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The Centre on Thursdaydispatched a high-level

team to probe the death of 100infants in a Kota hospital inRajasthan even as Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi summoned the party’s Stateincharge to Delhi over theissue and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot sent a detailedreport to her.

While Gehlot said the issueis being raked up to divertattention from anti-CAAprotests, Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath andBSP supremo Mayawatislammed Congress general sec-retary Priyanka Gandhi andparty leader Rahul Gandhi fortheir alleged indifference to the tragedy.

The Centre has dispatcheda high-level team comprisingexperts from AIIMS Jodhpurand health economists to Kota.Union Health Minister HarshVardhan said the Centre wasready to provide any technicalhelp or assistance.

“Let us ensure no child suc-

cumbs to preventable causes ordue to lack of health systemcapacity,” Vardhan wrote toGehlot, who has urged the

Union Health Minister to visitthe State-run JK Lon hospitalin Kota and see for himself the“best facilities” provided there.

Expressing concern,Gehlot said the alarming sta-tistic is in fact an improvementover what the previous

Vasundhara Raje-led BJPGovernment had recorded atthe same hospital.

“Government cites figures

to say child casualties in JK LonHospital in Kota have reducedto 963 this year from 1,260 in2015 and 1,193 in 2016 whenthe State was ruled by the BJP.In 2018, 1,005 children losttheir lives here,” tweeted Gehlotdefending his Government.The hospital in Kota is about250 kms from the Jaipur.

The State Government inits report admitted that some ofthe incubators at the hospitalused for newborns were not inproper working condition. Thecommittee, led by secretarymedical education and seniordoctors who visited the hospi-tal on December 27 to investi-gate the matter, also pointedout that the extreme cold hasmade it tougher for babies,already fighting for their life, tosurvive their illnesses.

Sonia discussed the tragedywith Avinash Pandey, who isthe chief of the RajasthanCongress. Talking to media,Pandey said the Congress chiefis “upset” and “wanted to knowthe reason for the deaths”.

Yogi and Mayawati target-ed the Congress over infantdeaths at a Rajasthan hospital,

saying party general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi should havegone there to console the chil-dren’s mothers instead of “playing politics” in UP. OtherBJP leaders have also attackedthe Congress-led Governmentin Rajasthan over 100 deaths inDecember at the Kota hospital.

Attacking Priyanka andSonia, the UP Chief Ministersaid it was extremely sad thatdespite being women bothcould not feel the pain of themothers.

In a series of tweets inHindi, Yogi said, “The death of100 innocent children isextremely saddening and heart-wrenching. The death of chil-dren is a blot on a civilised soci-ety, human values and feelings.”

“It is extremely sad thatCongress president SoniaGandhi and general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra,despite being women, are notable to understand the sorrowof the mothers,” he added. Hesaid it would have been better“had Priyanka met and consoled the aggrieved moth-ers instead of indulging in pol-itics in UP”.

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A20-year-old firefighter diedwhile 17 others were

injured after an Okaya batterygodown was engulfed in ablaze in northwest Delhi’sPeeragarhi following an explo-sion due to fire early onThursday morning.

Firefighter Amit KumarBalyan, a fire operator withDelhi Fire Services (DFS) post-ed at Kirti Nagar fire stationand a resident of Delhi’sShahdara area, died after hewas trapped in the debris of aportion of a factory buildingwhich collapsed in the fire, saidpolice, adding that the incidentwill be probed by its CrimeBranch. Delhi Home MinisterSatyendar Jain visited the spotand ordered a magisterialenquiry.

Police said Amit wasadmitted to Sri Balaji ActionMedical Institute and suc-cumbed to his injuries duringthe treatment.

Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal condoledAmit’s death and announcedan ex gratia of �1 crore to the

family of the firefighter.According to Atul Garg,

Director, DFS, a call regardinga blaze in a factory located atUdyog Nagar in Peeragarhiwas received at 4.23 am fol-lowing which firefightersrushed to the spot.

“While the firemen weredousing the fire, a large portionof the two-storey building col-lapsed following an explosion.The National Disaster

Response Force, CAT and civilauthorities rushed to the spotto control the situation and atotal of 35 fire tenders were atthe spot,” said Garg.

“The fire was broughtunder control by noon. All thefiremen, who were trappedunder the debris, were res-cued,” said Garg.

Police said eighteen peoplewere rescued, including twocaretakers and a security

guard. “A total of 14 injuredwere firefighters. The otherinjured also included a securi-ty guard and two workers ofthe godown. They all wererushed to nearby hospitals,”said a senior police official.

Initial investigationrevealed that it was outlet-cum-godown of Okaya batter-ies and the fire was in the base-ment of the building used forstoring batteries, said police.

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NCP general secretary DPTripathi, known for his

political acumen and wit,passed away on Thursday hereafter battling cancer for a pro-longed period, his family said.He was 67.Describing Tripathias a scholar, NCP chief SharadPawar said he was a perfectblend of diligence and intelli-gence. “A firm voice who tooka stand for my party as aspokesperson and general sec-retary. He has been with ussince the establishment of theNationalist Congress Party andplayed a very important role atthe national level. His demiseis a personal loss to me. Mayhis soul rest in peace!” hetweeted.

Party MP Supriya Sulesaid Tripathi was a guide andmentor. “We will miss his wisecounsel and guidance which hehad given us from the day theNCP was established,” she said.

“May he rest in peace. Mythoughts and prayers are withhis family members. Heartfeltcondolences,” Sule said.

Known in Delhi’s politicalcircles as an erudite personal-ity, Tripathi began his career asa students’ leader. He was thepresident of the JawaharlalNehru Students Union(JNUSU) from 1975-77 andwas even jailed during theEmergency.

Tripathi, who was visual-

ly challenged, had also been alecturer of political science atthe Allahabad University.

From becoming a closeaide to former Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi to growing closeto NCP president Pawar,Tripathi enjoyed warm rela-tions with leaders across partylines.He was known for hiswitty one-liners and his profi-ciency in Hindi and English.When there was a buzz aboutmerging of the NCP with theCongress, Tripathi had said,“We are there to emerge, notmerge.”

In the same breath, hesaid in Hindi, “Hum lay cha-hate hain, vilay nahi (We wantcoordination and not merger).”

During his stint as a par-liamentarian from 2012-2018,Tripathi’s attendance in theRajya Sabha was 98 per cent,despite battling cancer duringthat phase.

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The Delhi Metro onThursday launched free

high-speed WiFi services intrain coaches on its AirportExpress Line, the first suchfacility in any country in theSouth Asian region, officialssaid. The 22.7-km swankiestline on the Delhi Metro net-work has six stations. The WiFifacility, with 2 Mbps speed,inside train coaches on theAirport Line was launched byDMRC chief Mangu Singh ina running train on the AirportExpress Line.

The DMRC plans toextend the facility to Lines 1-6, officials said. WiFi facility isalready available on platformsof the Blue Line and theAirport Express Line, officialssaid. “At present undergroundmetro train WiFi facility isavailable in Russia, South Koreaand China. This is the first suchfacility in India and the SouthAsian region,” a senior officialsaid.

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While December 2019 wit-nessed harshest winters

in the last few decades andshattered records, the worst isyet to come. According toindependent weather monitoragency — Skymet, January willbe colder than December dueto heavy snowfall in hills andwestern disturbance which playcrucial role for Delhi weatherand air quality as well.

However on Thursday,Delhi recorded above normalmaximum temperature for thesecond consecutive day afterremaining in the grip of a pro-longed cold spell, the longestsince 1919.

According to the IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD), city recorded a high of23 degrees Celsius, three notch-es above normal, and a low of4.6 degrees Celsius, threedegrees below normal.

Beginning of January hasbrought much needed relief forpeople due to scattered sunrays

in atmosphere. “Due to this,night temperatures have alsoshown a rising trend, abatingthe cold wave,” Skymet said.

Skymet said winter is gov-

erned by the passage and inten-sity of western disturbancetravelling across WesternHimalayas. “This season hasseen series of weather systems

affecting North India.Frequency of western distur-bance was such that it has notlet the snow melt. Due to this,snowfall keeps on accumulat-ing, which is what is reflectingin the atmosphere over theplains as well,” it added.

Meanwhile updating week-ly weather forecast, the MeThas said the trance of westerndisturbance would continue inJanuary month.

Skymet weather expertssaid the western disturbanceswould not allow hilly region totake breather from the incessantrain and snow. “The first spellhas begun from January 1,which would continue tillJanuary 4. After a brief break onJanuary 5, rain and snow wouldpick up pace from January 6 tillJanuary 8,” he said.

The lowest maximum tem-perature during January wasrecorded at 9.8 degrees Celsiuson January 2, 2013 and the low-est minimum that year wasrecorded at 1.9 degree Celsiuson January 6, 2013.

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The Union Home Ministryhas set up a dedicated desk,

headed by an AdditionalSecretary, to look after all mat-ters related to the SupremeCourt judgment on theAyodhya temple issue.

In an official order, theUnion Home Ministry saidAyodhya matters and relatedcourt judgments will be han-dled by three officers, headedby Additional SecretaryGynesh Kumar.

The move follows theNovember 9 judgment of theSupreme Court which allowedconstruction of a Ram templeon the disputed site in Ayodha.The apex court also orderedhanding over of a 5-acre plot toUttar Pradesh Sunni WaqfBoard and setting up of a trustfor construction of the Ramtemple. The new wing of theHome Ministry, headed byKumar, will look after all mat-ters related to the Ayodhyaissue.

It is learnt that the UttarPradesh Government has senta proposal to the HomeMinistry suggesting three plotsin Ayodhya, one of which canbe given to UP Sunni Waqf Board.

There was a dedicatedAyodha cell in the HomeMinistry in the 1990s and early 2000s.

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Chhattisgarh Panchayat andRural Development

Minister T S Singhdeo said thebiggest challenge is to make‘Narwa, Garwa, Ghurwa andBaari (NGGB), the flagshipscheme of the StateGovernment, a self-sustainingmodel for rural areas.

The concept began in formof a cattle protection and man-agement, which was laterincluded in election manifestoof the Congress party. Later, itwas given the present form ofNGGB by Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel.

Interacting exclusively with‘The Pioneer’, Singhdeo said,activities of ‘Gau Rakshaks’across the country createdexcess cattle and in villages thestray bovines are damagingthe crops due to shortage offodder for all.

The villagers started to

leave them as stray cattle, caus-ing menace in both rural andurban areas, headded.Singhdeo said naturaldeath and death due to diseasesthough was preferred, therewas also a system earlier ofelimination or sale of unwant-ed and unutilised cattle earlier.

It was a running systemand it was absorbing the straycattle no matter whether one isin its favour or against, he said.

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Newly-appointed first everChief of Defence Staff

(CDS) General Bipin Rawat hasdirected various branch headsof Integrated Defence Staff inthe Defence Ministry to comeup with recommendations forinter-service synergy and joint-ness in time bound manner.He also asked the officers tofirm up the proposal by Junethis year to set up Air DefenceCommand to protect India'sairspace and common logisticssupport pools as part of syner-gy.

This directive comes inthe backdrop of the charter ofthe CDS to achieve optimalsynergy between the threeServices including the Army,Navy and IAF to fight modernday war. Moreover, the CDSwill also ensure maximum uti-lization of resources withinthe budgetary constraints tomaintain operational readi-ness and sustain the temp ofmodernisation.

On assuming charge as thefirst CDS, Rawat onWednesday held a meetingwith important functionaries ofthe Integrated Defence Staffhere, officials said on Thursday.

Besides directing that theproposal to create Air DefenceCommand be prepared by June30, 2020, he also set out prior-ities for execution of synergy byJune 30 and December, 312020. Some of the areas iden-tified for jointness and syner-gy include creation of commonlogistics support pools in sta-tions where two or more ser-vices have their presence.

Emphasising collegiate sys-tem of functioning, Rawatdirected that all three servicesand Coast Guard must be con-sulted and their views obtainedin a time bound manner.Decisions will, however, be

taken to ensure optimisation ofresources. Efforts will be madeto cut out infructuous cere-monial activities, which aremanpower intensive. The CDSstressed that all must worktowards accomplishing desiredresults and coming up withhealthy views and ideas.

After taking charge as theCDS on Wednesday, Rawathad said the armed forces stayfar away from politics. Hiscomments come in the back-drop of his recent commentscondemning student protestswhich drew sharp responsesfrom political parties and onsocial media.

"Armed forces stay faraway from politics. We workaccording to the directions ofthe Government in power," hesaid talking to the media afterreviewing a tri-service guard ofhonour outside South Block.

Stating that the task cut outfor the CDS is to integrate thethree services and enhancetheir capability, Rawat said theCDS will "remain neutral with-in the Service [Army] and to allthree services."

It is important to ensurethat the 1+1+1 combine of thethree services should add up tomore than 3 through synergy,he observed. "We have toachieve more through inte-gration. The synergised effortshould not be the sum total ofthe whole. It should be more,"

he observed adding his focuswill be to ensure best and opti-mal use of resources allocatedto the three services.

The mandate of CDSincludes promoting jointness inprocurement, training andstaffing for the Services; facil-itation of restructuring of mil-itary commands for optimalutilisation of resources bybringing about jointness inoperations, including through"establishment of joint/theatrecommands and promoting useof indigenous equipment by theServices."

However, there is no con-sensus presently among theServices on the formation ontheatre commands and the AirForce has been especiallyopposed to the move. On this,Rawat said there are methodsto achieve theaterisation. "Ithink we are copying Westernmethods and what others havedone. We can have our ownsystems. We will work out amechanism... We have to finda system which suits India," hestated.

The CDS has an office inSouth Block and will continueto wear the uniform of the par-ent service. However, the rankbadges and accoutrements ofthe CDS reflect jointness, inte-gration and synergy andaccordingly there is a newPeak cap, shoulder rank badges,belt buckle and car flag.

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India and Japan hope to soonfinalise dates for summit

talks between Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and hisJapanese counterpart ShinzoAbe. The two leaders wereearlier scheduled to meet inDecember in Guwahati butthe summit was postponedfollowing protests regardingCitizenship AmendmentAct(CAA). Meanwhile, Indiaalso reached out to countriesacross the world on the CAA,External Affairs Ministryspokesman Raveesh Kumarsaid here on Thursday.

On the India-Japan sum-mit, the spokesman during hisweekly briefing, said, "We arein touch with the Japaneseside through diplomatic chan-nels and hope we very sooncome to the finalisation of thedates. It is an annual mecha-nism."

He also said "the summitwhich was supposed to be heldin December is the one whichgetting postponed but all thesematters will be under discus-sion with the Japanese side,"Kumar added.

Modi and Abe were set tomeet in Guwahati betweenDecember 15 to17.

However, the venue, alongwith the dates for the summit,was postponed after protestserupted in the North-East overthe CAA.

During the eighth round ofbilateral consultations in Tokyoon December 23, India andJapan exchanged views on theissues of disarmament, non-proliferation and export con-trol. In the meeting, both sidesalso agreed to hold the nextround of Dialogue on a mutu-ally convenient date in India,the Ministry of External Affairshad said in a statement.

Kumar had said last month

that both sides decided to"defer" Abe's visit for theDecember 15-17 summit to amutually convenient date. Thecancellation of the Japaneseprime minister's trip came aday after Bangladeshi ForeignMinister A K Abdul Momenand Home MinisterAsaduzzaman Khan called offtheir visits to India in view ofthe situation arising out of theenactment of the CAA.

Diplomatic sources hadsaid the Japanese governmentclearly conveyed to New Delhithat it would not be possible forAbe to travel to Guwahati inview of large-scale protests inthe northeastern region.

Meanwhile, on ThursdayKumar also said India hasreached out to countries acrossthe world on the issues of theCAA and the proposedNational Register ofCitizens(NRC). "We did reachout to countries across the

globe on CitizenshipAmendment Act and theNRC," he said.

Kumar said "we empha-sised that the Act (CAA) justexpedites acquiring of citizen-ship to persecuted minorities.It does not change basic struc-ture of Constitution." Theministry also said the Indianmissions abroad were asked toshare the prospectus on theCitizenship Amendment Actwith the host Government.

Asked about Indo-Chinaboundary negotiations lastmonth and talk of early harvestto the boundary question,Kumar said there was this feel-ing that the boundary issueshould be addressed from astrategic perspective of Indo-China relations.

"It was also decided thatwhile the discussions go onunder the SpecialRepresentative talks frame-work, there should be peace

and tranquillity along the bor-der which is very important forthe overall development of thebilateral relationship," Kumarsaid. Noting that these weresensitive negotiations,spokesperson said one issueshould not cloud the overallrelationship.

India and China last monthagreed to intensify efforts toachieve a "fair", "reasonable"and mutually acceptable solu-tion to the vexed boundaryissue, resolving that its early set-tlement will serve the funda-mental interests of both coun-tries.

There was a consensusduring "constructive" bordertalks here between ChineseForeign Minister Wang Yi andNational Security Adviser AjitDoval that both sides shouldrespect each other's sensitivitiesand concerns in order to buildmutual trust, according to theexternal affairs ministry.

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New Delhi: The MumbaiRegional Passport Office (RPO)has sought the External AffairsMinistry's nod to prosecuteNarmada Bachao Andolan(NBA) activist Medha Patkarfor not disclosing criminal casesagainst her in her passportapplication.

Sources in the passportoffice said the department hadwritten a letter to the MEA,seeking it go-ahead to file acriminal case against Patkar forconcealing the details aboutmany pending cases againsther at the time of filing thepassport application in 2017.

