towards life skills
and solving problems.
The number of jobs are
diminishing in the country, to
cover it up the AICTE has for-
mulated the National Student
Startup Policy to push the youth
to contribute to the nations
socio-economic progress. It
envisages to create a lakh tech-
nology-based student start-ups
and a million employment
opportunities in the next 10
years. All students passing out of
UG courses will be given tech-
nical and soft skills required for
working in the industry encom-
passing managerial skills, entre-
preneurial skills, leadership
skills, communication skills,
team-working skills and techni-
cal skills, Sahasrabuddhe added.
Kiran Maheshwari,
Rajasthan Technical and Higher
Education Minister said: State
of the art language labs will be
set up in about 220 Government
colleges in Rajasthan starting this
academic session as in this era of
globalisation, the knowledge of
language is a necessity. Language
Lab assists in four basic require-
ments for learning a new lan-
guage, which are, speaking while
reading, learning, listening and
writing. For the precise under-
standing of technical informa-
tion, expert understanding of
language is essential for the
students.
@cZV_eReZ`_ac`XcR^^V &ORXGEDVHG
T he IMS, Ghaziabad
WUDLQLQJ
recently organised MCA
orientation programme for
the commencement of its ourseplay, a cloud-based It also employs Security
C
new batch of 2017-20 and
lateral entry of 2017-19
batch. The induction pro-
software enabling quick
and affordable online
training management and
Assertion Markup Language
Single Sign-on, a standard pro-
tocol which eliminates multiple
gramme revolved around engagement for employees passwords and instead allows the
the theme Corporate 3XV]XcPaXTb_aTbT]cPccWT<20>aXT]cPcX^]?a^VaP\\TWT[SPc8<B6WPiXPQPS
across diverse sectors, has end user to enter their creden-
Expectations from Young launched an upgraded version tials only once in order to access
Technocrats. Ayurved Limited; guest of objectives and goals. Dr of its software, Courseplay 3.0. multiple applications. The IBMs
In the presence of honour and Dr Ajay K Gupta highlighted the latest The latest version introduces Watson Personality Insights
Pramod Agarwal, managing Gupta, director Computer technological trends in the progressive features like a per- offers a set of core analytics for
trustee of IMS, Ghaziabad Center, University of Delhi IT industry, their demands formance tracker, digital sig- discovering actionable insights
and Rakesh Chharia, and senior alumnus of IMS and upwards trends in IT nature-based login support on employees and is based on the
General Secretary, IMS Ghaziabad Lalit Chaudhary, recruitments. Chaudhary and data analytics using IMBs psychology of language in com-
Society, Prof JP Sharma, SAP Integration Specialist, shared his experience and Watson supercomputer to cre- bination with data analytics
director, IMS, Ghaziabad Utegration Inc, Houston, corporate expectations with ate personality profiles for algorithms. The programme
welcomed the Chief Guest US. the newly admitted batch. recruitment candidates and analyses the content that one
Prof Dr RK Khandal, presi- Prof Khandal urged the More than 350 students employees. sends and returns a personality
dent R&D and Business budding technocrats to including parents and facul- The recent addition to the profile for the author of the input.
Development India Glycols remain simple and excel in ty and staff members of the software performance track- Commenting on the
Limited, Delhi. life. Dr Singh highlighted the institute attended the event er allows trainees to define announcement, CEO, Arjun
The key speaker were Dr importance of asking active which turned out to be a pro- their professional goals, mon- Gupta said: The update builds
VP Singh, advisor organisa- questions in life while found learning experience itor their progress and track on our existing capabilities
tional development, Patanjali remaining focused on ones for everyone. whether the outcome of their through new features that will
training achieves organisa- enable the entire organisation
tional objectives. With this to achieve their business goals
9^TecdbifYcYd feature, employees can view
individual tasks allotted to
them, track their completion,
through a unified platform. We
want to help CEOs answer the
question If I spend $1 on
he Asia Pacific Institute of Management, Delhi, hosted Dr Pawan self-assess progress, and have training how will it impact my
T Agrawal, CEO and president of Mumbai Dabbawalas, at its cam-
pus to deliver a lecture to the students. Chairman of the institute, AK
their managers review their
performance. In addition,
bottom line? Our employee
engagement solutions com-
Shrivastava welcomed Dr Agrawal. He enlightened the students about managers will be able to cor- prise of innovative and unique
the customer centric approach towards business and how he revolu- relate the real-world perfor- activities like selfie-contests
tionised the working of dabbawalalhs. This helped the management mance of employees with their and other employee engage-
graduates to learn certain management and leadership skills. learning outcomes. ment.

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ased on a survey by EducationToday.co, Billabong High
0:0=:0B70B>=8 Q =Tf3T[WX

he basic stepping stone to a childs edu-

Stones2Milestons, says.
At present, there are numerous English lan-
guage learning courses, books, apps organisa- O
nline recruitment activ-
ities in the month of
July 2017 registered 13
in July 2017 from 33 percent in
June 2017.
City-wise data shows that
rate as June 2017. Baroda (up
33 per cent) followed by
Ahmedabad (up 16 per cent)
B International (BHI) School, Santacruz, has ranked fourth
in Maharashtra under the category of Top 20 International
Schools.

