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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 2 Issue 63*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Established 1864Published From

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BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated January 2, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Paush & Shukla PakshaPanchangamTithi : Ashtami: 11:25 pm Nakshatram: Uttara Bhadrapada 07:20 amTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 10:57 am- 12:20 pmYamagandam: 03:05 pm – 04:27 pm

Varjyam: 08:42 pm- 10:29 pm

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Agirl and her sister have alleged that they were denied passport by theauthorities in Chandigarh because they looked like people from

Nepal. "When we went to the passport office at Chandigarh, they sawour faces and wrote that we are Nepali. They ask us to proveour nationality," one of the girls alleged. "We took up thematter with (Haryana) minister Anil Vij, only after whichthe process of making our passport started," she said.The Deputy Commissioner of Ambala, AshokSharma, said the passport authority wrote "applicantseems to be Nepali" on their documents.

DENIED PASSPORTS AS WE LOOKNEPALI, ALLEGE 2 HARYANA GIRLS

CBSE MANDATES 75% ATTENDANCETO WRITE CLASS 10 AND 12 EXAMS

TATA SONS CHALLENGE CYRUSMISTRY'S REAPPOINTMENTTata Sons approached the Supreme Court today challenging the

restoration of Cyrus Mistry as the executive chairman of the group bycompany law tribunal NCLAT last month. Cyrus Mistry was restored asthe executive chairman of Tata Sons, one of thecountry's oldest and largest business houses, onDecember 18 by the NCLAT, three years after hisdramatic sacking. In its petition, Tata Sons soughta stay on the company law tribunal's order as well asit declaring the selection and appointment of NChandrashekaran as chairperson.

Students should have a minimum 75 per cent attendance to be able toappear for the 10th and 12th examinations to be conducted by the

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The CBSE in its latestnotice has directed all schools to calculate attendance of students whohave to appear for class 10 and class 12board exams this year as on January 1,2020. Students whose attendance will becalculated less than 75 per cent will notbe allowed to appear for the exams, asper the rule mandated by the CBSE.

CENTRE REJECTS WEST BENGAL'STABLEAU PROPOSAL FOR R-DAY In what could spark fresh tensions between West Bengal Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee and the BJP-led centre, the Union Ministry ofDefence on Wednesday rejected her state's tableau proposal for theRepublic Day parade on January 26. "The tableauproposal of West Bengal government was examinedby the expert committee in two rounds of meetings.The tableau proposal of the West Bengal governmentwas not taken forward for further consideration by thecommittee after deliberations in the secondmeeting," the ministry said in its statement.

Jagan tells ACB to roll upits sleeves, root out graftPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Expressing dissatisfaction overthe functioning of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB),Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy on Thursday said thatits performance has fallen shortof the government's expecta-tions.

Addressing a review meetinghere, the Chief Minister saidthe ACB officials should notshow laxity in their duty anddirected them to work active-ly and with a heightened senseof dedication.

Stating that the Call Centre(No. 14400) was set up with thenoble objective of rooting outcorruption, JaganmohanReddy asked the officials toachieve good results by actingswiftly on the grievances

received from the general pub-lic. Jaganmohan Reddy said thepeople should not be harassed

for bribes and it was the dutyof the ACB to ensure that noone falls victim to corruption.

"All government offices,including tahsildar offices, reg-istration offices and town plan-ning offices, should be freefrom corruption. The officialsshould be afraid of takingbribes," he said.

The Chief Minister appealedto ACB officials to work with-out taking leaves to bringabout a change in the society."I want to see the results inthree months. You can makeuse of any number of employ-ees in chasing cases. The gov-ernment is ready to provideany facility you ask for," he said.

Jaganmohan Reddy saidanother review meeting wouldbe held in a month.

Chief Secretary NilamSawhney, DGP GautamSawang, ACB chief Viswajeetand other officials took part.

DGP Gautam Sawang presents a memento to Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy at the CM’s camp office at Tadepalli on Thursday.

BCG to submit report today,Cabinet to discuss on Jan. 8PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Boston ConsultancyGroup (BCG) will submit itsmuch-awaited report to ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy on Friday.

The Cabinet meeting to beheld on January 8 will discussthe GN Rao Committee report,BCG report and the High-Power Committee report.

The Assembly session willbe convened some time afterthe Republic Day celebrationsand if need be, an all-partymeeting will be held by thegovernment to discuss thestate capital issue.

Days after Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy hinted atthe formation of three Capitalsin the State, the GN RaoCommittee submitted itsreport on ComprehensiveDevelopment Strategy for theentire State including theCapital of AP.

Following this, the govern-ment held various delibera-tions and decided to constitutea High-Power Committee toexamine the recommenda-tions of the GN RaoCommittee on the concept ofdecentralised development andwork out a strategy on the wayforward keeping in view thevarious provisions of the AP

Reorganisation Act.With the BCG set to submit

its report on Friday, the gov-ernment will refer it to theHigh-Power Committee, head-ed by Finance and LegislativeAffairs Minister BugganaRajendranath, for its recom-mendations.

The other members of theHigh-Power Committee areMinister for Finance andLegislative Affairs, DeputyChief Minister, Revenue andRegistration, Minister for MA

and UD, Minister forIndustries, Minister forEducation, Minister for Home,Minister for Agriculture andHorticulture, Minister forAnimal Husbandry, Fisheriesand Marketing, Minister forCivil Supplies, Minister forTransport, Information andPublic Relations, PrincipalAdviser to the Chief Minister,Director General of Police,Chief Commissioner of LandAcquisition and Special ChiefSecretary, Secretary, MA andUD, Secretary, Law and ChiefSecretary, Member-Convener.