The officials said her pass-port has automatically beenimpounded after she surren-dered it on December 9, in

response to a notice issued toher seeking explanation.However, by surrendering thepassport she cannot absolveherself from prosecution, theyadded.

After receiving the per-mission, the RPO will file acriminal case against her as perthe Passport Act. The maxi-

mum punishment under theAct is two-year rigorous impris-onment or �5,000 fine or both.

A complaint was filedagainst the activist in June 2019by a journalist, alleging thatPatkar had obtained her pass-port by concealing and sup-pressing material facts from theRPO Mumbai.

The complainant had pro-vided the details of nine crim-inal cases with documentaryevidence, pending against herin various districts of MadhyaPradesh.

Patkar in her passportapplication of March 30, 2017claimed that no criminal casesare pending against her and inthe column on pending crimi-nal cases, if any, she declared

"none".The RPO Mumbai also

sought details of pending casesfrom the Director General ofPolice, Madhya Pradesh, whoconfirmed that charge sheet hasbeen filed against her in fivecases.

In the show cause notice toPatkar issued on October 18 lastyear, the RPO Mumbai hadasked as to why her passportshould not be impounded forfailing to disclose informationregarding pendency of criminalcases against her.

Out of the nine criminalcases registered against her,three are in Barwani, one inAlirajpur and five in Khandwadistrict of Madhya Pradesh.

The notice had said: "While

obtaining passport bearingno...Dated March 30, 2017 youhave not disclosed the factregarding pendency of abovecases and obtained passport bysuppression of material infor-mation".

"In view of the same, it isproposed to impound yourpassport bearing no...And anyother passport if issued subse-quently under section 10(3)(e)of the Passports Act 1967. Youare requested to state whyaction should not be takenunder section 12(1) of thePassports Act 1967," the noticeissued by the passport office onOctober 18 said.

The passport officials hadsought her explanation within10 days. PTI

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The CBI has transferred 19 officersincluding two Deputy Inspector

Generals, 14 Superintendents ofPolice and three Additional SPswith "immediate effect".

Deputy Inspector GeneralAbhay Singh, who was leading theprobe into sexual assault on minorgirls in Muzaffarpur shelter home,has been brought to the EconomicOffences Wing in Delhi from theSpecial Crime Branch in Kolkata,but he will continue to probe sexu-al assault cases, according to theorder.

The order, approved by the CBIDirector, specified that officers whohave been specially directed bytheir names to supervise, investigate,or enquire into any case or matterby any Constitutional court shallcontinue to do so.

DIG Nitin Deep Blaggan who isheading sensitive Anti-CorruptionUnit has been given the additionalcharge of Anti Corruption-V unit,officials said.

SP Partha Mukherjee whoseunit Economic Offences IV, based inKolkata, was probing chit fundcases, has been brought to the head-quarters as Assistant InspectorGeneral (Policy) here replacingVivek Priyadarshi who has beentransferred to Jaipur, they said.Priyadarshi had led the probe into2G spectrum cases.

SP, Economic Offences-III,Vijayendra Bidari has been trans-ferred to Interpol Coordinationunit and he will also look after thesystems wing of the agency.

Kiran S, who is part of the teamprobing Agusta Westland, VijayMallya and other cases, has beenmoved to AC-V unit.

Other officers transferred orgiven additional charge include SPsAbhishek Dular, Anoop T Mathew,Rajpal Meena, Shiyas A, JayadevanA, Sudhanshu Dhar Mishra, PKManjhi, Jay Narayan Rana, SantanuKar and P K Pandey, Additional SPsSanjay Kumar Sinha, S D Mishraand Gajanand Bairwa have alsobeen transferred, they added.

New Delhi: The office of the Lokpal, theanti-corruption ombudsman, will soonmove out of its �50 lakh per month rent-ed accommodation at a five star hotel toits own permanent building here.

A senior Personnel Ministry officialsaid the Lokpal is likely to move out of itsfive star hotel temporary office at TheAshok Hotel in Chanakyapuri by thismonth.

"Total monthly rent is around �50 lakhand �3,85,09,354 has been paid fromMarch 22, 2019 to October 31, 2019 forrent," the Lokpal of India said in responseto an RTI application filed by this PTI jour-nalist.

Space at the former ICDAR(International Centre For AlternativeDispute Resolution) building has beenallotted for the office of Lokpal, the replystated when asked details of the steps beingtaken for providing permanent office forthe ombudsman.

However, the reply did not give detailsof the location of the new office.

"The office of Lokpal will move out to

its own permanent space in the nationalcapital," an official said.

The Lokpal is an apex body to deal withcases of corruption at the national level. Ithas to enquire into allegations of corrup-tion against public functionaries of theCentral Government in a time-boundmanner.

President Ram Nath Kovind on March23 administered the oath of office to JusticePinaki Chandra Ghose as chairperson ofthe Lokpal.

The Lokpal's eight members wereadministered the oath by Justice Ghose onMarch 27. PTI

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All India Institute ofMedical Sciences

(AIIMS)'s Professor SureshChandra Sharma, who is thechief of ENT head-necksurgery department, will bethe chairman of NationalMedical Commission (NMC),the new medical educationregulator to replace scam-tainted Medical Council ofIndia (MCI). TheAppointments Committee ofthe Cabinet has approved theappointment of Sharma for aperiod of three years or till theage of 70 years.

According to theDepartment of Personnel andTraining (DoPT), RakeshKumar Vats, the secretary gen-eral in the board of governorsof the Medical Council of India(MCI), has been appointed asthe secretary of the Commissionfor the similar term.

President Ram NathKovind had on August 8 givenassent to the National MedicalCommission (NMC) Act,2019, which provides for a sys-tem that improves access toquality and affordable medicaleducation and ensures avail-ability of adequate and highquality medical professionalsin all parts of the country,among others.

The new law provides forsetting up of an NMC in place

of the Medical Council ofIndia for development andregulation of all aspects ofmedical education, professionand institutions. The presidenthad dissolved the MCI in 2018and a Board of Governorswas appointed to perform itsfunctions. At least 72 applica-tions for NMC were receivedby the central government.

On the dissolution of theMCI, the person appointed asits chairman and othersappointed as the member, anyofficer and other employee ofthe Council shall immediate-ly vacate their respectiveoffices, according to the pro-vision of the NMC Act. TheCommission will have a chair-person, 10 ex-officio members

and 22 part-time members,according to the law.

Amid allegations of cor-ruption against MCI officebearers and probes intoopaque accreditation to med-ical colleges, the SupremeCourt had in May 2016 direct-ed the government to set up acommittee with the authorityto oversee all statutory func-tions of MCI till the new leg-islation comes in.

Many of MCI membershave been accused of takingbribes to fast-track accredita-tion. There have been allega-tions of corruption in granti-ng different kinds of permis-sion by the council to medicalcolleges across the country,officials said.

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India on Thursday said it hasin no manner revised its

boundary with Nepal and thenew map issued by it inNovember 2019 accuratelydepicts its sovereign territory.

MEA spokespersonRaveesh Kumar made theassertion while responding toa question on whether theKalapani border issue was dis-cussed between Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and NepalesePrime Minister K P Sharma Oliduring their telephonic con-versation on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Modi onWednesday held telephonicconversations with top leadersof Bhutan, Sri Lanka,Bangladesh, Nepal and TheMaldives, conveying New Yeargreetings and emphasisingIndia's commitment to region-al peace and security as well asthe 'neighbourhood first' pol-icy.

Nepal had in Novembersaid the Kalapani area situatedin the country's far-West lieswithin the Nepalese boundary,after India issued new politicalmaps reportedly showing theregion as part of its territory.

"Our map accuratelydepicts the sovereign territoryof India. The new map has inno manner revised our bound-ary with Nepal," Kumar said ata media briefing on Thursday.

"The boundary delineationexercise with Nepal is ongoingunder the existing mechanism.We reiterate our commitmentto find a solution through dia-logue in the spirit of our closeand friendly bilateral relations,"he said.

Kumar said no officialcomment has been receivedfrom the Nepalese side on thematter.

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Vadodara (Guj): States passing reso-lutions against the Citizenship(Amendment) Act (CAA) are mis-leading people, as citizenship fallsunder the Centre's purview, BJP work-ing president J P Nadda said here onThursday.

The Kerala Assembly on Tuesdaypassed a resolution against the CAA,demanding scrapping of the contro-versial Act which grants citizenship tonon-Muslim refugees from Pakistan,Afghanistan and Bangladesh whoarrived in India before 2015.

"Some states are passing resolu-tions against the CAA. Citizenship isa subject under the Central govern-ment, and the law has been passed bythe Centre and bears the signature ofPresident," Nadda said.

"It has been implemented, andbeneficiaries will get citizenship, you(state governments opposing theCAA) should stop misleading people,"he added, speaking at `CAAJanjagaran Sammelan' organized bythe BJP here.

"You can tell facts to the Congress,but it is not in a position to understandtruth. We can explain only if theyunderstand, but if they do not want tounderstand despite being intelligent,then we cannot do anything," he said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi didnot know anything about the CAA, hesaid.

"I would like to ask the Congresswhy its leaders did not condemn theviolence during (anti-CAA) protests

that caused damage to public proper-ties. They are all hand in glove," theBJP working president said.

Eighty per cent of beneficiariesunder the Act would be Dalits, Naddaclaimed.

"Congress sheds crocodile tear forDalits....It only used them for politi-cal ends....80 per cent of those beingprovided citizenship under the Act areDalits," he said.

Communities such as Matua,Rajvanshi and Namo Sudra migratedto India from the three neighbouringcountries and they would be thebiggest beneficiaries of the CAA, hesaid.

Nadda also said, citing reports inthe Washington Post and New YorkTimes, that there were 5,50,000 Sikhfamilies in Afghanistan at one time butnow only 2,000 families are left.

"A momentary mistake ofPartition made generations suffer," hesaid.

While the population of Muslimsin India rose to 14 per cent from 9 percent (at the time of Independence), inPakistan, Hindu population declinedfrom 23 per cent to 3 per cent, heclaimed.

"These are the people who cameto India to save their lives, respect andculture," he added.

"Mahatma Gandhi said in 1947that arrangements should be made forthem if they cannot stay there, theyshould be brought to India and givencitizenship," Nadda claimed. PTI

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Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has saidthat a woman once divorced cannot seek mone-tary relief from her former husband under theProtection of Women from Domestic ViolenceAct.

HC judge Umesh Trivedi recently gave thisruling while quashing the proceedings against thewoman's estranged husband, 27 years after theirdivorce.

"The wife would be an aggrieved person(under the Act) so long as the domestic relation-ship survives. As soon as it is snapped, it is an endto their domestic relationship and she would notbe an aggrieved person then," the court said.

The court quashed the proceedings againstpetitioner Kanji Parmar under sections 19 and 20of the Protection of Women from DomesticViolence Act, dealing with the monetary relief byway of compensation, as sought by his former wifeUrmilaben Parmar.

The couple had tied the knot in 1984, but gotdivorced in 1990. Urmilaben then married anoth-er man with whom she had three children.

However, she moved a petition a few years agounder the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act,seeking compensation from Kanji Parmar.

The court considered the documents placedon record by the petitioner's lawyer, AshvinGateshaniya, proving that the respondent(Urmilaben) had married another man and evenhad three children from him. "Referring the def-inition of domestic relationship, it is clear that itis a relationship, which is alive between the per-sons. Even on separation or staying apart, mari-tal relationship continues. But once the marital tieis severed by way of divorce between the parties,the relationship between them is snapped," thecourt said. PTI

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RAIPUR | FRIDAY | JANUARY 3, 2020chhattisgarh 03

A scene of Surguja district’s Mainpat in Chhattisgarh on Thursday. Tourists are rushing to Mainpat in the first week of the New Year to enjoy thescenic beauty. Photo by Manish Soni/The Pioneer

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Untimely incessant rainsacross the state on

Thursday wreaked havoc onfarmers and common peopleapart from dipping thetemperature further.

The regional meteorologi-

cal centre said the suddeninclement weather was due tothe trough developed inwestern Madhya Pradesh andBihar to North- western

Bengal. It issued orange alertfor Friday and Saturday for theentire state, cautioning thatthere might be light tomedium rainfall with heavy

fog.Meanwhile, the untimely

rain also played havoc onfarmers in the state as theircrops got dampen. They are

now scared of rejection oftheir crop at theprocurement centers.

The untimely rainsalready troubled thefarmers of the state as thecommencement ofprocurement was delayeddue to it and now too theyare facing the wrath of thenature due to which theyare not able to timely selltheir crops.

Chief Minister BhupeshBaghel assured the farmersnot to be panic aboutrejection of their producebut wait for some more timefor the crops to dry up.

The CM also instructedthe district collectors toensure that paddy stored atthe procurement centers arenot damaged due to rains.Proper arrangement ofdrainage for passage ofrainwater must be made sothat gunny bags stacked atthe bottom are notdampened, he suggested.

Untimely rains wreak havocon farmers, common people

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Heavy fog that prevailed afteruntimely rainfall on

Thursday afternoon forced todivert two of the Raipur-boundflights from the SwamiVivekananda Airport of thecapital.

According to informationfrom Rakesh Sahay, AirportDirector, due to poor visibilityflight no 801 coming fromMumbai was diverted toHyderabad while flight coming

from Hyderabad was diverted toOdisha’s capital Bhubaneswar.

This causes inconvenienceto passengers coming to Raipurand also to those who were totake flights from RaipurAirport.

The flights to be landed inthe afternoon were only suffereddue to rough weather whereasthe landings of evening flightswere resumed as the weatherthereafter became normal, saidthe airport official.

Inclement weather inRaipur, two flights diverted


Chief Minister BhupeshBaghel said Guru Gobind

Singh, the founder of KhalsaPanth, did amazing work tounite various sections of thesociety and he was not only asocial reformer but also awarrior.

Baghel on Thursday wasaddressing the Sikhcommunity during the 353rdPrakash Parva ceremonyorganized on the occasion ofGuru Gobind Singh Ji's birthanniversary. Guru GobindSingh Ji is the 10th Guru ofSikh community.

Chief Minister paidreverence to Guru GranthSahib and prayed for peace,prosperity and progress ofthe state.

He further said Guru

Gobind prepared bravewarriors and he was the oneto pronounce that GuruGranth Sahib will be theGuru of Sikh community.

“And even today, GuruGranth Sahib continues toguide us towards the right-eous path,” Baghel said.

Baghel said, “Today, we

all should pledge to followthe path shown by GuruGobind Singh Ji. This wouldbe our courteous tribute tohim.”

Chief Minister said thatSikh community is a hard-working joyful community. “Iextend hearty wishes ofPrakash Parva of Guru

Gobind Singh Ji to the entirecommunity,” he said.

MLA SatyanarayanSharma also addressed theprogramme and extendedwarm greetings on the occa-sion.

MLA Duo KuldeepJuneja and SatyanarayanSharma, Raipur MayorPramod Dubey,Commissioner ChhattisgarhMinority CommissionMahendra Singh Chhabra,were present as special guests.

On the occasion, SikhCommunity presented'Saropa' to Chief Minister.Chairman of GurudwaraManagement CommitteePreetpal Singh Chandok andmany office-bearers andmembers of the committeealong with the devotees werepresent.

Baghel appeals to follow path shown by Guru Gobind Singh

STAFF REPORTER nJAGDALPUR

Bastar Range InspectorGeneral of Police Sunderraj P

said the Bastar division witnesseda decline of Naxal-relatedincidents by 40%, loss of securitypersonnel lives in differentincidents by 55% and loss ofcivilian lives in Maoist attacks by45% in 2019.

He attributed the decline tothe success of the ‘Faith-Development-Security’ policy.

He said Chhattisgarh Police,Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF), Border Security Force(BSF), Chhattisgarh ArmedForce (CAF) have been workingin coordination for effective

control.Addressing media, he said

seven security camps have beenestablished at Chindnaar,Chikpal and Potali of Dantewadadistrict, Khodgaon inNarayanpur district, Pusnar andBodli of Bijapur district andSureli in Kanker district.

The IG added that along withanti-Naxal operation, the securi-ty forces have been providingsecurity to construction of roadsand bridges.

P Sunderraj said in year2019, 65 Naxals were killed,including 18 women. Out ofwhich 13 Maoists were areacommittee members and 12 werePLGA Formation cadres. A totalof 128 arms were recovered while

a total of 475DVCM/ACM/PLGA cadre werearrested which includes 45women. A total of 304 Maoistssurrendered and have beenrehabilitated under the stategovernment’s policy.

Bastar IG said as comparedto last year, there has been reduc-tion of 30% in murder cases. Thetarget for 2020 is to bring reduc-tion in atrocities against womenand girls including their securityand reduction of deaths related toroad accidents.

DIG Dr Sanjeev Shukla,Kanker Range, Rajiv Rai DIGCRPF, Jambolkar DIG CoBRA,Deepak Jha SP Bastar, ITBP, BSF,SSB senior police officers werepresent.

Naxal incidents fall by 40%in Bastar division: IGP


State cabinet in its meeting onThursday decided to launch a

Kisan Call center to facilitatefarmers in selling their paddycrop to the state government.

Forest Minister MohammadAkbar briefing newspersonsabout the cabinet decisioninformed that the stategovernment decided to launchthe call centre for farmers toensure hassle-free sale of paddycrop. If complaints are raisedagainst procurement official oremployee then adequate actionwithin a time frame would be

taken, he said.The minister further

informed that the cabinet alsoincreased the stock limit andpurchase limit of paddy for small

businessmen from earlier 10 and4 quintals to 20 and 5 quintalsrespectively. Necessary amend-ment in ordinance ofChhattisgarh Krishi Upaj Mandi

(Amendment) Ordinance 2019was done and the format ofwhich was approved, he added.