T cation is his ability to read. Unfortunately,

this skill is not taught as effectively when
it comes to primary Indian education in NDMC
schools. Stones2Milestone, an organisation in the
educational space, has, therefore, come up with
the ReadVantage Programme forming a cur-
riculum that correctly teaches students how to
to read and also enhances their love for read-
ing.
Teachers do not teach students how to read.
They assume that they will understand what
words sound like as they go along their educa-
tion and go into higher classes.
This assumption is not correct and this
indifference can change the entire prospect of
reading for the student in his entire education-
al journey, Aditi Mehta, curriculum head of
tion offers in an integrated in-school programme
with the help of Teach for India (TFI). The 47
volunteers will hold the course for each school
year, and teach the students how to read, using
the curriculum, books and training provides
them after years of experience and research. The
TFI has provided graduates from top colleges
to serve as full-time teachers to children from
low income communities in some of the
nations most under resourced Government
schools. The project will be held for students
from ages three to nine and will be provided free
of charge to schools teaching under privileged.
In the year 2017-18, the project is estimated to
benefit up to 60 schools and over 5,300 children
across Delhi-NCR, Jhansi, Baroda, Raipur,
Bangalore and Mumbai.
per cent year-on-year growth,
according to the Monster
Employment Index. This is
the highest growth recorded
this year.
Among top growth sectors,
Banking/Financial Services,
Insurance (BFSI) continue to
exhibit long-term growth chart
with a 43 per cent year-on-year.
Month-on-month, demand in
the BFSI sector moved up by
marginal one percent in July
2017. This was followed by
Consumer Goods/FMCG,
Food & Packaged Food which
witnessed a surge of 34 per cent
among metros, Kolkata (up 45
per cent) continued to lead the
long-term growth even in June
2017. Mumbai (up 12 per cent)
was the only tier-I city to
exhibit double-digit annual
growth followed by Hyderabad
(up 6 per cent).
The annual growth trend
in Delhi-NCR (down 4 per
cent) exhibited the steepest
decline. Chennai (down 2 per
cent) continued to hover below
the corresponding period a
year ago, while Bangalore (up
3 per cent) continued to grow
at the same annual growth
recorded some of the steepest
year-on-year growth.
Commenting on the
trends, Sanjay Modi, managing
director, monster.com, APAC &
Middle-East said: India is on
the verge of transformation
due to digital disruption and
implementation of GST as a
major economic reform. This
has led to a positive trend in
online recruitment activity.
Our Index for July has captured
this sentiment and reported an
uptrend of 13 percent y-o-y
growth in hiring, the highest
recorded this year.
The schools were judged in 10 parameters academic rep-
utation, individual attention, value for money, holistic devel-
opment, leadership and management quality, sports education,
infrastructure provision, innovative teaching, safety and hygiene
and co-curricular activities.
Maharashtra School Merit Awards are based on jury rating,
parents votes (46,000) and EduactionToday.cos team analysis.
We are pleased to know that our efforts of providing the
best kind of education to our students are being recognized. It
feels great to achieve this rank and we are honored to accept it."
Lina Ashar, founder of Kangaroo Kids and BHI School, said.
The Maharashtra School Merit Awards 2017 will be held on
September 9, 2017 to felicitate the school award winners, host-
ing around 200 schools from various categories that have been
selected out of 650 survey forms received by their team
Were always striving for excellence and this is great news,
Kusum Kanwar, principal, BHI School, Santacruz, said.
=4F34;78kF43=4B30H k0D6DBC %! & PeT]dTb #

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c[Y\\cV_bU]`\_iQRY\Ydi

I?EB2EC9>5CC
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fWX[T8]SXP]bR^]RT]caPcT^]VTccX]VPSTVaTT
cWT]TTS^UcWTW^daXb_aPRcXRP[Z]^f[TSVT
Q Tell us about Meritrac.
It is Indias a testing and
assessment company, it has been
the pioneer of conducting authen-
=^fcWPch^d]VUaTbWT]cTa_aT]TdabPaTQdSSX]V^]cWTRPaTTaVaP_WWTaTXbP[^^ZPc tic assessments for corporates,
educational institutions and gov-
ernmental organisations. The
fPhbc^X]RaTPbTh^daQdbX]TbbbcP]SX]VbPhb0<>;0A>A0 company has administered more
than 20 million pre-recruitment
for over 300 of Indias largest hir-
ith the economy recover- ing organisation.

W ing from the effect of

demonetisation and the
money coming back in circulation,
businesses are again moving forward
and customers are coming back to
businesses. Now is the time to
relook your marketing strategy
because, in spite of what has hap-
pened, businesses need to conserve
cash to be able to survive as the old
ways of marketing a business which
seize to exist, like advertising in a
popular daily or taking a high street
location or being visible where the
customer was and expecting them to
do business with you, are changing
forever because, one sure impact of
demonetisation is that we are going
to become an increasingly digital
society.
The focus right now should be on
fine tuning your product line keep-
ing in mind the customer feedback
because until the product is right, no
amount of marketing can help. So for
these two reasons, I think business-
es need to relook at two things; one
being know yourself and other,
know your customer.
First, know yourself. So, when a
customer buys a product, the old for-
mula of price placement and promo-
tion, does not carry the same impact
as customers are well- informed and
have the world at their fingertips
through their mobile phones. They
research products by reading
descriptions, watching videos,
researching your official website,
social media pages, third party tes-
timonials, customer reviews and
gather all kind of information about
you, before making a buying deci-
sion.
Its your responsibility to under-
stand what people are searching for
and be able to deliver the right mes-
sage for the keywords searched for.
Sometimes, a lot of businesses may
be surprised to understand start-ups,
or they may be surprised to know
what people are actually searching
for when they land on their website.
For that reason, tools like Google
Analytics are of prime importance as
they give you rich keyword data of
where the customers are, what key-
words theyre searching for, how
they landed at your website, what
kind of media theyre consuming,
how did they travel through your
website, etc. These tools are essential
to help you understand yourself and
how the market perceives you, rather
than just thinking of how you feel
about your products or services. Try
and understand how the customer
perceives you as a business and then,
for those keywords, create rich, valu-
able content.
Second, know your customer.
Relook at your old marketing strat-
egy of advertising in a newspaper and
C74A40A4<0=HC>>;B expecting people to respond. Today,
that strategy is like shooting darts in
C70C74;?H>DC>64C the dark and hoping something will
C>F74A4H>DA stick. At present, when resources are
2DBC><4A8BDB4 short and you need to ensure more
value for the money you invest, the
C74<B>C70CF74= first thing you should know is your
C742DBC><4A8B customer acquisition cost. This
includes the costs to acquire a cus-
;>>:8=65>AB4AE824B tomer which should be significantly
>A?A>3D2CBH>D greater than your lifetime customer
value, how much does he add to the
>554AH>D0A47867;H budget top line and bottom line and
E8B81;4 so, according to your calculation
which should be clearly defined,
Q Why is there a need to intro-
duce such a programme?
you can understand how much are
you willing to pay for a customer
acquisition. Considering this, you can
use tools like Google AdWords,
Facebook, Social Media Marketing,
SEO and Content Marketing, to get
to where your customer is. So, when
your customer is trying to search for
products or services which you offer,
you should be highly visible. If youre
a local business, try and understand
your customers movements and
preferences to convert them at a cost
effective price.
CWTfaXcTaXbE2<3 ^UBWT\a^RZP]S
BWT\U^aS6a^d_^UBRW^^[b
Q Tell us about the new pro-
gramme launched.
Our company has launched a
unique employability enhance-
ment programme AceTrac
as a solution to positively impact
the stagnant employability quo-
tient of the graduates. It will
assess candidates on employabil-
ity skill set at regular intervals
during the graduation study of a
student; it is a culmination of
years of industry research, data
analysis and interaction with cor-
porate and educational institu-
tions employability.
Q What are you aiming for?
With our new programme we
are looking towards enhancing
employment and to complement
Indias skill building initiative.
AceTrac will allow academic insti-
tutions to design personalised,
long term training interventions
for their students early in their
graduation, which is a departure
from the current practices.
The problem of employabil-
ity has been prevalent for a long
time in the industry. Several ini-
tiatives by stakeholders have at
best been either quick fixes or
disintegrated efforts, offering
marginal benefits or leading to
higher costs. The fact that
employability cannot be improved
overnight has been well estab-
lished and the need for long
term, strategic and fundamental
changes in approach is imperative.
Q How will it be beneficial for
both job seekers and recruiters?
For students looking out for
jobs, our programme will help
them by providing the right kind
of direction and will let them
know their shortcomings, by
explaining them the expectations
of the recruiters. For employers
we will provide them the kind of
staff they require by the skills that
they are looking for in a candi-
date.
Q How affordable is the pro-
6^_P[3
3TeP]PWP[[X
24>^U<TaXccaPRBTaeXRT
gramme?
Since our programme will
just keep a check on students per-
formance and guides them to
what corporate are expecting
from them, we have kept it very
much affordable. It can include in
the fees of colleges itself and if few
students from any college are
interested in enrolling in our
programme we have separate
scheme from them too.
Q What is the difference between
your portal and other portals?
Other online sites just offer
the employers with potential can-
didates according to their given
resume, whereas we in MeritTrac
keep track of the entire perfor-
mance of the candidate through-
out his period of study and so we
know the skills of each candidate,
thus balancing the equation
between the employer and job
seeker.
Q What are the challenges faced
by students while applying for
desired jobs?
In India much of the empha-
sis is still focused on theoretical
knowledge, but what employers
require is practical knowledge.
Also there is gap between the
skills needed at workplace and
skills acquired by student from his
respective college, so with Acetrac
we are trying to bridge this gap
and create employability.