The cabinet also okayedextending the investment policyfor electronics, informationtechnology and informationtechnology related services fornext five years.

It also approved taking creditlimit from financial institutionsof `15,000 crore for procurementof 85 metric tomes of paddy fromstate famers.

It also standardized thenotified state’s official song ‘ArpaPairi Ke Dhaar’.


Chhattisgarh receivedthe Krishi Karman

award for highestfoodgrains production.

Agriculture ministerRavindra Choubeyreceived the award fromPrime Minister NarendraModi at a function held inTumkuri, Karnataka onThursday.

Chhattisgarh receivedthe award which carries `5crore as cash prize, atrophy and a citation.

Chhattisgarh received

the award for total food-grains productionCategory-2 for year 2016-

17. Agricutlure ministerRavindra Choubey hadextended greetings to

farmers of the state anddepartment officials forthe achievement. Hededicated the awards tofarmers.

Prime Minister alsofelicitated two progressivefarmers, Virendra KumarSahu and Aditi Kashyapwith awards. Theyreceived `2 lakh each andcitation.

Minister was accom-panied by DirectorAgriculture Taman SinghSonwani, additionaldirector S.S. Kerketta anddirector D K Bhoyar.

Chhattisgarh bags‘Krishi Karman’ award


Though three phased rurallocal bodies polls, sched-

uled from January 28 will befought on non-party basis inthe state, the state Congress onThursday announced that itwill filed its official candidatesfor the polls.

The name of Congresssupported candidates for ZilaPanchayat Members andZanpad Panchayat Memberswill be announced later after aconsensus is developed on theissue, a state Congress officialinformed.

The state Congress alsoclaimed that it will register

one-sided victory in ensuingPanchayat polls.

The official spokespersonsaid similar to the party’s suc-cess in assembly by-polls inBastar and in the recently con-cluded urban body polls, theCongress will also emerge vic-torious in Panchayat elections,continuing its winning streak.

Cong to field officialcandidates in rurallocal body elections

The state Congressalso claimed that itwill register one-sidedvictory in ensuingPanchayat polls

Govt to launch Kisan Callcentre to help out farmers

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Dialing 100 from the gener-al feature phone can also

help the police trace the locationof the caller to offer assistance.So far Dial-100 has also assist-ed more than 52 thousandsenior citizens. This informationwas given to the nodal officersof Madhya Pradesh State RoadSafety ImplementationCommittee in the State levelcontrol room of Dial-100 onThursday. Nodal officers weregiven a tour of the controlroom from the State PoliceTraining and Research Instituteof the State Road Safety Celltoday.

Officers were given a tour ofthe dispatcher room, call-track-er room by the Dial-100 teamand they were apprised with thesystem by reviewing the mate-rial to be placed in the dial-100vehicle FRV. This visit wasmade by the popular public wel-fare dial-100 service of MadhyaPradesh Police to apprise themabout the action taken onreceiving information of a roadaccident. PTRI Assistant

Inspector General of Police,Kumar Saurabh and his teamwere informed bySuperintendent of Police, Dial-100, Veena Singh, about theDial-100 service.

On this occasion, it wasinformed that there is 100 per-cent response on information ofan accident. There are 110 calltrackers in the control room. Ofthese, 24 dispatchers and 6supervisors are working 24 x 7for assistance. 1000 FRV and150 FRV motor-cycles are work-ing in the State. In case of anyunfortunate incident, the offi-cers are informed through theSMS system. The caller is alsoinformed of the actions taken.It was told that call volumes ofDial-100 increase between 4 pmand 10 pm. Dial-100 also keepson patrolling continuously.

On this occasion, AssistantInspector General of Police,Anita Malviya, PrashantSharma, DeputySuperintendent of PoliceOperation Training, ShivkumarGupta and nodal officers of theconcerned departments werepresent.

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Scholarship distribution sys-tem has been simplified for

the educational development oftribal classes in the State. Underthis system, the Tribal WelfareDepartment has now starteddistributing paperless scholar-ships online through theMPTASS software.

This year under the PostMetric Scholarship Scheme,about 200 crore scholarshipshave been distributed onlinethrough MPTAS software to 2lakh 76 thousand 163 studentsof 7,674 educational institu-tions in their bank accounts ina paperless manner.

As many as 16 lakh 69thousand 437 tribal students ofthe state have been given thebenefit of pre-metric scholar-ship scheme.

A scholarship amount of�136 crores has been trans-ferred to the bank accounts ofthese students. It has also beenensured that tribal studentsget benefit of foreign studyscholarship for higher studies.In the year 2019, a scholarshipof �82 lakhs was made availableto 7 students under thisscheme.

The State Government hasprovided free coaching for thepreparation of the entrance

examination of JEE, NEET,CLAT, for tribal youth to getadmission in prestigious insti-tutions of the country. In theyear 2019, �14.50 crore wasspent on the coaching of 800students.

Efforts have also beenstarted to increase the educa-tion and literacy of tribal girls.For this, 82 Kanya ShikshaParisar are being operated inthe State. The seat capacity ofeach campus is 490. A provi-sion of about �61 crore hasbeen provided for running thecampus this year.

Upgradation of KanyaShiksha Parisars andGurukulams

Nine Kanya ShikshaParisars and 4 Gurukulam res-idential schools have beenupgraded to Eklavya Vidyalayain collaboration with the cen-

tre this year in the State. More than �18 crore have

been sanctioned for the con-struction of auditorium in 12Eklavya residential schoolsrunning in the state. 13 newEklavya schools have beenopened in the State.

An amount of �2 lakh hasbeen released to each highschool run by the departmentand �5 lakh to each HigherSecondary School for infra-structure development. Out of119 higher secondary schoolsof the department, an amountof �118 crore has been releasedfor the construction of 36 newschool buildings and addition-al rooms in the remainingschools.

With this, an amount of�91.51 crore has been releasedfor construction of buildings in43 hostels without buildings.

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The UT Administration hasimposed a complete ban on

industrial packaging of less than50 microns, single use plasticcontainers of less than 250microns used for dairy items andplastic sticks in the union terri-tory of Chandigarh.

With the Administrationissuing an order to extend theambit of ban on single-use plas-tic products in the city, fourmore categories of plastic prod-ucts have been banned here witheffect from December 28, 2019.

These products includeindustrial packing (of any kind)less than 50 microns, single useplastic containers (used for curd,kheer, ice creams etc) less than250 microns used for packagingof dairy items, plastic sachetsused in cosmetic, ketchup andtoiletries having quantity of 30mil and less, and plastic sticks forear buds, balloons, flags and can-dies.

The fresh order comes afterAdministration’s notificationissued in September imposing acomplete ban on several single-use plastic products. The much-speculated single-use plastic banhas however did not live up tothe hype created due to theabsence of proper checks andawareness campaigns.

While a large number ofsingle-use plastic products havebeen banned in the city so far,the Administration has decid-ed to exclude products includ-ing plastic refill pouch havingquantity less than 500 mil,straws attached with tetra packs,and multilayered plastic used forfoods or snacks packing. These

products will be banned fromMarch 28, 2020 onwards.

The notification datedDecember 28, 2019 issued bythe Administration stated thatno person including a shop-keeper, vendor, whole seller orretailer, traders, hawker or rehri-wala etc shall manufacture,store, import, sell, transport,supply or use the banned plas-tic items.

Any person causing breachof the ban shall be liable for thepenalties as per the provision ofEnvironment (Protection) Act,1986 and orders of NGT. UnderSection 15 of the Environmental(Protection) Act, 1986, whoev-er fails to comply with theorders, shall be punishable withimprisonment for a term whichmay extend to five years withfine which may extend to onelakh rupees, or with both.

The violator may also facethe closure, prohibition or reg-ulation of any industry, oper-ation or process, stoppage orregulation of the supply ofelectricity or water or anyother service.

Also, the NGT had direct-ed that any person who isfound to be using, storing,

purchasing, dealing with ordistributing plastic bags, plas-tic plates or plastic glasses andsuch allied items will be liableto pay environmental com-pensation at the rate of Rs 5000per event. Notably, the productsthat were banned here inSeptember included single useplastic cutlery, Thermocol orStyrofoam cutlery, single useplastic containers, plastic (soldin the name ofSilver/Aluminium) bag/pouchfor packing food items, drink-ing water sealed glasses andplastic mineral water pouch,single-time use razors, single-time use pens, use of thermo-col for decoration purpose and, use of plastic material for dec-oration purpose such as wrap-ping sheets, frills, garland, con-fetti, party bloopers, plasticribbons.

The use of non-wovenpolypropylene bags and poly-thene or plastic carry bagswith or without handle irre-spective of size, shape andcolour (excluding bags per-missible under Bio-Medical Waste ManagementRules, 2016) is also prohibited in the city.

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CEO and man-aging director

of Tata Steel TVNarendran alongwith the RNSharma , the for-mer managingdirector of TinplateCompany of IndiaLimited took partin a formal NewYear cake cuttingceremony to usherin 2020 at thesprawling lawns ofthe Centre forExcellence inBistupur onWednesday.

Addressing theaugust gatheringNarendran saidthat despite chal-

lenging times thecompany did notslowdown in anyof the work goingon in the city andthis demonstratesthe commitmentTata Steel has. “ Weare in a toughindustry which iscyclical and wherethe nature andquality of competi-tion keeps increas-ing so there are alot of sacrifices theemployees of TataSteel are making toensure that thecompany is prof-itable and sustain-able and we wouldalso urge the citi-zens of Jamshedpurto do what they canto help the city.

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One person died, while overdozens were injured in

separate road accidents duringNew Year celebrations acrossBokaro district on Wednesday.

Janki Kumar (48) died whenhis bike collided head-on witha speeding car near KendriyaVidyalaya No -3, while the pil-lion rider Sanjeev Mandal wasseverely injured in the acci-dent. Both are railway employ-ees.

According to the eyewit-ness, the speeding car collidedwith bike here on Wednesday.The driver lost its control andlater the car collided with anelectric pole and caught fire. Allfour youths travelling in the carwere rescued by the locals andBalidih police and rushed to theBokaro General Hospital(BGH) along with Sanjeev

Mandal where their conditionsare said to be critical, policesaid.

After a few moments, thecar turned into a fireball andgutted completely. The youthsin the car were drunk; theywere on the way to their homeafter celebrating picnic atGarga Dam, said another eye-witness.

In another incident, twoyouths got multiple injurieswhen their bike skidded off theroad near 43 More underBalidih police station whiletwo others were injured aftera pick-up van collided with adivider on Bokaro-Ramgharhighway (23) near Birsa Basaunder Sector 12 police stationlast night.

Another eight people werereported to have been injuredin the separate road accidentsacross the district, got multi-ple injuries as they had takenan extra-large peg of alcohol tocelebrate the eve are treatingtheir wounds at different hos-pitals.

Meanwhile, ‘New Year’celebrated with gaiety in thedistrict, amid tight securityand proper arrangements.Amidst celebrations, liquorswere sold out like hot cakes onthe eve.

People were seen wishingeach other and welcoming theNew Year together, besides atclubs, parks, picnic spots peo-ple throngs at various templestoo to mark the day. All themajor hotels, clubs in the twincities were packed up withRocking DJs, celebrity dances,stag parties and even fire-works to welcome the eve.

New Year celebrations areoften accompanied by theconsumption of alcohol, habit-ually to excess. ‘Among theinjured most are teenagers’,police said.Amidst bone chilling peopleenjoyed the New Year cele-brations. People from the ageof eight to the late eightiesenjoyed the celebrationsaccordingly.

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From Page 1

Now that the systemhas collapsed, one has totake care of the cattle, headded.

Elaborating on thescheme, Singdeo said, ittakes care of cattle man-agement, it needs water,can keep stray cattle atone place, utilize cowdung, reserving villageland with fencing for allallied activities like poul-try, goat rearing etc.,preparation of compost(organic manure.

For water, schemehas been envisaged toconstruct stop-dams andother structures whichwill store water in allrivers, rivulets and waterbodies which will indi-

rectly recharge groundwater and enhance irri-gation facilities, the min-ister said.

Therefore, Singdeopointed out that the keychallenge now will be tomake it a self-sustainingsystem for employmentgeneration in rural areasthrough activities aroundit.

He addedGovernment cannot go onusing tax payers’ money torun the project as revenuefrom taxes is limited andcannot be further expand-ed by imposing more tax.

In Sarguja, bio-gasplants have been estab-lished and supplied tohouses, he said, adding itis a challenge in different aspects.

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Expressing deep frustrationover stalled nuclear talks,

North Korean leader Kim JongUn warned of unspecified“shocking” action and that hiscountry will soon reveal a new“strategic weapon” to the worldas its bolsters its nuclear deter-rent in face of “gangster-like” USpressure.

Kim also said North Koreawas no longer obligated to main-tain a self-imposed suspensionon the testing of nuclearweapons and intercontinentalballistic missiles, whichPresident Donald Trump hastouted as a major diplomaticaccomplishment. But Kim gaveno clear indication that aresumption of such tests wasimpending and appeared toleave the door open for eventu-al negotiations.

Kim has used the diplomaticstalemate to expand his military

capabilities by intensifying testsof shorter-range weapons. Hisarsenal is now estimated toinclude 40-50 nuclear bombsand various delivery systems,including solid-fuel missilesdesigned to beat missile-defensesystems and developmentalICBMs potentially capable ofreaching the US mainland.

Kim has also strengthenedhis negotiating position, movingthe diplomacy closer to an armsreduction negotiation betweennuclear states rather than talksthat would culminate in a uni-lateral surrender of the weaponshe sees as his strongest guaran-tee of survival.

Lee Sang-min, spokesmanfor South Korea’s UnificationMinistry, said North Korea car-rying out its threat to showcasea new strategic weapon would beunhelpful for diplomacy.

Strategic weapons usuallyrefer to nuclear-capable deliverysystems such as ICBMs, but

North Korea otherwise has beenvague about what new arms itwould display. It announced inDecember that it performedtwo “crucial” tests at its long-range rocket launch site thatwould further strengthen itsnuclear deterrent.

Kim’s comments publishedin state media Wednesday weremade at a key, four-day meetingof the ruling Workers’ Party’sCentral Committee as talksbetween Washington andPyongyang have faltered overdisagreements on disarmamentsteps and the removal of sanc-tions.

Some experts say NorthKorea, which has always beensensitive about electoral changesin US government, will avoidserious negotiations in the com-ing months as it watches howTrump’s impending impeach-ment trial over his dealingswith Ukraine affects US presi-dential elections in November.

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Over a dozen Chineselawyers and activists were

detained or went missing in thefinal days of 2019 in a crack-down on participants of a pri-vate democracy gathering,rights groups said on Thursday.

The Chinese governmenthas severely reduced the spacefor civil liberties since PresidentXi Jinping took power in 2012,rounding up rights lawyers,labour activists and evenMarxists students in varioussweeps.

The latest crackdown waslinked to a December gather-ing in the east coast city ofXiamen in Fujian province,where participants discussed“democratic transition inChina,” said Human RightsWatch researcher Wang Yaqiu.

The period aroundChristmas and New Year is tra-ditionally when China choos-es to sentence prominent dis-sidents in an effort to minimise

international media attention,“so it is not a surprise that theychose this particular time tolaunch a manhunt of activists,”Wang said.

The meeting involved asmall group of people “peace-fully discussing politics in a pri-vate space,” she said.

Ding Jiaxi, a prominentBeijing-based disbarred lawyerpreviously jailed for protestingagainst official corruption, wasamong the activists known tohave been detained across thecountry since December 26,according to China HumanRights Defenders (CHRD).

At least seven people,including Shandong-based dis-barred lawyer Liu Shuqing,were released after beingdetained for questioning.

Other civil society figures,including pro-democracyactivist Xu Zhiyong and humanrights lawyer Tang Jingling,have gone missing or are cur-rently unreachable, CHRDsaid.

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Two men who attacked apolice post this week killing

at least one officer in theRussian Caucasus were fightersfrom the Islamic State jihadistgroup, the ISIS propagandaagency Amaq said.

The perpetrators rammeda car into a traffic police postoutside the city of Magas inIngushetia region around 5.30pm on Tuesday, after whichthey attacked policemen withknives, according to the region-al Government.

The Amaq statement onTelegram posted lateWednesday said the men were“two fighters from Islamicstate” who killed two officersand injured others.

The Ingushetia regionalGovernment and regionalinvestigators said one officerdied from injuries.

There has been no official

confirmation of a second policedeath.

The attackers wereAkhmed Imagozhev, a well-known arm wrestler, andMikail Miziev, both residents of Ingushetia and Russian cit-izens.

Miziev was shot dead bypolice while Imagozhev is inhospital, Ingushetia’sGovernment said.

The governor on Tuesdayevening lambasted regionalpolice, saying incompetenceon New Year’s Eve — a hugeRussian holiday — led to theincident, while negligenceresulted in the death as the offi-cer was not wearing protectivearmour.

Ordering a boost in secu-rity measures, he said one ofthe attackers worked as aguard in the local culturecentre.

Investigators launched aprobe into an attempt on the

life of police officers, makingno mention of terrorism as amotive.

North Caucasus has been ahotbed of Islamic extremismafter the breakup of the SovietUnion followed by two sepa-ratist wars in Chechnya, aregion bordering Ingushetia.

Many radical Islamistswent to Iraq and Syria in recentyears to join IS and otherjihadist groups.

The Islamic State groupconsiders North Caucasus aspart of its “caliphate” and hasclaimed several attacks, mostrecently on police near thepresidential palace inChechnya in June.

Russian authorities fre-quently do not recognise theseattacks as acts of terror.

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Residents of Indonesia’s cap-ital who had been forced

into shelters by widespreadflooding began returning totheir homes Thursday as thewaters started to recede, thoughthe death toll from the disasterjumped to 30.

Monsoon rains and risingrivers submerged at least 182neighbourhoods in greaterJakarta starting Wednesdayand caused landslides in theBogor and Depok districts onthe city’s outskirts.

Jakarta Governor AniesBawesdan said much of thewater had receded by Thursdayevening and the number of dis-placed people at temporaryshelters had fallen to about5,000 from 19,000.

Officials had earlier said35,000 people were in sheltersacross the greater metropolitanarea.

Those returning to theirhomes found streets covered inmud and debris. Cars that hadbeen parked in driveways wereswept away, landing upsidedown in parks or piled up innarrow alleys. Sidewalks werestrewn with sandals, pots andpans and old photographs.

Authorities took advan-tage of the receding waters toclear away mud and removepiles of wet garbage from thestreets. Electricity was restoredto tens of thousands of resi-dences and businesses.

At their peak, the floodshad inundated thousands ofhomes and buildings, forcedauthorities to cut off electrici-

ty and water and paralysedtransport networks, NationalDisaster Mitigation Agencyspokesman Agus Wibowosaid. Floodwaters reached ashigh as 2.5 metres (more than8 feet) in places.

Wibowo said the numberof people killed in the disas-ter had climbed to 30.

It was the worst floodingsince 2013, when 47 peoplewere killed after Jakarta wasinundated by monsoon rains.

Jakarta’s HalimPerdanakusumah domesticairport reopened Thursdayafter operations were sus-pended when flood watersubmerged its runway, saidMuhammad Awaluddin, thepresident director of PTAngkasa Pura II, the air-port’s operator.

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Former US secretary of stateHillary Rodham Clinton

has been appointed as the firstfemale Chancellor of UK’sQueen’s University, it wasannounced on Thursday.

Clinton, who received anhonorary doctorate fromQueen’s in October 2018, willbecome the University’s 11thChancellor and will serve in thepost for a period of five yearswith effect from January 1,2020, the university said in a

statement.Clinton succeeds Tom

Moran, who died last year. Queen’s University, a pub-

lic research university inBelfast, United Kingdom, wasopened in 1849 and is one ofthe leading universities in theUK and Ireland with a distin-guished heritage and history.

The 72-year-old formerDemocratic presidential nom-inee said it was a great privilegeto be appointed as theChancellor of the prestigiousQueen’s University and hasgreat fondness for it.

“It is a great privilege to

become the Chancellor ofQueen’s University, a place Ihave great fondness for andhave grown a strong rela-tionship with over the years.The University is makingwaves internationally for itsresearch and impact and I am proud to be an ambas-sador and help grow its rep-utation for excellence,” shewas quoted as saying in thestatement.

Hillary, who was theDemocratic presidentialnominee, lost the 2016 USelection to Republican can-didate Donald Trump.

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Baghdad: An Iraqi activist wasshot dead overnight inBaghdad, a police source toldAFP on Thursday, as anti-gov-ernment rallies carried ondespite a separate day-longsiege of the US embassy.

The activist, Saadoun al-Luhaybi, was shot in the headin a southwestern neighbour-hood of the Iraqi capital, thepolice source said.

He had been taking part inyouth-led demonstrationsrocking Iraq since earlyOctober that have demandedthe ouster of a governing classseen as corrupt, inept andbeholden to Iran. AFP

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Pakistan Government onThursday sought a

stay order from the SupremeCourt against its landmarkverdict in the extension of ser-vice case involving PakistanArmy chief General QamarJaved Bajwa.

Prime Minister ImranKhan had extended 59-year-oldGen Bajwa’s tenure through anotification on August 19.However, the Supreme Courtsuspended the Governmentorder, citing irregularities in themanner the army chief, a close

confidant of Khan, was grant-ed an extension.

The Government in itsplea requested the apex court“to accept the application andsuspend/stay the operation ofthe impugned judgment datedNovember 28, 2019, in theinterest of justice”.

This is the second petitionfiled by the government inthis high-profile case.

On December 26, the lawministry had approached thetop court against its detailedjudgement, issued onDecember 16, in which theGovernment was ordered tolegislate on Bajwa’s extensionwithin six months.

The Government urged

the apex court to form a larg-er bench to hear the case andset aside the earlier judgment.

On November 28, Bajwagot a six-month conditionalextension from the apex court,ending an unprecedented legalwrangle that shook thePakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)government and pitted thepowerful military against thejudiciary.

The petition filed onThursday prayed to the courtthat the “petitioners have astrong prima facie case to suc-ceed; hence the operation of theimpugned judgement may besuspended/stayed till the finaldecision of this civil reviewpetition.”

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There is no doubt that 2019 hasbeen a special year for China:Lavish events were organised tocelebrate the 70th anniversary ofthe founding of the People’s

Republic of China (PRC). In 1949, from therostrum of the Tiananmen Square,Chairman Mao had announced, “China hasarisen.” On October 1, 2019, ChinesePresident Xi Jinping was on the same wave-length as his predecessor when he said, “Noforce can ever shake the status of China orstop the Chinese people and the nation frommarching forward.” On that day, Beijing dis-played several futuristic military gadgets.

On December 29, the Global Times list-ed China’s advanced weaponry. It said, “theyear 2019” has been a “year of harvest” forChina’s military equipment as the countryshowcased a “massive selection” of the latest,advanced and powerful weapons that oper-ate on land, sea and air. It is not only in thefield of advanced armaments that Beijing hasbeen “doing well” but in this domain, theprogress is indicative of an assertive China andof the innovative developments undertakenby Beijing. Comparatively, India is definitive-ly trailing. Even though the communist party’snewspaper observed, “These displays ofChina’s new weapons showed transparencyin the country’s military development” andsent a message to the world that China wasdetermined to “safeguard sovereignty andpeace,” the fact remains that China is stillpreparing itself.

Last week, in the Port of Dalian inLiaoning Province, China launched thecountry’s 23rd Type 052D and the sixth Type055 destroyer. Experts said “the ship was oneof the world’s largest and most powerfuldestroyers” and was capable of leading a highsea fleet or becoming the “pillar in an aircraftcarrier battle group”, said the Global Times.

A few days earlier, China had officiallycommissioned its first domestically-builtaircraft carrier, the Shandong. The CNNreported, “China has officially commis-sioned its first domestically-built aircraft car-rier, the Shandong, a significant step forwardin Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitionsfor the country to field a world-class Navy.”Xi attended the commissioning ceremony inthe southern province of Hainan where thecarrier joined the Chinese Navy. In 2019,China launched the highest number of war-ships in the world: Nine destroyers, one com-prehensive supply ship, one comprehensivelanding ship, one amphibious assault ship, 12light frigates with a total displacement of200,000 tonnes, surpassing the US by far.

The Global Times quoted military expertsas saying, “2019 will not be the end of China’smilitary equipment development. Moreweapons are expected in 2020 and beyond.”But there is another side to the coin. PresidentXi has been facing a rough sea at home. Thefourth plenary session of the 19th ChineseCommunist Party’s Central Committee washeld in Beijing from October 28 to 31. The

members discussed the workreport presented by Xi and adopt-ed it “to uphold and improve thesystem of socialist rule of law withChinese characteristics andimprove the party’s capacity forlaw-based governance and law-based exercising of state power.”

The communiqué mentions,the nation is facing “increasingchallenges at home and abroad.”The gathering upheld the prin-ciple of “one country, two sys-tems,” maintaining lasting pros-perity and stability in HongKong and Macao, and “promot-ing the peaceful reunification ofChina.”

Despite the serious difficul-ties faced by China, India needsto be prepared to respond to itsrise. But first, let’s talk about whatIndia should not do. The two-daymeeting between Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and President XiJinping at a resort in October inMamallapuram was an occa-sion to talk about “civilisation.”But was it of any help?

As it is, during Nehruviandays, India was fond of this hazyconcept. The dictionary thusdefines the term as “an act or aprocess of civilising, as by bring-ing out of a savage, uneducated,or unrefined state, or of beingcivilised.” Already, in the 1950s,this great “idea” allowed theIndian leadership to “dream” oflofty principles such as peacefulco-existence, while China wasquietly consolidating its presenceon the Tibetan plateau andpreparing for a war with India.

Today, India should look

after its own interests and forgetabout vague idealistic concepts.It should learn from the Chineseleadership, which has alwaysremained pragmatic and down-to-earth. Unfortunately, whenIndia speaks about its past, it doesso to avoid talking about the pre-sent. This is what may have hap-pened between India and Chinaduring the two-day encounter atMamallapuram. Though it isnot known what went on for two-and-a-half hours during the one-to-one dinner composed of exot-ic Tamil dishes, very few concretedecisions seem to have beentaken. The Indian foreign secre-tary affirmed that the “K” wordwas not pronounced. This isregrettable for the occasion wasopportune to clarify the Indianposition.

One positive outcome fromthe meeting was the decision toestablish a high-level economicand trade dialogue mechanism“with the objective of achievingenhanced trade and commercialrelations, as well as to better bal-ance the trade between the twocountries.” This can, hopefully,help rebalance the trade deficit —today in India’s disfavour.

An example of a positivepragmatic policy for India hasbeen the creation of the post ofChief of Defence Staff (CDS). Aday before the end of the year,the Government finally nomi-nated Gen Bipin Rawat, outgo-ing Chief of Army Staff, as thefirst CDS “to drive the desper-ately-needed integration amongthe three services.”

But why did we have to waitfor one day before the end of GenRawat’s tenure to see his namereleased? There was probably anintense lobbying from the babusto preserve their turf. The his-tory of modern India is aMahabharata between the pro-gressive forces, which want tochange “eternal Bharat”, and theentrenched administration stick-ing to their privileges.

To win this battle would bethe best way to counter China. AsRawat was handing over thebaton to Gen MM Naravane, hissuccessor, he was asked a ques-tion: Is the Army better preparedtoday to face the security chal-lenges than when he took over?Gen Rawat replied, “Yes, we arebetter prepared.”

Preparation for any even-tuality is the way forward tocounter the rise of China. Atthe same time, India needs tocontinue investing in infra-structure, telecommunicationsystems, roads, airports andborder areas while also provid-ing a decent living and empow-ering frontier populations. Inthe future, ArtificialIntelligence (AI), latesttelecommunication means andnew technologies should beindigenously developed if Indiadoes not want to be left behind.Only then will China respectIndia and will not be temptedto engage in an adventure likeit did in 1962. This is a toughagenda for 2020.

(The writer is an expert onIndia-China relations)

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Sir — The Prime Minister must becomplimented for implementing arecommendation made in 2001 bya Group of Ministers on nationalsecurity, headed by the then deputyPrime Minister, LK Advani.Expectation is that with the appoint-ment of Bipin Rawat as the newChief of Defence Staff (CDS),defence management will improvesignificantly.

The Government’s own Pressrelease defines the appointment ofthe CDS as “landmark”. Hopefully,Gen Rawat will give “effective lead-ership” to the services at the top levelof decision-making, improve coor-dination among the three servicesand prepare them better to deal witha rapidly changing security environ-ment and the changing nature ofwarfare.

To accommodate the CDS inthe higher defence organisation, itis understood that the Governmenthas decided to create a brand newDepartment of Military Affairs(DMA) in the Ministry of Defence(MoD). Though it is clear that high-er defence management structureswill now have an additional personin the shape of the CDS, his rela-tionship with the three Chiefs and

the Defence Secretary has not beendefined clearly.

One hopes that the roles andfunctions of other departments inthe MoD, too, will be re-examinedso that the military and civilianbureaucracy work together in theinterest of the country. However,dealing with the bureaucracy will bea challenge for the CDS.

J AkshayBengaluru

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Sir — After the Shiv Sena’s exit fromthe NDA, it’s now the time for theJanata Dal (United) [JD(U)] to playball. JD(U) vice-president PrashantKishor’s suggestion that the partyshould contest a lion’s share of seatsin the Bihar polls later this year sig-nals trouble for the BJP. BiharChief Minister Nitish Kumar is a

shrewd politician. He had hiredKishor as a strategist way back in2015 during the Assembly electionsbut was later elevated to the post ofparty vice-president.

Nitish Kumar knows the weak-nesses of the BJP, especially after itsuffered debacles in Maharashtra,Jharkhand and the poor show inHaryana. He wants to exploit the sit-uation to its maximum. Kishor’s lat-est statements should be seen in this

context. In retaliation, the BJP hasgiven its command to DeputyChief Minister Sushil Modi. The lat-est war of words between them isa strategy of the two parties to exertpressure on each other.

However, the weakening posi-tion of the Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD), the Congress and othersmaller Opposition parties hasstrengthened the bargaining powerof the JD(U). The fear of loosingBihar, like Jharkhand, is hauntingthe BJP as it knows, it cannot winthe State all alone. Now time hascome when the BJP, like Congress,will have to play the second fiddlein Assembly elections to regionalparties in States where they arestrong and in return seek conces-sions in parliamentary elections.

Remember, the Congress wasquick to mould its strategy inJharkhand where it agreed to con-test lesser seats than its regional ally,Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).Similarly, the BJP would have todevise a way to empower Nitish’sJD(U) to avoid any rift. It can ill-afford to rub Nitish Kumar thewrong way for fear of losing Bihar.

J AkshobhyaMysuru

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Economic development and human well-being hinge on the availability of naturalresources on affordable terms. India’s ambi-

tion of high growth and meeting human aspira-tions has led to the widespread use of naturalresources, many of which are non-renewable andimport-dependent. For example, crude oil. In2018, India imported more than 225 milliontonnes of crude oil at a cost of $ 130 billion. India’sdemand for fuel and non-fuel resources has beenskyrocketing in recent times owing to strong eco-nomic growth and technological advancements.Between 1990 and 2017, India’s material con-sumption increased almost three times from 2.5billion tonnes to 7.4 billion tonnes.

Continued reliance on virgin materials fromwithin India and outside for driving economicgrowth will not only have adverse consequenceson their future availability and costs but also posea serious threat to the environment. “Doing morewith less”, also known as “resource efficiency”, hasemerged as a key strategy that can transform theconventional linear production-consumptionsystem to one that is circular, thereby preventingresource wastage and overuse of virgin materi-als by industries.

Resource efficiency encompasses a widevariety of technologies, processes, policy and insti-tutional interventions along with the product andservice life cycle stages. These typically includemining, design, manufacturing, consumption andend-of-life. Resource efficiency promotes life cyclethinking that helps in identifying opportunitiesto reduce material/resource footprint along thevalue chain, thus improving resource productiv-ity and value enhancement. A resource-efficienteconomy would help, for example, extend prod-uct life, develop products that can be kept in cir-culation to minimise loss of resources, close mate-rial loops, reduce landfill dumping, and degen-erating resources (incineration of waste) and soon.

The United Nations Development Agenda of2030 (UN 2016), too, recognises the importanceof efficient use of natural resources through SDG-12, i.e. promotion of sustainable consumption andproduction (SCP). By becoming a signatory to theUNSDG, India has committed to achieving sus-tainable consumption and production by 2030 bysubstantially reducing waste generation throughprevention, reduction, reuse and recycling.India’s commitment towards promoting sustain-able consumption and production is reflectedthrough the recent draft of the Resource Efficiencypolicy prepared by the Ministry of EnvironmentForest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). Thedraft of the National Resource Efficiency Policy,2019, is considered to be a significant step towardsthe desired transition as it will help identify oppor-tunities and facilitate thinking and supportaction towards closing resource use loops byestablishing links and synergies across existingsectoral and/or resource-specific strategies.

One of the key aspects the policy focusses onis establishing an institutional mechanism thatintends to promote inter-ministerial engagementand facilitate exchange of ideas for implementa-tion on resource efficiency. The consequentchanges in regulation and policies are expectedto generate new economic opportunities and busi-ness models, resource-efficient products and ser-vices and increase investment and employment.

Transport is a major resource-consuming sec-

tor with high environmental impacts. Atransition from personalised vehicleownership to shared facilities can sig-nificantly improve resource efficiencyin the sector. It has the potential to notonly attract economic investments butalso create employment opportunitiesfor thousands of Indians.

Sustainable agricultural methodscan increase yield, reduce the environ-mental impact and improve profitabil-ity for farmers. Further, labelling andretailing will create a market for theseproducts at the domestic level. Strategiesfor reduction in food loss during han-dling and transit will go a long way inmeeting increased per capita availabil-ity of food. In the urban environment,car-pooling clubs, sharing of buildingservices and office spaces would alsolead to saving of resources while the useof innovative building and infrastruc-ture design and resource-efficient inputscan achieve significant energy savings.

Pricing externalities linked toresource extraction and use throughtaxes can increase the prices of virginraw materials, thereby generating theeconomic incentive to use them moreefficiently and make the secondaryresources more price competitive.Resource efficiency standards are anextremely important enabling factor topromote the use of secondary rawmaterial and products made fromthem. These standards not only enableidentification of resource-efficient prod-ucts or raw material but also indicatetheir quality and enhance acceptabili-ty.