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application period for

Samsung India has
announced fresh scholarships
for 150 students from the cur-
rent batch of Jawahar
Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV)
under its Samsung Star Scholar
programme, raising the total
number of scholarships offered
to 300. Scholarship of C2 lakh
annually will be awarded to
outstanding students from
JNVs who have qualified for an
Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT) or a National Institute of
Technology (NIT) in India
this year.
Financial support of up to
C2 lakh will be provided every
year for up to five years to the
scholarship recipients to help
cover a significant share of
their educational expenses,
including tuition, hostel and
mess expenses. Selection of 150
students for the scholar pro-
gramme this year will be based
on the students ranking in the
Joint Entrance Examination
(JEE) Main for BTech/Dual
Degree (BTech and MTech).
Students can visit
Samsungs website
http://www.samsung.com/in/mi
crosite/sapne-hue-bade/star-
scholar to learn more.
The Samsung Star Scholar
program is aligned with the
companys ongoing effort to
nurture deserving young talent
by enabling them with quality
education.
Application deadline: The
the programme August 31,
2017.
Macquarie University is
offering scholarships for inter-
national students. Scholarships
will be awarded to undertake
UG and PG programmes.
Eligibility: Have citizen-
ship of a country other than
ASEAN, an European country,
Australia or New Zealand.
Have met the universitys aca-
demic and English require-
ments. Have achieved a mini-
mum GPA of 5.0 out of 7.0 for
PG applications and minimum
requirement of an ATAR
equivalent of 90 out of 100 for
UG. Have applied for a pro-
gramme that is longer than one
session. Commence study in
session and year indicated in
the scholarship offer letter.
Have applied for a course
which has a full-time study
load.
How to apply: Complete
an online course application
form. Once your course appli-
cation has been processed, you
will receive a Macquarie
University Student Number
which is compulsory to submit
the online scholarship applica-
tion form. Applicants must
complete an online scholar-
ship application form and
type Vice-Chancellors
International Scholarship in
the Scholarship Name field.
Applicants applying for the
VCs scholarship will not be
required to submit Referees
Report.
Application deadline:
Deadline is January 31, 2018.
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0?Q <0B>= released Aug 21. The Spaniard card Tommy Paul advanced in \PY^ac^da]P\T]cbP]ScWT5aT]RW>_T]ST]XTSWTa
will be No 1 for the first time straight sets. PfX[SRPaS
imbledon champion Roger since July 6, 2014. Gasquet eased past qualifi-