Higher acceptance will lead toincreased demand and generation ofeconomies of scale. However, large-scaleawareness generation efforts anddemonstration projects will need to beundertaken to change perceptions about

products made from waste/secondaryraw material. Further, setting up ofmandatory targets for recycled contentin new products will stimulate and sup-port responsible consumption demandsfrom both consumers and businesses.

Participation, collective action andcommitments from all major stakehold-ers, including industry, policymakers,Government agencies, academic, andcivil society organisations comprisingnon-profit institutions, think tanks,business groups, consumers, technolo-gy developers and solution providers areessential. But this will need the supportof administrative and managementmechanisms for implementation andenforcement of resource efficiencymeasures. Business models can also bedeveloped to design products to usethem for as long as possible, reusing andthen remanufacturing them at the endof service life. Further, the creation offinancing mechanisms that includemeeting the requirement of viability gapfunding will make these business mod-els scalable, replicable and will be ableto generate larger social, economic andenvironmental benefits.

Technology could play an importantrole by enabling application of circulareconomy principles on a larger scale byimproving access to information, man-agement of materials through efficientrecovery and recycling, tracking andlogistics, transparency and accountabil-ity. Good practice guidelines andmanuals help in standardisation to theextent possible and in mainstreamingresource efficiency across businesses andtheir value chains. India’s MSMEs formthe backbone of the industrial sector.Due to the paucity of financial andhuman capital, resource-efficient strate-gies for MSMEs might remain a distantdream. Although there are schemes for

these industries, there is a need tostrengthen the existing industrialecosystem between large and small enti-ties by bringing in more capacity devel-opment, process and product develop-ment and support green procurement.

State governments and local author-ities can focus on their sectoral priori-ties and design resource-efficient strate-gies at their level and become leaders infostering resource efficiency and circu-lar economy at the sub-national level.Given that the Niti Aayog has highlight-ed the importance of competitive fed-eralism, the focus on State-level resourceefficiency strategies will help in the cre-ation of a competitive edge. Circularthinking can be embedded in design-ing the municipal services provision,integration of circularity principles inprocurement processes and related ten-ders and in setting up the infrastructureof urban industrial symbiosis.

It is important to also emphasise onthe need for systems thinking andconsider resources from a supply chainperspective, using a life cycle approach.There is a need to tap into the synergisedknowledge and expertise of differentministries and departments of theGovernment and promote holistic con-sideration and recognition of resourceefficiency challenges.

Further, a monitoring process thathelps assess the resource use, efficien-cy of sectors and resources with har-monised metrics and regular publica-tion of results could give resource effi-ciency a higher profile in India’s eco-nomic growth pathway.

(Bhattacharjya is a Fellow andAssociate Director of the ResourceEfficiency and Governance Division andBakshi is a policy research Fellow at theEnvironment and Waste ManagementDivision at TERI)

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An alarming number of 2.69million cases of tuberculosishave been reported in India by

the World Health OrganisationReport (WHO), 2019. As of now,India contributes to 27 per cent of theglobal burden of tuberculosis.However, diligent efforts and constantdetermination may enable the coun-try to demonstrate leadership in thecontrol of this communicable disease.The country, though reeling under animmense population burden, has thepotential to achieve tuberculosis elim-ination through innovations in health-

care technology.India possesses the capacity to

serve as the global centre for innova-tions focussed on neglected diseasesand the current technologicaladvancements that exist are inade-quate to bridge gaps in neglected dis-eases that affect the Indian population.At this juncture, it is important to nur-ture the innovation ecosystem inIndia and increase investment in thesame. It is imperative to integrate cut-ting-edge technology and systems inall aspect of healthcare, particularlysurveillance and monitoring mecha-nisms, diagnostic technologies, treat-ment approaches, preventive andpalliative strategies and the systemsrequired to make healthcare availableand accessible to all those in need.

The National Strategic Plan2017-2025 for tuberculosis elimina-tion by the Government endorsesinnovations and technologies throughcollaborative efforts by Governmentbodies and organisations, including

civil society organisations and the pri-vate sector players.

It is on these lines that the IndiaHealth Fund (IHF) was conceptu-alised to strengthen the health ecosys-tem by bridging the gap between thelaboratory and the market and trans-lating proof-of-concepts into a sus-tainable impact.

The health fund aims to fosterout-of-the-box thinking aimed ateliminating tuberculosis and malar-ia by 2025 and 2030 respectively,which is aligned with the vision of theGovernment. In an attempt to serveas a catalyst for change, it provides aplatform for innovators to supportstrategic products and processes thatwould result in reduction of sufferingand deaths occurring due to theseinfectious diseases.

The IHF recently launched theTB Quest 2019 post a rigorous screen-ing and evaluation process to awardnovel pathways towards addressingthe multiple challenges of tuberculo-

sis that result in huge economic andhuman costs. One of the awardeeswere innovators working to addressthe pressing problem of delayedtuberculosis diagnosis in remote areasusing artificial intelligence and deeplearning technology for imaging forquick and accurate diagnosis.

Another awardee is working onpreventing transmission of tubercu-losis from animals to humans with anovel diagnostic kit that uses a com-bination of native and recombinantantigens to detect bovine tuberculo-sis. Sputum collection has proven tobe time-consuming and inaccurate attimes, so to address this problem,another firm created an immune-magnetic cell capture technologythat replaces sputum smearmicroscopy as a method for diagnos-ing tuberculosis.

For efficient implementation oftuberculosis diagnostics at the districtand sub-district level of healthcaredelivery, yet another innovator devel-

oped a real-time quantitative micro-PCR system with the aim of bringingbattery-operated, point-of-carePolymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)testing and molecular diagnosis topatients.

The Centre for Health Researchand Innovation (CHRI), in partner-ship with an innovator aims to enablefaster diagnosis and treatment initi-ation of tuberculosis patients throughthis system, allowing primary health-care workers to diagnose tuberculo-sis in primary health settings wheremicroscopy is the sole diagnostic tech-nique available.

Further, a device calledTuberculosis MonitoringEncouragement Adherence Drivethat is aimed at improving drugadherence was another path-breakingtechnology that was recognised andawarded. To ensure a smooth transi-tion from the laboratories to the mar-kets for these technologies, a team ofscientists, public health and medical

practitioners will guide and mentorthe innovators in their journey.Furthermore, the IHF aims to createa platform for these innovators bymobilising resources and buildingpublic-private partnerships to initiateinnovative solutions, business mod-els and bring a transformative change.

Innovations that combine afford-ability along with ground-breakingtechnology should be encouraged andsupported to the very last mile.Elimination of tuberculosis fromIndia will be achieved by breaking thesilos, forging partnerships, creatingnovel business models and extendingsupport to innovations curated byyoung entrepreneurs.

A comprehensive and collabora-tive platform involving public and pri-vate stakeholders can facilitate thisprocess and accelerate the process ofelimination of such diseases fromIndia.

(The writer is CEO of a corporateventure on health funding)

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Jaipur: Rajasthan ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot onThursday urged Union HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan tovisit the state-run JK Lon hos-pital in Kota, where 100 infantsdied in December, and see forhimself the “best facilities”provided there.

The BJP has been targetingthe ruling Congress over thefunctioning of the hospital.

“I telephoned CentralHealth Minister @drharsh-vardhan ji and requested himto visit #Kota personally so thathe can see the best of facilities

and proper management byState Health Department andget himself apprised of thefacts,” Gehlot tweeted.

He further wrote, “HarshVardhan ji is himself a doctorand if he visits the hospital in#Kota, it will also clarify the sit-uation for people, who are giv-ing reaction mischievously,knowingly, unknowingly andalso innocently.”

Earlier in the day, Vardhanhad tweeted about sending ahigh-level team to the hospitalto provide all assistance.

“The high-level team being despatched by

@MoHFW_INDIA incl expertsfrom AIIMS Jodhpur, HealthFinance & Regional Director,Health Services Jaipur. It willreach #Kota tomorrow. In myletter too to @ashokgehlot51 ji,I've offered all possible assis-tance to prevent any furtherdeaths (sic),” Union HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan said ina tweet on Thursday,” hesaid.

Vardhan has also written toGehlot, assuring him of allassistance. He also urgedGehlot to initiate measures tostop the deaths of children atthe hospital. PTI

Bengaluru: Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday called on scientists andinnovators of the country to widen theirhorizons, as he assured them thattheGovernment was completely with them.“Your capability is vast, you can domany things, widen your horizons,change the parameters of your perfor-mance...Fly spreading wings...There areopportunities, I'm with you,” he said.

Addressing a DRDO event here, hesaid he was assuring them, as the PrimeMinister, that the government was com-pletely with the scientists of the countryand innovators.

“You all are aware that along with airand sea, cyber and space will define theworld's strategic dynamics.

Along with this, intelligent machineswill play a key role in the defence sectorin the days to come .

In such a situation, India cannot lagbehind,” he said, adding that to protect thecitizens, borders and interests, it wasimportantto invest in future techniquesand innovation.

The Prime Minister was speakingafter dedicating to the country the YoungScientists laboratories formed by DefenceResearch and Development Organisationto start focused research in advancedtechnologies.

DRDO Young Scientist Laboratories,in short DYSLs, are located at Bengaluru,Mumbai, Chennai Kolkata andHyderabad. PTI

Bengaluru: Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday slammed States,which have not enrolled with thePradhan Mantri Kisan SammanYojana (PMKSY), saying that suchpetty politics has done great damageto the farming community.

“I expect that in the new year,those states which are not associatedwith the Kisan Samman Yojana willat least become a part of it this year,”the Prime Minister said at a functionin Tumakuru where he disbursed � 12,000 crore to six crore beneficia-ries under the Government scheme in one-go. Also, he gave away the KrishiKarman Award to the selected farm-ers and distributed fishing equipmentto the chosen ones on the

occasion.Modi said political considerations

by the State Governments in imple-menting the PMKSY has causedsevere loss to the poor farmers.

“Such politics has never strength-ened the farmers. Our Governmentunderstood your (farmers') needs,requirements and your aspirationsand accordingly tried to implementthe schemes,” said Modi.

He further said his Governmentnever saw agriculture in fragments butin its totality. Claiming hisGovernment has ensured that theentire money reached the poor ben-eficiaries, Prime Minister hit out at theprevious Governments, when mid-dlemen ruled the roost. PTI

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath on Thursday attacked Congress pres-ident Sonia Gandhi and general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra, saying it was extreme-ly sad that despite being women both could notfeel the pain of the mothers wholost their children at a hospital in Rajasthan's

Kota.In a series of tweets in Hindi, he said, “The

death of 100 innocent children is extremely sad-dening and heart-wrenching.

The death of children is a blot on a civilisedsociety, human values and feelings.”

“It is extremely sad that Congress presidentSonia Gandhi and general secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra, despite being women, are not ableto understand the sorrow of the mothers,” headded.

In another tweet, he said it would have beenbetter had Priyanka met and consoled theaggrieved mothers instead of indulging in pol-itics in UP. PTI

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Reacting to criticism over thedeath of 100 infants at

Kota's JK Lon Hospital,Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot on Thursdaysaid the issue should not bepoliticised and his Governmentwas sensitive to it.

His remarks came amidcriticism by the BJP and BSPsupremo Mayawati, whoaccused the State Governmentof being insensitive.

Expressing displeasure onthe response to the tragedy,Mayawati also questioned thesilence of Congress generalsecretary Priyanka GandhiVadra, saying if she does notmeet mothers of the deceasedchildren, then her meetingwith the kin of the victims ofviolence during theanti-CAA protests in UP will

be “construed as pure the-atrics”.

“The Government is sen-sitive to the death of sickinfants in JK Lon Hospital inKota. There should no politics

over the issue. Infant mortali-ty at this hospital is steadilydecreasing. We will try toreduce it further. It is our toppriority that mothers and chil-dren remain in good healthy,”Gehlot tweeted in Hindi.

Gehlot further claimed thatthe first ICU for children inRajasthan was established bythe Congress Government in2003.

“We also established anICU for children in Kota in2011,” he added.

Gehlot said the aim of'Nirogi Rajasthan' was a prior-ity for the government and anexpert team from the Centrecould further help improvehealth services in the state.

“We are ready to improvemedical services in the statethrough discussions and coop-eration with an expert teamfrom the Centre,” he said.

Meanwhile, BJP state pres-ident Satish Poonia expresseddispleasure on the state gov-ernment's attitude towards theissue.

“It is regrettable that thestate health minister did noteven visit the hospital. TheChief Minister is known forbeing sensitive. A delegation ofBJP MPs had met the familieswho lost their children. Theywere in deep anguish. If thegovernment is not sensitivethen it is worrisome,” Pooniasaid.

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At least nine passengers werekilled and 38 others were

injured after a bus skidded offthe road and fell in to a deepgorge near Siot in Rajouri dis-trict on Thursday.

According to local residents, who accompaniedcritically injured passengers inJammu Medical College, hos-pital, the mishap took placewhen driver of the ill fated busbearing registration numberJK02AL 1361 lost control overthe wheels and it rolleddown in to a deep gorge near

Siot. Local residents also

claimed the driver of the buswas using mobile phone at thetime of the accident.

According to police, sevenpassengers died on the spotwhile two others succumbed totheir critical injuries on reach-ing / enroute GMC, Jammu.Local residents along with res-cue teams of the state policeand paramilitary forcesrushed to the spot and shift-

ed the injured to a nearby dis-trict hospital from where theywere referred to GMC, Jammu.

Meanwhile, broadbandinternet connectivity wasrestored at 80 Government

hospitals, including health cen-tres and offices linked to thehealth department, in theKashmir Valley on Thursday.

“Broadband high-speedinternet connectivity restored

at 80 Government hospitals,including health centres andoffices linked to the depart-ment of health, acrossKashmir,” an official said.

Internet services were sus-pended in the Valley on the

night of August 4, the daybefore the Centre announcedabrogation of Article 370 pro-visions and bifurcation of theerstwhile Jammu & KashmirState in to Union Territories.

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BSP PresidentMayawati on

Thursday questionedthe silence of Congressleader Priyanka GandhiVadra on the death of infants inRajasthan's Kota dis-trict and said sheshould have met thewomen whohad lost their childrendue to “laxity” of the AshokGehlot Government.

In a series of tweets, theformer Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister also slammed theGehlot Government for thedeath of infants.

“The death of 100 childrenin Rajasthan's Kota district isvery sad and painful. ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot andhis Government are still insen-sitive, disinterested and irre-sponsible, which is highly con-demnable,” she charged in atweet.

“But, what is more sad-dening is the fact that the topleadership of the Congress andespecially its lady general sec-retary maintaining

silence over this issue. It wouldhave been better that like shedid in UP, she had met theaggrieved mothers, who losttheir children due to the laxi-ty of the party's Government,” she said.

The BSP chief also said, “Ifthe lady Congress general sec-retary does not meet mothersof the deceased children, thenher meeting with aggrievedfamily members of UP will beconstrued as pure theatricsand political self-interest, whichthe public of UP should bewary of ”.

At least 100 infants havedied at a Government-run hos-pital in Kota in December lastyear.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visitKolkata next week sources in the BJP said. In Kolkata

the Prime Minister will attend the 150-year celebrationsof Kolkata Port Trust, sources said adding he wouldcome on the night of January 10 and attend the KPTprogramme the next day on January 11.

There was no information on whether during thevisit he will have a meeting with Chief Minister MamataBanerjee who has been at the fore front of the move-ment against Citizenship Amendment Bill and NationalRegister for Citizens.

“The Prime Minister will stay at Raj Bhavan for thenight and attend the KPT programme the next daywhere after he will leave for Delhi,” an informed sourcesaid refusing to comment on whether the ChiefMinister will meet him at the Governor’s House orwhether there will be a one-on-one parley between thetwo leaders in the side lines of the Port Trust pro-gramme.

The State BJP leaders also would not share infor-mation on whether the Prime Minister would addressany political rally in Kolkata.

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IIT-Kanpur has formed a com-mittee to inquire into a com-

plaint against the recitation of FaizAhmed Faiz's noted poem 'HumDekhenge' on campus by studentsto express solidarity with theirpeers at Jamia Millia Islamia, theinstitute's Deputy DirectorManindra Agarwal said.

He said a “very peacefulprotest” was held on December 17by about 300 students of the pre-mier institute at its premises asthey were not allowed to go outdue to enforcement of prohibito-ry orders under Section 144 of theCrPC in the city.

An IIT-Kanpur student recit-ed the poem 'Hum Dekhenge' byFaiz against which a complaintwas filed by Dr VashimantSharma, a temporary facultymember, and 16 others, includingfaculty members and students.

“The video suggests that thepoem also provokes anti-Hindusentiments,” the complaint stated.

The written complaint filed

by them with the IIT-Kanpurdirector states that the poem hadsome words that could hurt thesentiments of Hindus, Agarwalsaid.

“A committee of six memberswas established, headed by me, toinvestigate the matter. Some stu-dents have been questioned, whilethe others will be questioned afterthey return to the institution afterthe holidays,” the deputy directorsaid.

There was a war of words onsocial media between those sup-porting the recitation of the poemand those who opposed it, he said.

“It was contributing to esca-

lation of the situation and hencewe requested both sides to stop itand they obliged,” Agarwal said.

The video also shows studentscarrying placards with slogans like'Tumhari laathi aur goli se tezhamari awaaz hai' (our voice islouder than your sticks and bul-lets) and 'IIT-Kanpur condemnspolice brutality on Jamia andAMU students. Shame on DelhiPolice', an official said.

“We would take some moredays to hear both sides beforecoming up with the findings assome students were left to ques-tion and it could only be possibleafter their return to the institutionafter holidays,” Agarwal said,adding, “Once everything coolsdown, we will be able to sort outthe matter amicably.”

However, IIT-Kanpur directorAbhay Karandikar has criticised asection of the media for reportingsince Wednesday that the institutehas set up a committee to decidewhether the poem by Faiz is anti-Hindu or not, saying this is “verymisleading”.

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Even after conducting houseto house searches in sever-

al forward villages along theLine of Control in Nowshera,the joint teams of securityforces continue to struggle totrack down the foot prints of agroup of heavily armed terror-ists responsible for killing twosoldiers of the Indian Army inthe wee hours of Wednesday.

According to DefencePRO, Lt-Col Devender Anand,“29 year old Naik SawantSandip Raghunath,hailing fromSatara district of Maharashtraand 25 year old Rifleman ArjunThapa Magar, hailing fromNepal had attained martyrdom during exchangeof fire with heavily armed ter-rorists in a thickly forested vil-lage of Dabar-Potha inNowshera area of Rajouri in theintervening night of December31-January 1, 2020”.

Since then, joint teams ofsecurity forces have laid a tightcordon in the general area toplug all the escape routes of ter-rorists, believed to have infil-trated from across the line ofcontrol early Monday morning.

According to local villagers

in the area, “a group of heavi-ly armed terrorists had takenshelter for some time in thehouse of a local villager inDabar-Potha and had madespecific queries related to loca-tion of local army camps, routetowards Kashmir valley viaMughal road”.

Soon after terroristsstepped out of their home, thehead of the family had raisedfirst alarm and tipped off thevillage sarpanch to immediatelyalert local army unit.

Despite launching cordonand search operations in realtime, the security forces have sofar failed to track down theirfoot prints.

Highly placed sourcesclaimed, possibility of theirpresence (heavily armed ter-rorists) in a safe hideout, can-not be ruled out as security

forces have failed to establishfresh contact with them after abrief exchange of fire leading tofatal injuries of two soldiers.

The security forces aremaintaining a tight vigil in thearea and have even stoppedvehicular movement towardsthese forward villages to pre-vent these terrorists from mix-ing with the local populationand escaping using publictransport vehicle. Local resi-dents in the area continue tospend sleepless nights for lasttwo days despite huge presenceof security forces in the area.

Meanwhile, after organis-ing a wreath laying ceremonyin Jammu on Thursday themortal remains of martyredsoldiers were dispatched totheir native places where theirlast rites will be performed withfull military honours.

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Tumakuru (Karnataka):Lambasting Congress and itsallies for opposing theCitizenship Amendment Act,Prime Minister Narendra Modion Thursday said the ongoingprotests were against theParliament and called on theagitators to raise their voiceagainst Pakistan's atrocities onits minorities for the last 70years.

The Prime Minister saidprotecting and supportingminorities of neighbouringcountries who have soughtrefuge in India was our culturaland national responsibility.

“Those who are protestingagainst the Parliament of India,I want to tell them that the needwas to expose Pakistan's deedson the world stage. If you wantto protest, protest and raisevoice against Pakistan's deedsfor the last 70 years, you shouldhave that guts,” he said.

Addressing a gathering at

Siddaganga Math near here, hesaid, “If you want to shout slo-gans, shout against the way inwhich atrocities are happeningagainst minorities there; if youwant to hold rallies, hold it infavour of dalits and down-trodden who have come fromPakistan (to India). If you wantto do dharna, do it againstPakistans deeds.”

Modi was speaking afterpaying respects at the'Gadduge' (final resting place)of Shivakumara Swamiji atSiddaganga Math, a promi-nent Lingayat seminary here.

Pointing out that few weeksago the Parliament passed theCAA, Modi said, however, theCongress and its allies and theecosystem created by them arestanding up against the IndianParliament. He said, “the kindof hate they have towards us(BJP), similar voice can beheard against the country'sParliament these days. PTI

Panaji: Four Goa Congressleaders resigned from the partyon Thursday to protest againstits stand on the CitizenshipAmendment Act and three ofthem later joined the BJP, aheadof the saffron party's rally hereon Friday.

Former Panaji Congressblock committee presidentPrasad Amonkar, former block

committee secretary DineshKubal, former youth leaderShivraj Tarkar and North Goaminority cell chief Javed Sheikhquit the party in the morning,saying they were in favour of theamended citizenship law.

Amonkar, Kubal and Tarkarlater joined the BJP, ahead of theparty working president JPNadda's public awareness rally

on the Citizenship AmendmentAct here on Friday.

The three were welcomedinto the BJP by party MLA fromPanaji Atansaio Monserratte.

Later, talking to reporters,Amonkar said they joined theBJP as they support theCitizenship Amendment Actand want to create awarenessabout it. PTI

Mumbai: Senior BJP leaderEknath Khadse has allegedthat former Maharashtra ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavisand party leader GirishMahajan were behind denial ofticket to him in the StateAssembly polls held last year.

Khadse, while speaking toMarathi news channel ABPMajha on Wednesday, also saidthat some people wanted to endhis political career.

“I am told by the BJP's Statecore committee members thatDevendra Fadnavis and GirishMahajan had opposed issuingticket to me from MuktainagarAssembly seat in Jalgaon dis-trict. They even opposed BJPcentral committee's willing-ness to give ticket to me,”Khadse said.

“I was told about it by somecore committee members oncondition of anonymity,” theformer State Minister claimed.

Khadse resigned as revenueminister in 2016 in the thenBJP-led Government over alle-gations of impropriety in a landdeal. He was at that time thesenior-most minister in theFadnavis-led Cabinet.

He could never return tothe Cabinet and was deniedticket by the BJP in theAssembly polls in October lastyear. The saffron party, instead,gave the ticket to his daughterRohini Khadse fromMuktainagar. However, she lostto Shiv Sena rebel ChandrakantPatil. PTI

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Amajor political controver-sy has erupted in Kerala

with Governor ArifMohammed Khan on one sideand the entire political spec-trum in the State barring theBJP on another side over theresolution adopted by theLegislative Assembly urgingthe Union Government toscrap the CitizenshipAmendment Act.

On New Year Eve, theKerala Legislative Assemblyhad passed a resolution againstthe Act with the ruling CPI(M),CPI and the OppositionCongress and the MuslimLeague coming together in arare show of unity. The loneBJP member in the Houseexpressed his oppositionagainst the resolution.

On Thursday, GovernorArif Mohammed Khan in abrief interaction with the mediaat Thiruvananthapuram on the

sidelines ofa nationalseminar onVedas saidthat theresoilutionpassed byt h eLegislativea s s e mb l yagainst theCAA has no constitutional orlegal validity.

“Citizenship is an issuethat comes under the UnionGovernment. State governmenthas got nothing to do with it.Why is the State Governmentwasting time? The resolutionpassed by the Kerala Assemblyhas no constitutional or legal validity,” said theGovernor.

Arif Mohammed Khanfurther pointed out that theCAA would not have anyimpact in Kerala as there wereno illegal migrants in the State.The Governor expressed his

surprise overthe obsession ofcertain politicalparties in theState over theCAA which hasno bearing inKerala.

The obser-vations by theG o v e r n o r

earned the ire of Marxist andCongress leaders in the State.K Muraleedharan, MP, who isthe son of former Congressleader late K Karunakaranwarned that he would notallow the Governor to comeout of the Raj Bhavan. In ascathing attack, the MPdescribed the Kerala Governoras an agent of the BJP.

Fornmer Chief MinisterOommen Chandi too camedown heavily on the stance ofthe Governor viz-a-viz theCAA. But Subramanian SwamyMO and former UnionMinister of law fully agreed

with Kerala Governor. “Theresolution adopted by theKerala Legislative Assemblyagainst an Act passed by bothHouses of Parliament is ameaningless action. It is illegaland unconstitutional. All I cando is to pity the members of theKerala Legislative Assemblywho showed the outside worldthat they were ignorant of thelaw and Constitution of thecountry.

The Governor has pointedout their mistake and I fullyendorse his views as he waswell within his rights to say so,”said Dr Swamy.

Meanwhile in Chennai,there are reports that the DMKmay bring in a resolution in theassembly condemning theCAA, in the lines of KeralaLegislative Assembly. The CPI,a major ally of the DMK , hasdemanded in a statement thata Kerala style resolution shouldbe adopted in the Tami NaduAssembly.

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Justifying the Citizenship(Amendment) Act (CAA),

Gujarat Chief Minister VijayRupani on Thursday said it wasIndia's responsibility to take inthe persecuted minorities fromneighbouring countries.

Addressing a gathering atKothamba in Mahisagar dis-trict, Rupani slammed theCongress for opposing the con-troversial new law that grantscitizenship to non-Muslimrefugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan andBangladesh.

“The Congress alwaysindulges in vote-bank politics.Why is the party opposingCAA? This is a conspiracy bythe Congress and other

Opposition parties to incitepeople to commit violence,” thechief minister said.

Rupani was in Kothambato unveil a statue of Dr B RAmbedkar and to inauguratesome developmental works.After Partition, MahatmaGandhi had said Hindus ofPakistan and Afghanistanshould be allowed to return toIndia, he claimed, adding thatthis was also agreed upon in theLiaquatNehru Pact, but theagreement was not imple-mented.

“Due to anarchy, majorityof 450 temples were demol-ished and only 20 remained inthose countries,” he said, refer-ring to alleged templedemolitions in the three coun-tries.

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The ruling TrinamoolCongress is expecting a

massive turnout on its Fridayrally at Siliguri which will beled by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to carry theprotest movement against thecontroversial CitizenshipAmendment Act in NorthBengal.

In what is being termed asa “comeback rally” for theBengal ruling outfit — consid-ering the fact that the TMC lostseven out of eight parliamen-tary seats in that part of theState stretching about 400 kmsand including seven districts —the Trinamool leaders are leav-ing no stone unturned toensure attendance of at least alakh of people.

“Though we had lost theLok Sabha seats in NorthBengal as the BJP managed topolarize the atmosphere, thistime the people have realisedtheir dirty game plan to neu-tralize the impact of price rise,joblessness, fall of industrialand agricultural output with ahighly communal narrativethat manifests itself through theobnoxious CAA and NationalCitizenship Register,” saidBengal Minister and local MLAGautam Deb adding there is nodoubt that Friday’s marchwould witness about a lakhpeople walking with the ChiefMinister.

The TMC has been partic-

ularly working among theGorkhas who were largely coldto a BJP’s pro-CAA rally onDecember 24 so that a major-ity of that community joins theFriday march. Gorkhas form alarge part of the population inDarjeeling Hills, Siliguri,Terrain are and parts ofJalpaiguri and Alipurduar.

“The treatment theGorkhas have been meted outin Assam where about onelakh people from the commu-nity have been thrown out ofthe final NRC list is a matter ofconcern here in Hills andTerrain region. They had votedfor the BJP in the Lok Sabhaelections but now they will notside with them. This wasproved by the minimum pres-ence of the Gorkha populationin the BJP’s Abihandan Yatraon December 24,” said a localTMC MLA. This apart, theTMC is also counting on theRajbanshi, Kamptapuri andCooch population of Raiganj,Jalpaiguri, Alipurudar andCoochbehar for making therally a grand success.

After taking out five con-secutive rallies in Kolkata andaround the Chief Minister hasdecided to take out her cam-

paign in districts. She led alarge rally at Purulia onDecember 31.

According to a local TMCleader in Coochbehar thoughthe BJP had been able to makean inroad amongst these com-munities in the parliamentaryelections they were not willingto remain by its side thanks tothe faulty implementation ofNRC in neighbouring Assam.

“More than 10 lakhBengalis including Rajbanshis,Cooch and Kamptapuris havebeen thrown out of the NTC.Despite being Indian citizensthey are now spending theirtime in courts and tribunals toget back their citizenship rights.

Thousands of local peoplehave their relatives in Assamwho are suffering under theNRC’s impact and these peoplewho had voted for the BJP willnever go back to its fold. Theywill naturally side by MamataBanerjee and respond to hercall in Friday’s rally,” said theTMC district leader fromCoochbehar who had earlierbeen in the BJP but hasrejoined Trinamool for thesame reason.

“We hope to get more thana lakh people coming to therally. Maybe the rally turns outto be bigger breaking all therecords. In fact the Leftistsand the Congress men toomay join the rally not becausethey will be with us in futurebut because they want to reg-ister their protest,” he added.

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Afierce controversy brokeout on Thursday over the

rejection of the tableaux ofMaharashtra and West Bengalfor the Republic Day parade, asthe ruling Shiv Sena, NCP andTrinamool Congress (TMC)dubbed the development as an“insult” to the people of the twoStates and said that behind themove, there appeared to be aCentre-hatched “political con-spiracy” against the States ruledby the non-BJP parties.

On a day when the TMCcharged that the NarendraModi Government was “vin-dictive” in its approach andwas meting out “step-mother-ly” treatment towards WestBengal, Shiv Sena spokespersonand MP Sanjay Raut tweeted:“At this year’s Republic Dayparade, the tableaux ofMaharashtra and West Bengalwill not be seen. Is there anyconspiracy behind this? Is thatour crime that we are strongpatriots?”.

“Maharashtra tableauattracts the nation’s attentionduring the parades alongRajpath in New Delhi.Maharashtra tableaux havewon first prize on several occa-sions in the past. What does theUnion Government wants toachieve by sidelining

Maharashtra? Had such a thinghappened during the Congress’rule at the Centre, the BJPwould have raised hue and cry.Why is the BJP keeping quiet?,”Raut asked.

Raut urged the ChiefMinisters of Maharashtra andWest Bengal to take up thematter with the Centre and findout reasons for rejection oftheir tableaux for the RepublicDay parade.

NCP leader and MPSupriya Sule, who took the leadin flagging the issue, tweeted:“The Union Government hasrejected the tableaux ofMaharashtra and West Bengalfor the Republic Day parade.Republic Day is a national cel-ebration. It is essential that theCentre gives representation toall States. The Centre’s actsmacks of malice. It is metingout discriminatory treatmenttowards to the Opposition-ruled states”.

“Maharashtra and WestBengal played an importantrole in the country’s indepen-dence struggle. The act ofrejecting the participation oftheir tableaux in the RepublicDay parade is an insult to thepeople of the two States. Wecondemn publicly the Centre’sact,” Sule tweeted.

Meanwhile, West BengalMinister of State for LegislativeAffairs Tapas Roy charged that

the Narendra ModiGovernment had adopted a“vindictive” attitude towardshis state “Since we have beenopposing anti-people policies ofthe BJP Government, theCentre is meting out step-motherly treatment towardsWest Bengal. As we haveopposed anti-people laws likeCAA the Centre has rejectedour tableau proposal”.

Roy recalled that the WestBengal’s earlier proposals toshowcase Kanyashree in 2015and 'Ekata-i Sampriti' (unity isharmony) programme in 2018during Republic Day paradeshad been rejected by the Centre.

However, West Bengal BJPunit president Dilip Ghoshcontested Roy’s statement bysaying that West Bengal’stableau proposals were reject-ed as the State Government did-n't properly follow the rules andprocedure regarding it.

“The State Governmenthas not followed the rules.Other states have followedthem, so their tableau propos-als have been accepted. TheTMC should stop doing politicson each and every issue,” Ghosh

said. On its part, theGovernment has rejected theState Government’s criticism, bysaying that it had followed dueprocess in the selection oftableaux.

Official sources said thatthe tableaux proposals receivedfrom various states/UTs andCentral Ministries/departmentswere evaluated in a series ofmeetings of the expert com-mittee comprising of eminentpersons in the field of art, cul-ture, painting, sculpture, music,architecture, choreography etc.

“Many tableaux of BJP-ruled states have also beenrejected this year. These statesare Haryana, Uttarakhand,Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh. Itis pertinent to mention herethat the tableau of the govern-ment of West Bengal was short-listed for participation inRepublic Day Parade 2019 asan outcome of the sameprocess,” the sources said.

“For Republic Day Parade2020, a total of 56 tableaux pro-posals (32 from states/UTs and24 from Ministries/depart-ments) were received. Out ofthese, 22 proposals, comprisingof 16 states/UTs and six min-istries/departments, have final-ly been shortlisted for partici-pation in the Republic DayParade 2020 after a series of fivemeetings,” the sourcesadded.

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The country’s manufacturingsector activity improved in

December driven by neworders that rose at the fastestpace since July as companiesramped up production andresumed hiring efforts, amonthly survey said onThursday.

Notwithstanding theimprovement in operating con-ditions during December, com-panies were cautious regardingthe annual outlook of 2020 andthis could have an impact onjob creation and investment inthe year, the survey said.

The IHS Markit IndiaManufacturing PMI rose from51.2 in November to 52.7 inDecember, registering the

“joint-strongest” improvementin 10 months.

“Factories benefited from arebound in demand, andresponded by scaling up pro-duction to the greatest extentsince May. There were alsorenewed increases in inputpurchasing and employmentduring December,” Pollyannade Lima, Principal Economistat IHS Markit said.

As per the survey, newwork orders witnessed markedimprovement, with the pace ofexpansion picking up to thefastest since July. Moreover, theuptick in total sales was sup-ported by higher demand fromoverseas. New export ordersexpanded for the 26th monthin a row, albeit modestly, thesurvey said.

This is the 29th consecutivemonth that the manufacturingPMI has remained above the50-point mark. In PMI par-lance, a print above 50 meansexpansion, while a score belowthat denotes contraction.

Lima, however, said “a note

of caution is evident from thesurvey’s measure of businessconfidence. The degree of opti-mism signalled at the end of2019 was the weakest in justunder three years, reflectingconcerns over market condi-tions, which could restrict jobcreation and investment in theearly part of 2020”.