W Federer withdrew Monday

from the Western &
Southern Open because of a back
injury. He has won the Masters
series tournament seven times.
The move was announced on
the first full day of matches. This US
Open warmup has now lost five of
the top six players in the men's rank-
ings.
Federer, a 19-time major cham-
pion, said in a statement he
"tweaked" his back last week at the
Rogers Cup in Montreal, where he
lost Sunday's final to Alexander
Zverev.
The Swiss star, ranked No 3, is
sidelined along with No 1 Andy
Murray, No 4 Stan Wawrinka, No 5
Novak Djokovic and No 6 Marin
Cilic, the defending champion. Only
No 2 Rafael Nadal, the top-seeded
player, remains in the draw.
Tournament officials tweeted
that 21st-ranked Gael Monfils also
is out because of an undisclosed ill-
ness. All the missing players except
Cilic are 30 or older.
"It's just coincidence," said
Nadal, 31. "We're not 20 years old
any more. We're not playing all the
weeks. It's part of our sport. I've
been in their position lots of times.
I've missed more events than the
other players. It's part of the game.
I wish them all a speedy recovery.
We need them in the game. I hope
they get back soon."
Federer's withdrawal means
Nadal, who lost in the third round
at Montreal, will return to No 1
when new ATP rankings are
Nadal has spent 141 weeks at
No 1 since first ascending there
after reaching the Western &
Southern semifinals in 2008.
"It's been tough to get back to
No 1," he said. "I'm happy to have
the chance to be in that position."
American Sam Querrey
became the first seeded player to
advance. The 15th seed cruised
into the second round with a 6-
A^VTa 3, 6-0 victory over wild card
5TSTaTab Stefan Kozlov.
Mischa Zverev also advanced
fXcWSaPfP[ with a straight-set win, 6-4, 6-4
over Fernando Verdasco. Zverev
\TP]bAPUPT[ lost just nine points on serve.
=PSP[fW^ In women's first-round
action, 15th-seeded Madison
[^bcX]cWT Keys held off unseeded CoCo
cWXaSa^d]SPc Vandeweghe for a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
win. Vandeweghe fought off three
<^]caTP[fX[[ match points in the final game
before hitting a forehand into the
aTcda]c^=^ net for an unforced error on Keys'
fWT]]Tf fourth match point.
Earlier, 2016 Olympic singles
0C?aP]ZX]Vb gold medalist Monica Puig lost to
fellow qualifier Taylor Townsend,
PaTaT[TPbTS 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
^]0dVdbc!  In what promised to be the
day's most balanced match,
CWTB_P]XPaS women's No 32 Carla Suarez
Navarro got past 31st-ranked
fX[[QT=^ Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, 6-3, 7-5.
U^acWTUXabc Other's men's matches saw
wild card Frances Tiafoe beat
cX\TbX]RT qualifier Maximilian Marterer
6-3, 7-6 (2), and qualifier Joao
9d[h%! # Sousa defeat Kyle Edmund 6-3, 2-
6, 6-3.
Richard Gasquet and wild
er John-Patrick Smith 6-4, 6-4,
and Paul beat fellow American
Donald Young 6-4, 7-6 (4).
8=3800;>B41H!"$AD=B0608=BCB>DC705A8200
?A4C>A80) ?dccX]V d_ P] PQYTRc QPccX]V SXb_[Ph
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0UaXRPQh!"$ad]bc^caPX[cWTcf^\PcRWbTaXTb 
Ivo Karlovic ousted Jiri
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Also advancing in fTaT P[[ ^dc U^a !  X] cWTXa bTR^]S X]]X]Vb fXcW
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Fognini, a 7-6 (5), 6-4 BcPacX]VcWTSPhPc (!U^abXg8]SXP0PSSTS^][h (
winner over Daniil ad]bPbcWTh[^bccWaTTfXRZTcbEXYPhBWP]ZPafW^
Medvedev, whereas V^cX]YdaTSX]cWTUXabcX]]X]VbSXS]^cR^\T^dcc^
qualifier Mitchell QPc 8c fPb P _^^a bW^f Qh 8]SXP 0 Pb cWTh fTaT
Krueger, 6-2, 6-1 over ^dcR[PbbTSQhcWTW^bcbX]P[[ST_Pac\T]cbSdaX]VcWT
\PcRW5^acWTaTR^aS]^cPbX]V[T8]SXP]QPcb\T]
B enoit Paire; and
Feliciano Lopez, 7-6 R^d[SRa^bbWP[URT]cdah\PaZX]Q^cWX]]X]VbfXcW
(5), 6-1 over Hyeon 0]ZXc1Pf]Tb#%QTX]VcWTc^_bR^aT
Chung.
In other women's 0=0=3BC0ACB103;H8=BC;>D8BA0?83
BC ;>D8B DB0) 5^a\Ta f^a[S RWP\_X^]
matches, Roberta
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AP_XS P]S 1[Xci RWTbb c^da]P\T]c P _Pac ^U cWT
Camila Giorgi ousted
Katerina Siniakova 6- 6aP]S2WTbbC^da7PeX]VS^]TQaX[[XP]c[hU^aPY^X]c
bTR^]S_[PRTX]cWTYdbcR^]R[dSTSBX]`dTUXT[S2d_
2, 6-2; Yulia Putintseva
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outlasted Veronica
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fPb_TVVTSQPRZQhP]^_T]X]Va^d]S[^bbPVPX]bc
6-3; and Daria Kasatkina
rushed past qualifier
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P]^cWTaSTQPR[TPVPX]bc;Te^]0a^]XP]^U0a\T]XP
Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-4, X]cWTcWXaSa^d]SCWTbTR^]Sa^d]SWPST]STSX]
6-2. Also, 14th-seeded Petra
Kvitova rallied past Anett
PSaPfU^a0]P]SPVPX]bc;T]XTa3^\X]VdTi
Kontaveit 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3;
Beatriz Haddad Maia topped
?D=4>DC2;0BB14=60;8=?:;
07<430103) I^]T 0 cTP\ ?d]TaX ?P[cP]b
Lauren Davis 6-3, 6-2; and ^dcR[PbbTSI^]T1bXST1T]VP[FPaaX^ab"# &X]P]
Lesia Tsurenko defeated
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
X]cTai^]T?a^:PQPSSX;TPVdT?:;R^]cTbcPccWT
CaP]bbcPSXP0aT]PWTaT^]CdTbSPhc^\PX]cPX]cWTXa
5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-0.
Kristina Mladenovic,
bTR^]S _^bXcX^] X] cWT Va^d_ bcP]SX]Vb ?P[cP]
R^\QX]TSfT[[c^_d[[^UUP]P[[a^d]S_TaU^a\P]RT
seeded 13th, became fXcW ZTh _TaU^a\P]RTb Ua^\ STUT]STab BP]STT_
the first seeded play-
er to lose, beaten by
=PafP[&_^X]cbP]S6XaXbW4a]PZ#_^X]cbP[^]V
fXcWaPXSTa61<^aT%_^X]cbc^WT[_cWTXabXSTfX]
Daria Gavrilova 6-0, Qh P \PbbXeT &_^X]c \PaVX] 1T]VP[ UPX[TS c^
7-6 (6). R^\QX]TfT[[PbPd]XcX]TXcWTaWP[U 0VT]RXTb

:^W[XbRP_cPX]Rh 5DKXO'KDZDQJDLQELJLQUDQNLQJV CWPaP]VPc^[TPS;P]ZPX]

bX\X[Pac^?^]cX]Vb K >38bTaXTbPVPX]bc8]SXP
?C8Q 3D108

L Rahul broke into the top-10 at 9th,

while Shikhar Dhawan also attained ?C8Q ?0;;4:4;4
?C8Q 274==08 a career-high position of 28th in the lat-
est ICC Test rankings after India's clean-