According to the survey,production is expected toexpand in the coming 12months, but the degree of opti-mism weakened to a 34-monthlow. On the inflation front, theoverall rate of inflation reacheda 13-month high.

“At the same time, priceindicators showed acceleratedrates of inflation for both inputcosts and output charges. Thelatter reflected a combinationof improved pricing power,given the favourable demandenvironment, and efforts toprotect margins from costrises,” Lima said. The RBI isscheduled to hold its MonetaryPolicy Committee (MPC) dur-ing February 4-6, 2020.

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In what can potentially hurt thefiscal math for the ongoing fis-

cal, a senior Government officialsaid strategic divestments inAir India, BPCL and ContainerCorporation are “unlikely” to becompleted in FY20.

Work on all these compa-nies is on and the process is fac-ing delays due to “surprises”encountered once the wheelshave begun moving, the officialfrom the Department ofInvestment and Public AssetManagement (Dipam) said.

The Ministry has budget-ed to garner �1.05 lakh crorefrom divestments during thefiscal. The Government hasalready breached the budgetedfiscal deficit gap and the extentof the gap stands at 115 percent with four months to go.

The official declined tocomment on the impact of suchevents on the fiscal math.When asked if the strategicdivestment in the BharatPetroleum Corporation(BPCL) — which can alonefetch the Government over

�60,000 crore if it were to sellits entire 53 per cent stake —will be completed this fiscal, theofficial said, “unlikely”.

“We are not saying that forourselves and our timelines aresuch that it should happen. Butwe know that the processthrows up surprises,” the offi-cial said speaking on the side-lines of an event here.

Similarly, on ContainerCorporation (Concor) and AirIndia as well, the official saidthat the sales will not gothrough in the current fiscalending March 31.

The official said theGovernment is preparing thefinancial statements and gettingthe data room ready for thesales, suggesting that suchaspects take time. Till now, theindustry has shown “excite-ment” over the companieswhich are being floated, the offi-cial said, adding that there areadditional details which may besought by potential bidders.

When asked about thestrategic sale in ShippingCorporation of India (SCI), theofficial said the sale is at a cer-

tain stage and going strong.The Government, which hadexceeded the budgeted divest-ment target last fiscal, hasmopped up only �12,359 croreof the �1.05 lakh crore target asof September. According tomedia reports, the stake sale inSCI can fetch it �2,000 croreand over �13,000 crore canaccrue from Concor.

Meanwhile, EdelweissMutual Fund’s Bharat BondExchange Traded Fund listedon the National StockExchange on Thursday with amarginally down opening.

Dipam’s joint secretaryAnuradha Thakur said thegovernment is working hardwith the regulators in order toensure that the bond marketgets maximum traction.

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Mumbai: The Government hasno option but to privatise AirIndia as it has around �80,000-crore debt and needs cooper-ation of the employees for car-rying out the privatisationprocess, Minister of State forCivil Aviation Hardeep SinghPuri is said to have told the air-line unions on Thursday.

At a meeting with some 13Air India unions in Delhi, Purialso said that the governmentwas trying to address the con-cerns of the employees regard-ing issues such as job protec-tion post privatisation, a unionrepresentative said.

“The Minister said AirIndia has a debt of �80,000crore and no expert has solu-tion to that. In this situation,privatisation is the only choiceleft for the Government,” oneof the union representativestold PTI after the meeting,which lasted for an hour.

He also said Puri soughtcooperation from all airlineunions in carrying out the dis-investment process of thenational carrier. PTI

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�� 9:�2961#

Tata Sons on Thursdaymoved the Supreme Court

challenging reinstatement ofCyrus Mistry as executiveChairman and director of TataSons and the three group com-panies — Tata ConsultancyServices Ltd (TCS), TataIndustries Ltd and TataTeleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd.

The company has chal-lenged the complete order ofthe National Company LawAppellate Tribunal (NCLAT),pronounced on December 18,restoring Mistry as executiveChairman and also his imme-diate reinstatement as directorof Tata Sons and three groupcompanies.

The petition seeks a stay onthe NCLAT order in the wakeof the TCS Board Meeting

slated for January 9.It is learnt that the board

meeting is likely to consider thethird quarter earnings and a dis-cussion on the reinstatement ofMistry as a director. The peti-tioner will urge the apex courtto list the matter for urgent hear-ing after the court reopens after

vacations on January 6.The NCLAT while rein-

stating ousted chairman CyrusMistry, held that the appoint-ment of N Chandrasekaran ashis successor is illegal. Theappeals court observed thehaste in Mistry’s removal aschairman of the Tata group’s

holding company, and thisaction completely ignored theinterest and oppression ofminority shareholders.

However, the appellate tri-bunal has granted the TataGroup four weeks to file anappeal against its judgement.The restoration order will only

be operational after this timeperiod.

Aryama Sundaram, coun-sel for Mistry, had told IANS,“NCLT appeared to have gonewith the Tata name and themajoritarian view in its earlierjudgment. This goes against thegrain of Company Law andCompanies Act. If one followsthe earlier path, then you don’tneed provisions in law whichsafeguards minority share-holders’ rights. “This was anerroneous approach. What wedid as counsel was that we con-tested this template. It wasn’t theindividual right of Mr Mistry,which was being trampled, itwas the oppression and mis-management of the board thatwas in question and this direct-ly impacted varied sharehold-ers including millions of pub-lic shareholders.”

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��8E0�)'6��0��(,*��0'��7�#��67)G�>�6*�7�,,�708�GNew Delhi: The NCLAT hasadjourned till Friday hearingon the Registrar of Companies’plea seeking modifications inits judgement which reinstatedCyrus Mistry as the executivechairman of Tata Sons.

A two-member bench ofthe National Company LawAppellate Tribunal (NCLAT)headed by Chairman Justice SJMukhopadhaya directed the

Ministry of Corporate Affairs tosubmit details of the definitionof private and public companiesunder the Companies Act.

The bench also asked forclarifications on the paid up cap-ital requirement for the same forchange in the certificate of incor-poration of a company. TheNCLAT was hearing an urgentapplication moved by the theRegistrar of Companies (RoC),

under the Ministry of CorporateAffairs, seeking to be impleadedas a party in the two petitionsand deletion of the words “ille-gal” and “with the help of theRoC” used by the NCLAT in its172-page-long judgement.

The NCLAT on December18 directed the USD 110-bil-lion Tata group to reinstateCyrus Mistry as the executivechairman of Tata Sons. IANS

New Delhi: Telecom regulatorTRAI on Thursday started anindustry-wide consultation onframework for network trafficmanagement practices andmulti-stakeholder body outlinedin the net neutrality principles.

The consultation paperissued by TRAI on Thursdaydiscusses various challengesin measurement of internettraffic and compilation of rea-sonable traffic managementpractices. “The objective ofthis consultation paper is todeliberate the issues related totraffic management practices

and the Multi Stakeholderbody... It discusses about estab-lishment of a framework to for-mulate traffic managementpractices. The paper also dis-cusses about the issues relatedto composition, function,Governance Structure of multi-stakeholder body,” TelecomRegulatory Authority of India(TRAI) said.

The discussion paper is“limited” to the issues on whichadditional recommendationwere sought by TelecomDepartment in its letter on July2018, TRAI said while pointing

out that the regulator has nointention to revisit its principleson Net Neutrality and broadapproach recommended earli-er. TRAI said comments onissues raised in the consultationpaper should be submitted byJanuary 30 and counter com-ments by February 13, 2020.

The net neutrality principles— approved by the telecomdepartment in 2018 — prohib-it service providers from dis-criminating against internetcontent and services by block-ing, throttling or according pref-erential higher speeds. PTI

New Delhi: The National PaymentsCorporation of India (NPCI) on Thursday saidthe homegrown payments technology RuPay will offer 40 per cent cashback for itsinternational card users for transactions in selectcountries.

Indians travelling to the UAE, Singapore,Sri Lanka, the UK, the US, Spain, Switzerlandand Thailand will be able to earn up to�16,000 cashback per month by getting theirRuPay International Card activated, the NPCIsaid in a release.

With RuPay International cards — JCB,Discover and Diners Club — customers usingmultiple cards can earn more cashbacks underthe ‘RuPay Travel Tales’ campaign. PTI

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�(�� &��. ��New Delhi: Major two-wheeler makers of the

country, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and TVSMotor on Thursday reported decline in theirdomestic sales in December, ending 2019 on anegative note. Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd(SMIPL), however, reported a marginal increasein domestic sales last month. The country’slargest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorpsaid sales in domestic market were at 4,12,009units last month as compared to 4,36,591 unitsin December 2018, down 5.6 per cent.

Bajaj Auto also reported 21 per cent declinein motorcycle sales in domestic market at 1,24,125units last month as against 1,57,252 units in theyear-ago period. TVS Motor Co said its domestictwo-wheeler sales were down 25 per cent at 1,57,244units last month as compared to 2,09,906 units inthe corresponding month of 2018. PTI

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Arsenal rang in the new year by giving bossMikel Arteta his first victory as lacklustreManchester United crashed to a 2-0 defeat,

while Tottenham and Chelsea also slipped up inthe Premier League’s top four race on Wednesday.

Arteta had watched Arsenal take only onepoint from his first two matches, with last week-end’s 2-1 defeat against Chelsea especially painfulafter the Blues scored twice in the final minutes.

But Arsenal had played well for long periodsin that London derby and they produced an evenmore sparkling display to put United to the swordat the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners took the lead in the eighthminute when Sead Kolasinac’s cross ran throughto Nicolas Pepe at the far post and the Ivory Coastwinger beat David De Gea from close-range.

Arsenal, who last won in the league at WestHam on December 9, got a deserved second goalin the 43rd minute when De Gea kept outAlexandre Lacazette’s flick and Sokratis reactedquickest to lash home.

Arteta’s team are nine points adrift of the topfour, but their second win in 16 matches in all com-petitions offers hope of a brighter future under theformer Arsenal midfielder’s management.

“It feels great, incredible. I’m so happy andproud of the players,” Arteta said.

“Physically the level dropped in the second halfbut the commitment and desire was terrific.

“The performances are getting better so I wasdesperate for the win and we got it.”

United are fifth, five points behind fourthplaced Chelsea, after the latest in a long list ofunderwhelming performances in a troubled cam-paign.

“We started decent the first five or six min-utes, didn’t capitalise, and then they played real-ly well,” United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.

“We were too slow in the first half, but that’scredit to them. Some tired heads maybe.”

Chelsea remain in pole position to secure thefourth Champions League qualification placebut manager Frank Lampard will rue concedinga spectacular late equaliser in the 1-1 draw at

Brighton.Cesar Azpilicueta gave Chelsea the lead, tap-

ping in from close-range in the 10thminute.

But Brighton scored the goal their per-sistence deserved in the 84th minute whenIranian substitute Alireza Jahanbakhshacrobatically found the bottom-left cornerwith an overhead kick.

Those dropped points gave JoseMourinho’s Spurs the chance to crank upthe pressure on Chelsea and United, but theyslipped to a 1-0 defeat at Southampton and

England captain Harry Kane limped off with ahamstring injury.

Tottenham fell behind to a 17th-minuteDanny Ings goal and Kane injured himselfas he converted Christian Eriksen’s free-kickin the second half but was flagged offside.

Mourinho’s frustration boiled over as hewas shown a yellow card after an alterca-tion with the Southampton bench.

“I was rude,” Mourinho said. “I clearlydeserved the yellow card. I had bad words.”

Elsewhere at the top of the table, second-placedLeicester cruised to a 3-0 win at Newcastle and

Manchester City beat Everton 2-1 to hand CarloAncelotti his first defeat since taking over as man-ager.

Leicester appear to have put a mini-slumpbehind them, courtesy of goals from Ayoze Perez,James Maddison and Hamza Choudhury to moveto within 10 points of leaders Liverpool.

City remain in third after their home winagainst Everton, a single point behind Leicester.

Gabriel Jesus scored twice in the second halfat the Etihad before Richarlison pulled a goal backfor Everton but City held on despite some nervymoments.

“This period is so tough. When you are faraway from the first position sometimes people giveup, but we never give up,” City boss Pep Guardiolasaid.

Struggling West Ham made a flying start underMoyes, returning to the London Stadium for a sec-ond stint as manager, hammering haplessBournemouth 4-0 and lifting themselves out of therelegation zone, with the visitors now in the bot-tom three.

Watford continued their impressive run undernew manager Nigel Pearson, holding on to beatseventh-placed Wolves 2-1.

Villa beat Burnley 2-1 with first-half goals fromWesley and Jack Grealish while Norwich drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace.

�� 9:�2961#�

Neither criticism nor the burden ofexpectations bother world champi-

on shuttler P V Sindhu, who says she iscompletely focussed on improving hercraft in pursuit of a second Olympicmedal at this year’s Tokyo Games.

Sindhu claimed India’s first everWorld Championships Gold in 2019 butshe made early exits from a series of tour-naments the rest of the season, includ-ing her failure to defend the World TourFinals title last month.

“World Championship was reallygood for me but after that I kept losingin the first rounds but I kept myself pos-itive. It is not possible that you will winall matches. Sometimes you may playbrilliantly, sometimes you will make mis-takes,” Sindhu said.

“I learnt a lot from those mistakes.It is important for me to stay positive, andcome back stronger,” she added.

Sindhu said she is working on hertechnique to iron out the flaws.

“There will definitely be a lot ofexpectations from me but pressure andcriticism doesn’t affect me because peo-ple always expect me to win whenever Igo. Olympics is the ultimate aim, for any-body. “We are doing a lot of work ontechnique and skill workouts and every-thing will be planned and it will go wellin the Olympic season,” Sindhu exudedconfidence while talking about theTokyo Games.

The 24-year-old from Hyderabad,who claimed a Silver at the Rio Olympics,will have the opportunity to emulatewrestler Sushil Kumar in becoming thesecond Indian to secure two Olympicmedals when she turns up at the TokyoGames.

“He (Sushil) has done really well forthe country and I hope and wish that Ialso do well and get a medal in Tokyo.It never crossed my mind where I thinkabout others. It is step by step for me. So,I think I need to train hard and give mybest,” she said.

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National men’s hockey teamcaptain Manpreet Singh

believes India has the capabili-ty of reaching the final of theTokyo Olympics, provided asense of discipline and consis-tency is maintained in the run-up to the quadrennial extrava-ganza.

Leaving behind a disap-pointing 2018 where Indiacrashed out in the quarterfinalsof the World Cup at home, theManpreet-led side has man-aged to maintain its consisten-cy and qualify for the 2020Tokyo Olympics under a newcoach in Australian GrahamReid.

Reviewing the year gone by,Manpreet said 2019 has beenproductive for the team in termsof its performances despite notgetting enough opportunities tocompete in high-level interna-tional tournaments.

“Looking back, 2019 hasbeen very good for us. Westarted the year in the fifth spotand managed to maintain that.

The biggest aim for us in 2019was to qualify for the Olympicsand we have managed to achievethat under a new coach,”Manpreet said.

“Our main target in 2019 isto reach the finals of theOlympics and believe me it’sachievable. Throughout the yearwe have managed to maintainthe No 5 position in worldrankings and there is no reasonwhy we can’t climb from that.

“But for that, we have tomaintain the consistency whichwe have showed in the entire2019,” he added.

The ace mid-fielder saidencounters against top teamslike the Netherlands, worldchampions Belgium andAustralia in the upcoming FIHPro league will give India a fairidea about where the eight-time Olympic champions stand.

“The FIH Pro League is ourfirst step towards Olympicpreparation. In the Pro League,we will get to face all the topteams of the world before theOlympics and this experiencewill give us an idea where westand before the Olympics,”Manpreet said.

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Superstars Novak Djokovic and RafaelNadal on Thursday said that there was

little point in having two men’s team ten-nis competitions so close together andsuggested the new ATP Cup shouldmerge with the Davis Cup.

The ATP Cup is about to kick off itsinaugural edition, replacing a number ofprevious Australian Open warm-uptournaments.

It comes six weeks after therevamped Davis Cup, which also hascountries playing each other in a round-robin format, was held in Madrid.

Canadian Denis Shapovalov suggest-ed Thursday that the two events — onerun by the men’s tour, the Association ofTennis Professionals, and the other bythe International Tennis Federation —should combine.

“It’s a really similar event and it’s lit-erally back-to-back from the other one,so it’s a little bit of a weird sensation com-ing from what felt like the world cham-pionships coming to play another worldchampionship,” Shapovalov said.

“So for me I don’t see why they, theATP and ITF can’t combine, can’t join,can’t come to some agreement andmake just one, really unique and specialtournament for everyone.”

When asked about the Canadian’scomments, Djokovic, who heads the

ATP players’ council, agreed.“We need to have one Super World

Cup event, whatever you want to call it,”he said.

“That’s not going to happen nextyear as well. But if the two sides, the ITF,the Davis Cup, and the ATP get togeth-er very quickly, it can happen possibly

for 2022.“I hope it will happen because it’s

kind of hard to get top players to com-mit to play both events, the Davis Cupand the ATP Cup.

“And it’s six weeks apart, so they’re

not really helping each other in terms ofmarketing, in terms of the value of theevent.”

Djokovic’s concerns were shared byworld number one Nadal, who also ques-tioned the timing of the events.

�� 9:�2961#

On course to seal a berth for theTokyo Games, former world

champion Mirabai Chanu main-tained her eighth spot in the Olympicqualifiers ranking list released by theInternational WeightliftingFederation (IWF) on Thursday.