F ormer Australia batsman Mike Hussey feels that

Virat Kohli's aggressive style of captaincy is quite
similar with that of Ricky Ponting.
"Kohli has been brilliant. I like the way he cap-
tains. I like his aggressive nature and his will to win.
He had this desire to push his team as far as he could.
He set very high standards during training and in the
game. I do see some similarities with Ponting. The
will to win, that competitiveness," Hussey said.
The Australian team will be in India next month
for a limited overs series and Hussey reckons it will
be very competitive.
"It will be a good series hopefully. They play their
one-day cricket well. They have some good players
and have won some good (ODI) series here over the
years, though not in the Tests. The key will be to not
rely on any one player. It is not one person that is the
key. Everyone needs to know what their job is and
perform as well as they can," said Hussey.
He said though the Indians would be confident
after a comprehensive victory in the Test series in Sri
Lanka, a (ODI) series against Australia would be dif-
ferent. "I am sure their confidence will be high after
the Sri Lanka series. They also have an excellent lim-
ited-overs team. However, a ODI series against
Australia is different," he said of the Indians.
Currently in
India for a stint as
an expert commen-
tator in the ongoing
Tamil Nadu
Premier League
(TNPL), Hussey
also spoke highly
sweep of Sri Lanka in a three-match series.
Left-hander Dhawan, who top-scored
with 119 in the final Test in Pallekele, has
moved up 10 places to 28th position after
India won inside three days on Monday.
This was the Delhi batsman's second cen-
tury in three Tests as he finished with 358
runs and was named player of the series.
Rahul has moved up two positions to
equal his career-best ninth position after
a contribution of 85 in the opening stand
of 188 that came in under 40 overs.
Rahul thus equalled his career-best
ninth rank attained in July this year but
the present tally of 761 ratings points is
his highest till date.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya's 96-
ball knock of 108 has seen him gain 45
positions to reach a career-best 68th rank
among batsmen, while pace bowlers
Mohammad Shami (up one place to 19th
position) and Umesh Yadav (up one place
up to a career- best 21st position) have
gained among bowlers.
There was good news for Chinaman
bowlers too as India's Kuldeep Yadav and
Sri Lanka's Lakshan Sandakan have
made rapid strides.
Kuldeep, coming in for Ravindra
Jadeja, has moved up 29 slots to 58th place
after returning with figures of four for 40
and one for 56, while Sandakan's haul of
five for 132 has helped him gain 16 places
8]SXPbBWXZWPa3WPfP]aXVWcP]S;^ZTbWAPWd[X]PRcX^]PVPX]bcBaX;P]ZP[PbcBPcdaSPh
to reach 57th position.
Other Sri Lanka players to move up
in the rankings include batsmen Dinesh
Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella.
Chandimal has gained two slots to reach
33rd position while Dickwella has gained
seven slots to reach a career-best 61st posi-
tion.
In the list for all-rounders, Jadeja has
lost the top slot to Bangladesh's Shakib Al
Hassan after missing the Pallekele Test
owing to a one-match suspension after
accumulating six demerit points inside a
24-month period. Jadeja has slipped one
point behind Shakib's tally of 431 points
but remains at the top of the bowling
0?
rankings.
Top-ranked India and seventh-placed
Sri Lanka have retained their positions in
the team rankings with India gaining two
points to reach 125 points, increasing its
lead over South Africa to 15 points.
Meanwhile, England hosts the West
Indies for a three-Test series starting
Thursday, which it may have to win in
order to remain in third position, depend-
ing on the results of a two-Test series
between Bangladesh and Australia that
starts later this month but ends earlier on
8 September.
Australia will go up to 101 points if
it wins the series 2-0.
Stheenior batsman Upul Tharanga will
lead a 15-man Sri Lanka squad in
five-match ODI series against
India that begins in Dambulla on
Sunday.
Tharanga endured a horrendous
Test series against India, scoring only
88 runs in six innings, which Sri
Lanka lost by a comprehensive 0-3
margin.
But the upcoming series will be the
left-handed batsman's first in-charge of
the team after Angelo Mathews gave up
the ODI captaincy post the 2-3 loss
against Zimbabwe at home in July.
While Mathews is still part of the "Every team goes through a rough
squad, seasoned pacer Lasith Malinga patch," he said.
has also made a comeback. "This is something that happens in
There are two other changes from cycles to every team and every nation
the Sri Lankan squad which featured no matter how great a cricketing
in the last three ODIs against nation they are. The support of our fans
Zimbabwe. plays a big role in lifting the morale of
Pacer Nuwan Pradeep and all- the team.
rounder Asela Gunaratne are out due "We play for our country and our
to injuries and their places in the side goal is to bring pride to our family of
has been taken by young fast bowler 20 million in this nation - so your sup-
Lahiru Kumara and left-arm spinner port is something that matters greatly
Malinda Pushpakumara, who both to us," Tharanga added.
featured in the recent Test series Sri Lanka last played India in an
against the Indians. ODI series in November 2014-15 (in
Skipper Tharanga has called for India) and were blanked 0-5.
support from his countrymen ahead of The Islanders, however, upset India
what should prove to be another tough in their group game at the Oval in the
outing against the higher-ranked India. recent Champions Trophy.

9^TYQ^dUQ]X_Ycdc :_UZRdef_5feTY#"SRXdVcZVd
of the present
Australia captain
Steven Smith, who
he said had