In the race for Olympic qualifi-cation, the 25-year-old, who com-petes in the 49kg category, has gath-ered 2966.6406 ranking points tillnow.

To qualify for Tokyo, aweightlifter must compete in at leastone event in each of the three peri-ods of six months (spread overNovember 2018 to April 2020), atleast six events overall and in at leastone Gold and Silver level event.

The latest qualifying rankingsfeature three Chinese weightlifters inthe top five.

However, only one of the threeChinese lifters will compete at theOlympics as a nation can send nomore than one athlete each perweight category.

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� ,(�� , �")'��*�#'�� Paul Pogba will undergo surgery ona recurring ankle injury and is expected to spendanother month on the sidelines, ManchesterUnited manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer con-firmed.

The French World Cup winner made hiscomeback after nearly three months out in a 2-0defeat at Watford 10 days ago and also made anappearance off the bench in a 4-1 thrashing ofNewcastle four days later.

“We’ve had scans and it’s nothing major, it’ssomething that has to be sorted and dealt with.

He’s been advised to it as soon as,” said Solskjaer.Pogba has made just six starts in all compe-

titions for United this season and his influence inmidfield has been badly missed with United sit-ting fifth in the Premier League.

His latest setback comes at a bad time forSolskjaer with Scott McTominay also sidelined fortwo months leaving the Norwegian extremely shorton midfield options.

“It’s a big blow that Paul is out now that Scott’sout, he’ll be out for a few months. Paul will be backwithin a month.” AFP

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Indian women’s hockey teamdefender Sunita Lakra, who

was part of the 2018 AsianGames Silver-winning side, onThursday announced her inter-national retirement, citing aknee injury which wouldrequire another surgery.

The 28-year-old said thenagging injury has come in theway of her dream to be a partof India’s Tokyo Olympics cam-paign this year.

“Today is a very emotion-al day for me as I have decidedto retire from InternationalHockey,” she said in a statementissued by Hockey India.

“I was very fortunate tohave played at the Rio Olympicsin 2016, India’s first appearancein over three decades. As muchas I wish to be part of the Indianteam as they prepare for theTokyo Olympics, my kneeinjuries have cut short mydream.”

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World number four DominicThiem on Thursday

expressed confidence a newGrand Slam champion will becrowned in 2020 outside the bigthree of Novak Djokovic,Rafael Nadal and RogerFederer.

While the Austrian, Germany’sAlexander Zverev, Greece’sStefanos Tsitsipas and others havehad success at lesser tournaments,the big guns continue to dominatethe majors.

Thiem, in Sydney for the inau-gural ATP Cup team event, is one ofthe men tipped to make the break-through, with the first Grand Slam ofthe year, the Australian Open, justweeks away in Melbourne.

He said the younger players were

getting close.“I think we challenged them

already a lot. We also beat themespecially on Masters 1000stages and the ATP Finals,”said Thiem, who was runner-

up to Tsitsipas at the ATPFinals in London inNovember.

“I think the last stagewe have to conquer is theGrand Slam stage, and I

really think we’ll see a newGrand Slam champion in 2020.

“I really hope that it’s me, butyou cannot guarantee anything.

There are also many other verystrong guys who can achieve that.

“Maybe it’s also not happeningand Big Three are taking all four,” headded. “But we are trying everything

to achieve top position, to achieve thebiggest titles, Grand Slam titles.”

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The Sri Lankan cricket team, led byveteran pacer Lasith Malinga, arrived

here on Thursday for the three-matchT20 series against India amid tightsecurity after the city witnessed wide-spread protests against the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA).

The Sri Lankan team headed straightto the team hotel amid thick securitycover. The members of the Indian teamare expected to arrive in batches todayfor the series opener on Sunday.

“Both the teams have optional train-ing sessions, Sri Lanka followed byIndia in the evening,” a official of theAssam Cricket Association (ACA) said.

Assam had witnessed widespreadprotests against the CAA in December,which affected Ranji and U-19 matchesat the domestic level because of curfew.

“But situation is absolutely normalnow and tourism is back in the state. Weare hosting Khelo India Games fromJanuary 10 and about seven thousandplayers will participate,” ACA secretaryDevajit Saikia said.

“It’s now safe as any other place in thecountry. The state government is look-ing after the security arrangement andthere’s no issue at all.”

About 27,000 tickets of the 39,500-capacity Barasapra Stadium has alreadybeen sold out.

“People were busy with theChristmas and New Year celebrations.We are expecting a last minute ticket rushnow,” he said.

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Batting legend Brian Larabelieves the Indian

cricket team, under ViratKohli, is capable of winningall ICC tournaments it com-petes in.

The 50-year-old left-handed batting icon was ofthe view that every interna-tional side sort of targetsIndia in ICC tournaments.

“I think they are defi-nitely capable of winning alltournaments that they play.I think what Virat Kohli andcompany and the Indianteam has to appreciate thefact that everybody sort oftarget India,” Lara was quot-ed as saying by India Today.

“Everybody knows thatsome point of time oneteam is going to play thatimportant match againstIndia. If it’s a quarter-final,semi-final and final,” headded.

Under Kohli’s leader-ship, India has reachedgreater heights in both Testsand ODIs but has so farfailed to win an ICC tour-nament, fizzling out in cru-cial games.

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Rassie van der Dussen willremain in the South Africa side

for the second Test with England atNewlands after his impressive debutdisplay in his team’s opening win,keeping Temba Bavuma out despitehis return to fitness from a hipinjury.

Bavuma will not have thechance to repeat hisNewlands heroicsagainst England fromfour years ago, whenhis thrilling centurymade him the first black African tomake a hundred for South Africa.

The decision to overlookBavuma for a white player maycause some controversy in view ofan official target of having two blackAfricans in the national team.Kagiso Rabada is now the onlyblack representative.

“Temba passed his fitness test.But we think it is the right thing to

do to give Rassie an extendedrun,” said captain Faf Du Plessis.

“Temba is on board withthe process that we are part ofto try to get guys to score big

runs. Temba will bereleased to play some four-day (domestic) cricket andit is a great opportunity for

him to score some runs.”Asked what message he

had for black followers of the game,

Du Plessis insisted the decison tokeep Bavuma out was a purelycricketing one.

“We don’t see colour.Opportunity is very important.Temba will be the first guy toacknowledge that he got a reallygood opportunity,” he said.

“There will be things in place tomake sure we keep producing play-ers of all colours but right now weneed to win Test matches.”

The vacancy in the battingorder caused by Aiden Markram’sbroken finger will be filled by newcap Pieter Malan, a specialist open-ing batsman and a like-for-likereplacement.

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Focus will be firmly on Test spe-cialist Ajinkya Rahane andyoung prodigy Prithvi Shaw

when Mumbai take on Karnataka intheir Ranji Trophy Elite Group Bgame, beginning here today.

Both Rahane and Shaw failedwith the bat in the last Ranji gameversus Railways which the domes-tic giants lost by 10 wickets insidetwo and half days.

It will be a good opportunity forthe two players to get some runsunder their belt. This will be the lastRanji match for Shaw, who departsfor New Zealand with the India Ateam on January 10.

The pint-sized opener got startsbut was not able to convert in thelast game, following his doublehundred in the lung-opener againstBaroda.

Shaw will have tocounter Karnataka’sattack in slightly windyconditions at theBandra-Kurla Complexground.

For Rahane, who has played 63Tests, the Karnataka game pro-vides perfect platform to find formbefore he also departs for NewZealand.

Also, Mumbai needs to improvein all departments after the embar-rassing loss against the Railways athome.

The 41-time Ranji championswill miss the services of India play-ers Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube andpacer Shardul Thakur, who will beon national duty.

In their absence, it will be achance for the likes of skipperSuryakumar Yadav, crisis manSiddhesh Lad and experiencedAditya Tare to make a mark. Also,if another player Sarfaraz Khan, whohas been named in the squad,makes the playing XI, then it will bean opportunity for him to make itcount. Yadav also heads for NewZealand with the India A team onJanuary 10. The bowlers will be ledby Tushar Deshpande.

Meanwhile, Karnataka wouldnot have the services of India open-er Mayank Agarwal but have thelikes of skipper Karun Nair, open-er Devdutt Padikkal to do the job.Their pace bowling attack, led byprolific Abhimanyu Mithun, willpose a huge challenge to theMumbai side.

The BCCI has asked Mayank torest in view of the upcoming seasonand hence he would not be playing

the game, said sources in theKarnataka team.

PUNJAB HOST DELHI��Sans India opener ShikharDhawan and speedster IshantSharma, a depleted Delhi will haveto improve their game significant-ly to present a tough challenge

against table leaders Punjab.Delhi, whose batting has proved

to be their weakest link so far thisseason, will find it tougher in theabsence of Dhawan, who will missthe game as he will be on nationalduty.

The southpaw had made amatch-winning 140 in testing con-

ditions against Hyderabad in theprevious game at Feroz Shah Kotlagrounds.

Kunal Chandela, who failed inthe last two games after scoring ahundred against Kerala in the tour-nament-opener, is likely to open withAnuj Rawat in Dhawan’s absence.Since it is an away game, Delhi’s lead

pacer Ishant is also be unavailable ashe play only home matches as partof his workload management.Expectations are high from 21-year-old Simrajeet Singh, whoimpressed in the last two gamesagainst Hyderabad andAndhra, taking 12 wickets.

Medium pacerSubodh Bhati may get achance to play his firstgame of the season inIshant’s absence.

The Dhruv Shorey-led side has its task cut outagainst hosts Punjab, who arethe team to beat with two bonuspoints victories and a draw.

Young India batsman ShubmanGill was back among the runs witha 100 in the last game againstdefending champions Vidarbha.

He would be aiming for moreruns before he leaves for NewZealand with the A team. CaptainMandeep Singh has been leadingfrom the front with 385 runs in threegames, including a double hundred.

Gurkeerat Singh too is in fineform, having scored 149 againstVidarbha.

Leg-spinner Mayank Markandehas been the pick of Punjab’s bowlerswith 11 wickets at an average of 18.45.

BENGAL TAKE ON GUJARAT&�&��With weather threaten-ing to rob the opening day’s play,Bengal find themselves in a famil-iar tight spot against an in-formGujarat in a home Elite fixture.

In their previous match,Bengal had taken a firm footingagainst Andhra but rain and badlight resulted in a truncated matchand eventually the hosts had to set-tle for three points on basis of firstinnings lead.

Outside top-five in the elitecross pool, Bengal will have to keepa close eye on the skies with rainforecast today. But the Arun Lal-mentored side will be desperate forfull points against a team, who areon a roll with successive wins overHyderabad away and Kerala athome.

In Ashok Dinda’s absence,who is out of the team on discipli-nary grounds, 21-year-old IshanPorel relished the challenge ofbeing the leader of Bengal’s paceattack.

In the batting department,Abhishek Raman, with two consec-utive centuries, will be the one to

watch out for, while skipperAbhimanyu Easwaran will

also be desperate toreturn among runsbefore leaving for NewZealand tour.

Bengal will missboth Easwaran and Porel

in the later stages of thepremier domestic tournament

as both are part of New Zealand-bound India A squad.

Bengal also might be temptedto hand a maiden Ranji cap to 24-year-old Ritwik Roy Chowdhury inplace of a struggling SudipChatterjee.

The Parthiv Patel-led Gujaratalso boast of talented openerPriyank Panchal, who scored amatch-winning 90 againstHyderabad, while the experiencedduo of Piyush Chawla and AxarPatel will lead the spin attack.

The visitors will also look upto some insights from coach SairajBahutule, who was in charge of theBengal side before Lal took over.

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Veteran wicketkeeper batsman ParthivPatel on Thursday advised young

Rishabh Pant to ignore criticism and focuson his game, saying dealing with this con-stant pressure can help him emerge as abetter batsman.

Seen as heir apparent to MahendraSingh Dhoni, the 22-year-old Pant hasbeen receiving flak for his failure to per-form consistently at the top level.

“Today’s youngsters have got thatadvantage of playing with the big playersand sharing the dressing room withthem. But when you are struggling forform, you get opinions from all quarters.It’s about keeping yourself away fromopinions and focus on your game,” Patelsaid.

“If you play for India, there would bepressure. Every player has got pressure ofdifferent situations. Your skills get honedin such pressure situations.

“In the T20 series (against WI) he didwell. You see he’s having a fun time at the

ground as well. He can become a goodplayer when he comes out of such pres-sure situations,” said the Gujarat skipper.

On Pant’s wicket-keeping technique,the 34-year-old Patel said: “Obviouslywhen you play for India, you have some-thing in you. He made his Test debut ina tough place like England where the ballswings a lot. He’s a young player. It’s aboutgaining confidence. It can change in a mat-ter of one-two innings.”

Having made his Test debut at 17, theyoungest to don the wicketkeeping gloves,Patel has seen it all — the rise of Dhoniand the unflinching support of the teammanagement for Pant.

“Opinions should not matter whenyou know that the team management andselectors back you. It’s about enjoying themoment and express yourself,” he said.

“It’s just because he’s doing well there’sso much talk about him. He has done wellin the last series. He has got the talent andthe team is providing him that confidenceto do much better,” added Patel, a veter-an of 25 Tests and 38 ODIs added.

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Mayank Agarwal’s absence from theircrucial Ranji game against Mumbai

will be an opportunity for others to provethemselves, said Karnataka skipper KarunNair, who attributed the India Test opener’ssuccess to years of consistent hard work.

Karnataka will miss the services ofMayank as he is set to leave for New Zealandwith the A team on January 10 and BCCIhas requested to exempt him from theupcoming Ranji game.

“Mayank is big player, but it (hisabsence) opens an opportunity for someoneelse to come and grab their chance,” saidNair, who has played six Test matches forIndia.

In his short-international career,Mayank has already scored two double hun-dreds and Nair, who has watched the IndiaTest opener from close quarters since hisfledging days, on Thursday paid glowingtribute.

“I think, Mayank has always been ahard-working cricketer, so I think it was hightime that the hard-work paid off,” Nair said.

“It is just to do with his hard-work thathe (Agarwal) is doing well now and I don’tthink he has changed much at all.

“It is just that with the runs that he got,his confidence also improved and then as abatsman confidence plays such a big role, itis all down to his hard work (rather) con-sistent hard-work that he is reaping therewards.”

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New Zealandsweated on

the fitness of batting kingpin and captain KaneWilliamson on Thursday after he and HenryNicholls missed a second day of training aheadof the final Test against Australia.

Both are battling viral infections as theyrace to recover for the clash in Sydney, wherethe visitors are desperate to salvage some prideafter being thrashed in the first two Tests.

Spinner Mitchell Santner is also unwell anddid not practise on Thursday, with batsmanGlenn Phillips making a late dash to Sydneyon Thursday evening as cover.

“It’s up in the air at the moment — a cou-ple of boys are a little bit crook unfortunate-ly,” said opener Tom Latham, filling in forWilliamson in his pre-match press conference.

“They’re having today off, as well as yes-terday, so fingers crossed they’ll be right to gotomorrow.

“It’s gone around the team a little bit whichobviously isn’t ideal, but fingers crossed,they’re resting up and hopefully they’ll wakeup tomorrow morning and be good to go.”

If they are not fit, it will leave New Zealandwith big problems.

Jeet Raval is the only specialist batsmanwaiting in the wings, but he has been out ofform and was dropped for the last Test inMelbourne.

They also have bowlers Todd Astle, KyleJamieson, Matt Henry and Will Somerville onstandby.

Coach Gary Stead stressed Phillips’ inclu-sion was precautionary and they were stillhopeful all players would be fit.

“We’re still hopeful Henry and Kane willpull through and we will give them everychance to prove their fitness,” he said.

“Glenn has been in terrific form this sea-son and has good versatility with where he canbat and the roles he can play.”

Australia captain TimPaine has made clearhis team has no inten-tion of easing up despitethe series being won,after winning allfour of this sea-son's homeTests withinfour days.

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The National Cricket Academy,which has often been criticised

for its handling of players’ injuries,is set to get the help of a BCCImedical panel and a dedicatedsocial media department as part ofits overall revamp plan.

The need for a medical panelwas discussed at the NCA’s recentmeeting which was attended by allthe BCCI-officer bearers, includ-ing president Sourav Ganguly andNCA cricket head Rahul Dravid.

The development comes afterthe criticism the NCA drew for theinjury management of leadingIndia players, includingWriddhiman Saha and morerecently Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

All-rounder Hardik Pandyaand premium pacer JaspritBumrah added to the NCA’s woesby choosing personal rehabilita-tion over recovering in Bengaluru.

“The BCCI will consult aLondon-based clinic, Fortius, forsetting up its medical panel,” a topBCCI official said.

Head of fast bowling, a posi-tion which has been lying vacantfor a long time, will also be filledsoon.

That person will be in chargeof setting up a fast bowling pro-gram at the NCA. The board willalso hire a nutrition head for theBengaluru-based facility.

The NCA has mainly been inthe news for all the wrong seasonsand there is no official communi-cation coming out of it.

A social media manager willcome on board to provide regularupdates on the happenings insidethe facility. The move could alsogo a long way in repairing NCA’sreputation, the Board officialadded.

The NCA will also be con-

ducting Level 2 and Level 3 coach-ing courses at its premises withstate associations footing the billfor their respectively coaches.

“Coach development consul-tants” will also be hired onrequirement basis.

Utmost caution will be takenwhile issuing medical updates onthe Indian players with vetting ofthe information done by the teammanagement as well as the NCA.

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