dbYS_\_ebY^;Q^Ti
improved a lot over
the years and had
scored runs consis- ?C8Q 0<BC4A30< Sumit win a PC for India, and
tently. this time they tried a different
"Smith has ?C8Q ?0;;4:4;4 urjant Singh and Mandeep variation that worked like
been brilliant. He
reads the game well. he Indian cricket team on
G Singh scored a goal apiece
as a resolute Indian men's
magic with striker Mandeep
deflecting into the goal to dou-
It obviously agreed
with his own bat-
T Tuesday celebrated the nation's
70th Independence Day here with
hockey team overcome World
No 4 Netherlands 2-1 in an
ble India's lead to 2-0.
Soon after, the Dutch won
ting. Since he has captain Virat Kohli hoisting the tri- exciting encounter here. a PC but debutant goalkeeper
been captain, his form has been incredible as well. colour in the presence of the entire Led by Manpreet Singh, the Suraj Karkera was up to the task
He has been an excellent captain as well," the former squad. team on Monday night featured to defend. With final three
CSK player said. Kohli also wished his country- nine players from the junior minutes remaining, Dutch for-
He singled out young Tamil Nadu all-rounder men back home on the occasion and team, but still beat an experi- wards made three strong shots
Washington Sundar for special praise and said the said 15th August has always been when I was a kid in Delhi. I really enced Netherlands squad on goal but an alert Karkera
lanky player had a lot of talent. "special" for him since childhood as enjoyed the day seeing the Indian through goals from Gurjant kept them from converting.
About the return of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) the day is also his father's birthday. flag wave everywhere you look," he (4th minute) and Mandeep However, Saander de Wijn
for next year's IPL, the dynamic left-hander, who "I want to wish you all a very Happy said. (51). India, thus, won the three- through a PC scored in the 58th
played for the franchise for a few years, said,"I am very Independence Day. My heart is "So really enjoy the day, feel match series. minute but that didn't stop
excited about CSK being back. I have great memo- filled with the pride of being an your heart with the pride of being India straightaway sought India from walking away with
ries (of CSK) as a player. Love the franchise. There Indian everyday. But this particular an Indian and always keep that feel- to put pressure on the home a 2-1 win.
will be challenges with the team coming back after day enhances this feeling to an alto- ing alive. Jai Hind," Kohli added. team and the positive intent "I think we played well in
two years out." gether different level, Kohli said in The 15-member Indian squad, worked as they drew first blood Qureshi made a great attempt tunities count with Chikte stay- all departments to win against
Hussey believes that CSK can replicate the suc- a video message posted on his offi- alongside the support staff were in through a penalty corner to take India's lead to 2-0 with ing up to the challenge. the Netherlands. They are a
cess that they had with Dhoni as the captain. cial twitter handle. attendance as Kohli and coach awarded in the fourth minute. a shot on goal but it went slight- With a 1-0 lead, the third very experienced team with
"They had a fantastic run with Mahendra Singh "It's also a special day for me for Ravi Shastri stepped ahead and While it was Varun Kumar ly wide. quarter saw Netherlands make more than eight players with
Dhoni as captain. Stephen Fleming did a fantastic job more than one reason. It's also my unfurled the national flag. who attempted the dragflick Though the Dutch tried to desperate attempts to come over 100 International Caps. So,
as a coach, plus they had good support staff and good father's birthday so this day always The flag hoisting ceremony which was padded away by the make amends when they won back into the game but India to beat them we had to come up
owner that allowed the players their way. These were used to be very special for me and was followed by the National Dutch keeper, Gurjant was a penalty corner in the early absorbed the pressure well, with something special.
ingredients to build a successful team. If they do things my family," he added. Anthem. quick to pick up the rebound minutes of the second quarter, only to execute a stronger "I am very happy with the
right, there is no reason why the CSK can't be suc- On this occasion, Kohli also The Indian cricket team, which and work his reverse stick magic the flick was brilliantly saved by defensive structure that kept the way the entire team performed
cessful again," Hussey said. remembered how he used to cele- whitewashed hosts Sri Lanka 3-0 in to put the ball high up into the India goalkeeper Akash Chikte. Dutch from scoring. as one unit especially the play-
Asked if he would be interested in a coaching job brate the Independence Day with the three-match Test series on net and score his first interna- That didn't deter the Dutch side The final 15 minutes saw ers making their debut. They
at CSK, he said, "I loved playing for the team. I have his friends and family when he was Monday, is now gearing up for five tional goal for the men's side. who attempted a full press and India increase their intensity in showed no sign of nervousness
great friendships here and a strong rapport with CSK. a child. "My fondest memories of ODIs and one-off Twenty20 game, India continued the strong even put India under pressure attack with Gurjant winning a and played with a lot of confi-
If there is an opportunity, I would be very interest- this particular day are of course fly- starting with the first 50-over attack as they made forays into by winning three more PCs, but PC, but it was saved. dence," said an elated skipper
ed, for sure." ing kites with friends and family encounter in Dambulla on Aug 20. the striking circle. Armaan they could not make the oppor- The following minute saw Manpreet after the series win.
 YUNNAN DAILY PRESS GROUP The Pioneer Vol.42 Wednesday, August 16, 2017 english.yunnan.cn

Lao-China
App-ing away to an Dali University goes international Bank Boten
active, healthier life Branch
Luo Rongchan at university, 4 types of

L ast year, I activated

the fitness tracking
function in Chinas most
popular instant messag-
ing app WeChat in a bid
to stay fit. By opting for
an account that pulls mo-
tion data from my smart-
phone and auto-counts
my steps, I was ranked
against my account peers
based on the number of
steps I took everyday.
I was motivated to
LQWHQVLI\ P\ H[HUFLVH UH-
gime after seeing people
I knew taking far more
steps than me, and to
catch up, I began using a
treadmill while holding
my phone in hand.
The WeChat sports
function, launched in
2015, has become quite
popular. Nearly 900 mil-
lion people were using
it at the end of last year.
The popularity of such
fitness motivators shows
that people are becoming
more conscious about the
quality of their life and
the importance of staying
healthy.
Annual surveys by
the National Health and
Family Planning Com-
mission of Peoples Re-
public of China on public
health awareness show
that people have become
Tea gardens help lift border
towns out of poverty
more health conscious.
And that among all the
stay healthy messages,
having an active lifestyle
is the one most followed.
,Q %HLMLQJ IRU H[-
ample, people swarm to
the Olympic Forest Park
to jog or walk regularly.
And its not just young
SHRSOH ZKR H[HUW WKHP-
selves in this way. The
elderly can be seen in
groups briskly walking
the same routes.
The government has
launched public health
education programs, and
even issued food and
nutrition guidelines that
recommend people eat
less red meat and engage
LQPRUHSK\VLFDOH[HUFLV-
es such as brisk walking.
My father is in his
early 70s. Now, he too
uses the WeChat sports
function. After he learned
that I was trying to walk
10,000 steps a day, he
strived to cover a few
more steps than me.
That, as my moth-
er later told me, was a
distant hello and I am
doing well and miss you
from my father. Im glad
the governments health
message has hit home.
(Shan Juan,adapted
from China Daily)
M d Shaneed Ansari, a
handsome college stu-
dent from Nepal, just started
his masters degree program
at Dali University,located in
west Yunnan. After learning
the reputation of the Uni-
versity at home, he decided
to realize his dream of be-
coming a doctor here.
In the past decade, the
university has trained more
than 2,000 international
students from South and
Southeast Asian countries.
As of May this year, the
university has 1,036 inter-
national students from 23
countries, ranking first in
Yunnan and 12th in China
in terms of the number of
international students.
80% Indian students
SDVVTXDOLFDWLRQH[DP
Manoj Kumar Vashisth
came from India. He is now
a graduate student majoring
in medical science at Dali
University. He said, Its
great to study here. The
university and its affiliated
hospitals have worked out
good internship programs
for medical trainees under
WKH PRVW H[SHULHQFHG GRF-
tors. The clinical guidance
LVH[FHOOHQW
Doctor is a popular oc-
Students from South Asian countries participate in the annual cricket match at Dali Univeristy
(Photo provided by Dali University)
cupation in South Asian and ating from Dali University
Southeast Asian countries. passed Indias national
The majority of students TXDOLFDWLRQVZKLOHWKHUDWH
passing the qualification for Pakistani and Nepalese
H[DPLQDWLRQIRUSK\VLFLDQV students are even higher.
can get a job at public hos- The teaching approach
pitals with a decent salary. of the university has also
These students find been recognised by the
it a good choice to study international community.
medicinal science in China. Dali University has been
Because it is close to their included in the internation-
home country, and the qual- al medical education direc-
ity of teaching and teachers tory and Avi Sena medical
are good. Courses are basi- school student directory.
cally given in English and Its degrees have been
there are advanced medical recognised by the British
equipment and hospitals for Medical Association, the
internship. The most impor- American Academic Med-
tant thing is that the tuition LFDO 4XDOLILFDWLRQ ([DP-
is affordable. According to ination Committee, India
statistics, more than 80% of Medical Association, Ne-
the Indian students gradu- pal Medical Association,
How Chinese dairy industry
stages a comeback
Pakistan Medical Associa-
tion and more.
([SHULHQFH D GLYHUVH
campus culture
In 2002, the university
ODXQFKHGLWVUVWLQWHUQDWLRQ-
al student program, admit-
ting overseas students from
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia
and other Southeast Asian
countries. Starting 2005, its
MBBS program began to
enroll students from India,
Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh
and other South Asian coun-
tries. The medical major has
been quite popular with 505
South Asian graduates over
the past 11 years.
In order to attract more
outstanding students to study
scholarships were launched
for international students.
Students from South Asian
countries can apply for the
Belt and Road Scholarship
granted by Yunnan provin-
cial government. The uni-
versity grants 2-million-yuan
scholarships each year.
International students at
Dali University can not only
receive high-quality clinical
knowledge, but also learn
the Chinese language, cul-
ture and etiquette.
In order to better help
South Asian students, Dali
University recruited Indian
faculty to be responsible
for the management and
accommodation of overseas
students so as to better cater
to their needs.
Students from South
Asian countries have also
set up their own students
associations. They often
organize various recrea-
tional activities to celebrate
traditional festivals of their
countries. Annual cricket
match is also organised
for South Asian students
on campus and from other
colleges. In order to take
care of the students eat-
ing habits, South Asian
canteen with Indian chefs
was opened, thus they see
the university as a second
home.
opens
Yang Shuyan
T he Boten Branch of the
/DR&KLQD%DQNRIFLDO-
ly opened in Boten Economic
Zone of Laos, marking a new
step of Yunnans financial
opening up under the Belt
and Road Initiative, and ush-
HULQJDQHZFKDSWHULQWKH-
nancial settlement in northern
Laos.
The Lao-China Bank was
jointly proposed and invested
by Fudian Bank of Yunnan
and Lao Peoples Foreign
7UDGH%DQN$VWKHUVW&KL-
na-Laos joint venture finan-
cial institution approved by
the Lao Central Bank and the
UVWRYHUVHDVEDQNVXEVLGLDU\
approved by Chinas Bank-
ing Regulatory Commission,
it has been providing differ-
entiated products with local
FKDUDFWHULVWLFVDQGVDIHHI-
cient and convenient services
to the local market since its
inception three years ago. By
virtue of the policy advantag-
es of the economic zone, the
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serving cross-border cooper-
ation based on the demands
of the regional customer and
cross-border markets.
Flower park
attracts 589
million yuan
T he Yunnan Flower Demon-
stration Park has attracted
589 million yuan ($87.58 mil-

A s long as one set foot

on the land of Teng-
chong, the rich yet refresh-
ing tea aroma would soothe
ones mind.
Located in the west of
Yunnan Province, Teng-
c h o n g s i t s o n C h i n a s
famous Cenozoic volcano
groups. The soil here is rich
in organic matters and nitro-
gen, phosphorus, potassium
and trace elements, making
it ideal for the growth of
tea. As one of the top 100
tea plantation areas in Chi-
na, Tengchong has 24,710
acres of tea plantations, of
which around 247 acres
are certified as organic
tea gardens, around 1,235
acres are green ecological
tea gardens, and more than
DFUHVDUHFHUWLHGDV
pollution-free gardens. In
2016, Tengchong black tea,
green tea, oolong tea, white
tea, dark green tea are local
brands with Chinas nation-
al geographical indications
H[DPLQHGDQGDSSURYHGE\
the national trademark au-
thorities.
Chen Yazhong, Chair-
person of Tengchong Gaol-
igong Ecological Tea Co.,
Ltd. told reporters that she
was thrilled when she found
the ancient tea trees in the
mountains 34 years ago.
Starting from scratch, she
is now running a company
with 1,646 acres of tea plan-
tations, employing more
than 50,000 households, di-
rectly benefiting more than
180,000 tea farmers. The
companys output reached
28.5 million US Dollars,
increasing local farmers
annual income by around 9
million.
Shao Cunfen is a tea
farmer of Xinghua Village,
Mazhan Township. She
has been doing odd jobs
for the company over the
past years. According to
her, the company raised
the purchase price of fresh
tea leaves, and advanced
the cost for nursery stocks
and organic fertilizers,
largely relieving the bur-
den of local farmers. Each
household can get an an-
nual income of up to 1,200
yuan from each mu (1 mu
equals to around 667 m)
of their tea plantations.
Tengchong teas are
most unique among their
peers, said Xu Jiaobao,
h e a d o f t h e Te n g c h o n g
Agriculture Bureau, the
combination of characteris-
tic plateau agriculture and
tourism would rejuvenate
our agriculture and increase
the farmers income.
(Dahe.cn)
Editors Note: In this is-
sue, the column will focus on
Chinas supply side reforms
and how the countrys dairy
industry has staged a come-
back.
/L-LHLVDUVWOLQHPDQ-
ager at Wandashan Dairy
Company Limited, located in
northeast Chinas Heilong-
jiang Province. Over the past
16 years, she has witnessed
the shift from raising free-
range calves to more scientif-
ic breeding methods and how
the domestic dairy industry
has staged a comeback.
Li Jie found that every
one of her peers wishes to
raise good cows and produce
good milk. They are always
trying to get better.
/L-LHUVWEHJDQWRZRUN
at Harbin Pingda Breeding
Factory after graduating from
university. Back then, we
did not know which kinds
Li Jie inspects the dairy products.
conditions were best suited to
raising cows. Our place was
thinly populated and had vast
meadows, so we raised cows
in a free-range environment,
Li Jie said.
After a year, Li Jie be-
came a member of the milk
sourcing project office. She
learned to do research and
(Photo by People's Daily)
of the companies sources at
all their milk stations.
In order to produce milk
that is more nutritious and
tastes better, calves, growing
cows and lactating cows,
gradually are provided their
own living spaces. On the
large ranches, cows are fed
with nutritious food and
even listen to music and sleep
on beds made of rubber and
sponges.
Quality and safety are
the lifelines of making dairy
products. I deeply feel
that product quality is like
a delicate baby. It must be
taken good care of to grow
up healthy and strong, Li Jie
said. How can we keep milk
fresh for a long time? How
can we prevent raw milk
from being contaminated by
PLFUREHV":KHQ\RXQGWKH
answers to these questions,
the product quality can be
assured.
Now, Im mainly re-
sponsible for the production
department. Im most con-
cerned about the quality of in-
fant dairy products. She said,
Production and supply must
keep pace with the needs of
our customers. Otherwise,
who will buy our products?
lion) in investments brought
from nine domestic projects be-
tween January and June of this
year, accounting for 51 percent
of its 1.15 billion yuan target.
T h a n k s t o t h e p a r k s
management efforts, huge de-
velopment progress has been
witnessed during the first half
of the year, strengthening the
parks leadership in agriculture
and special plateau industries.
A project commenced last
September, establishing 5.65
million cubic metres of biogas
pipe capable of treating 396
metric tons of fruit and vegeta-
ble wastes.
Since the beginning of this
year, the park has focused on
processing of agricultural prod-
ucts, urban agricultural tourism
and the construction on unique
towns in Yunnan. The park will
allocate more resources to at-
tract additional investments for
upcoming projects.
Wooden bowl:
Palm-on signature of Tibetans
Liu Xiao
I n northwest Yunnans
Diqing Tibetan Auton-
o mous P r e f e c tu r e , th e
wooden bowl means a lot.
It is not only a necessity
in daily life, but also a sig-
nature of status. It is the
generation-to-generation
use that gives rise to the
unique Tibetan culture.
Nanlang village of
Benzilan is located at the
foot of the Baimang snow
mountain and on the
bank of the Jinsha River.
Strolling in the village,
we noticed that most vil-
lagers can make wooden
handicrafts at their own
homes.
,Q 1DQODQJ WKH<L[L
handicrafts enjoy the big-
JHVWIDPH7KH<L[LIDPLO\
has involved in wood-
en-bowl making for gener-
ations. To better promote
the wood-bowl, he set up
WKH<L[L 7LEHWDQ FXOWXUH
industry company, which
is the biggest manufactur-
er of the Tibetan wooden
handicrafts in Diqing.
Adopting the
half-family and half-mill
SURGXFWLRQPRGH<L[LVWLOO
Xiyi(right) introduces his hand-made wooden bowls to a tourist.
sticks to the plain hand
making, which is by no
means easy in fact. From
material selection to pol-
ishing, shining, drawing,
painting and japanning,
10 plus procedures are
involved. Finally, the ja-
panned items will be dried
up in the cellar, which is
also a inherited produc-
tion skill.
In my family mill,
it takes us 7-10 days to
make a wooden bowl. A
first-rate bowl can cost
10 thousand US dollars,
while the cheapest ones
are around ten dollars,
(Online Photo)
VDLG<L[L
Thanks to the superb
VNLOOV DQG H[TXLVLWHQHVV
<L[LV ZRRGHQ ERZOV DUH
not only well accepted in
Diqing and other Tibetan
areas, but also sold to
neighboring countries,
such as Nepal.
In recent years, tour-
ism in Diqing is booming,
which gives a strong pull
to the market demand of
ethnic crafts. Meanwhile,
<L[L DOVR GHYHORSHG QHZ
products such as brace-
OHWVWHDERZOVWHDER[HV
All are popular souvenir
choices by tourists.
of weather and environment
Indian and Egyptian photographers portray Lijiang
C elebrated photogra-
phers from home and
abroad have been invited
to pay a special visit to the
city of Lijiang recently, to
take part in a event entitled
Lijiang, in the eyes of the
world.
Among the invitees
Yunlong Tianchi Nature Reserve:
Where man and nature exist in harmony
Tang Jingchun
Editors note: Yunnan is
the province with the most
abundant biodiversity in Chi-
na, and is often referred to as
the kingdom of plants and
animals. In this issue, we
will take you on a tour of the
provinces Yunlong Tianchi
National Nature Reserve.
Recently, we made three
tours of Yunlong Tianchi Na-
tional Nature Reserve. After
driving westwards from the
seat of Yunlong County,lo-
cated in northwest Yunnan,
along a winding road for
more than 20 kilometres, we
found ourselves in a relative-
ly low-lying area surrounded
by mountains and dense pine
carried out a general survey
are 7 famous photogra-
phers, including Indian
photographer Abhijit
D e y, a n d G o l d Aw a r d
winner of International
Film Festival; Ahmed
Mohamed Hassan, an
Egyptian scenery pho-
tographer and gold medal
forest. We were stunned by
what we saw -- blue skies,
white clouds, green moun-
tains, crystal clear water, all
imbued with the fragrance of
pine and grass.
Here is the home of
Pinus yunnanensis, said Yin
thermostatic water. The cows
winner of international
photography awards; and
Gong Zheng, former vice
president of Chinas Folk
Photography Association
and honorary chairman
RI -LDQJ[L 3KRWRJUDSKHUV
Association.
Outstanding works shot
Ruihe, deputy director of
the Yunlong Tianchi Nature
Reserve Administration. The
nature reserve, home to a
forest of Pinus yunnanensis,
is an endemic natural setting
for the trees. Tsuga yunnan-
ensis, more commonly called
(Ke Zhongjia/Peoples Daily)
during the event will be
compiled and published as
a tribute to the 20th anni-
versary of the accreditation
of the Old Town of Lijiang
as a World Heritage site.
They took pictures of the
old towns water system,
and they will also focus on
hemlock, is the second larg-
est plant species here.
This is the home of Chi-
nese yews, said Tang Yum-
ing, director of the Tianchi
Police Station. He went on
to tell us that the yews are a
first-grade endangered plant
FVDH[SRFRP
WKH EXLOGLQJ FRPSOH[HV
food, traditional hand-
icrafts and more of the
town. They are also going
to visit Shuhe and Baisha
towns, introduced the
staff of the event.
(Compiled by Yunnan
Daily)
species that survived previous
ice ages. They grow slowly
in natural conditions and are
referred to as living fossils.
Heres the southernmost
habitat of the Yunnan snub-
nosed monkey, said Li
Quanzhang, deputy director
of the Yunlong Tianchi Na-
ture Reserve Administration.
He said,In the past
few years, we have been
H[SORULQJVWDQGDUGL]HGVFL-
HQWLFDQGLQIRUPDWLRQEDVHG
management policies for the
nature reserve. With a mobile
phone application called
Patrol Assistant, rangers can
collect and sort out resource
data in real-time. Every
square kilometre of the na-
ture reserve is monitored by
infrared cameras.