Apart from the GN RaoCommittee and BCG reports,the High-Power Committeemay seek the advice of theadvocate-general in regard tofurther course of action forcompliance.

It will finalise the strategyand give its recommendationswithin three weeks.

Modi taunts anti-CAA protestersto protest against Pak’s atrocities PNS n TUMAKURU (KARNATAKA)

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday slammedthe Congress and its alliesopposing the CitizenshipAmendment Act, saying theyare against giving relief tothose who have been bru-talised and victimised inPakistan.

"Pakistan was founded onreligious grounds due to whichatrocities on minorities such asHindus, Sikhs, Jains andChristians have increased. ButCongress and its allies don'tspeak against Pakistan," hesaid at a function here.

He also said the Congressand its allies take out ralliesand stage demonstrations

against the efforts to preventatrocities on religious linesand save women from sexualassaults.

Modi wondered why those

opposed to the CAA were notspeaking out against Pakistan'satrocities and asked whatstopped them from doing so.

Continued on Page 3

PNS n BEGUSARAI

Union minister Giriraj Singhon Thursday stoked a freshcontroversy alleging that chil-dren who study in missionaryschools lack "sanskaar" andend up in practices like "beef-eating" when they go abroad.

Addressing a religious func-tion at his Lok Sabha con-stituency in Begusarai of Bihar,the firebrand BJP leader alsoadvocated, as an antidote,teaching of "shlokas" ofBhagvad Gita and the versesHanuman Chalisa at privateschools.

"I would like to say to peo-ple present here, this practiceshould start from the private

schools since at government-run ones, we run the risk ofinviting accusations of impos-ing the bhagwa (saffron) agen-da", Singh said.

At private schools, students

should be taught shlokas ofBhagvad Gita and HanumanChalisa.

"I say this because it has beenseen that at schools run by mis-sionaries, children from well-

off families excel academical-ly, go on to have successfulcareers, but when they goabroad they eat beef. Why so?This is because we have notinculcated 'sanskaar' intothem", the Union ministersaid.

"We are often accused ofbeing radicals. Our culture isthat of generosity. We feedants with sugar and serpentswith milk. It is another thingthat sometime the serpentsend up intimidating us", theBJP leader known for his copi-ous use of innuendos, said.

Singh also addressed a pressconference in support of theCitizenship Amendment Actwhere he equated protestsagainst the contentious legisla-tion with Pakistan-sponsored"Ghazwa-e-Hind" (holy waragainst India) and lambastedopposition parties like the Co-ngress and West Bengal ChiefMinisters TMC for their stri-dent criticism of the new law.

Giriraj Singh stokes row, says children who studyin missionary schools lack ‘sanskaar’, eat beef Union Minister says private schools should teach Gita, Hanuman Chalisa

Singh also addressed apress conference insupport of CAA wherehe equated protestsagainst the content-ious legislation withPakistan-sponsored‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’

Ambati saysNaidu facestime in jail PNS n VIJAYAWADA

YSRCP legislator AmbatiRambabu on Thursdayexplained how inside tradingtook place through a videopresentation and warned for-mer Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu to beprepared to go to jail.

Emphatically stating thatinsider trading had takenplace in respect of Amaravatilands, the MLA listed thedates of purchase of lands andclaimed that these transac-tions were part of 'insidertrading'.

He made the video presen-tation on 'insider trading ofAmaravati lands' at theYSRCP office in Tadepallihere.

"The purpose of the pre-sentation is to sensitise peo-ple on insider trading alongwith evidence.

Continued on Page 3

Sakala JanulaSamme stirfrom todayPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Farmers of Amaravati capi-tal region are gearing up forthe next phase of their agita-tion.

In an attempt to intensifytheir agitation, the JointAction Committee (JAC) ofthe Capital region farmershas decided to hold theSakala Janula Samme (AllPeople's Strike) from Friday.As it was going to be anindefinite strike, essentialservices have been exemptedfrom the strike.

The JAC has exemptedhospitals, medical shops andmilk supply from the SakalaJanula Samme.

Continued on Page 3

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Union Minister of State forHome Affairs G Kishan Reddyon Thursday said that he hasdone his bit in helpingAmaravati find a place on thepolitical map of India.

Addressing a press confer-ence in Hyderabad, KishanReddy said the AP govern-ment had constituted threecommittees to make recom-mendations on the Capitalissue and suggest ways for theoverall development of all thethree regions of the State.

"It is also talking of threeCapitals in the State. After thecommittees submit theirreports, the state and the cen-

tral units of the BJP will dis-cuss the issue. The Capitalissue will also be discussed bythe Union Home Minister,"Kishan Reddy disclosed.

He said he would speak onthe guidelines as well as termsand conditions to be followedfor the AP government's pro-posal to set up three Capitalsin that State.

Continued on Page 3

PNS n KOLKATA

Indian researchers have for thefirst time connected thedecline of a Harappan city tothe disappearance of aHimalayan snow-fed riverwhich once flowed in theRann of Kutch, according to astudy. An IIT Kharagpur state-ment said that a research team"connected the dots betweenthe growth and decline ofDholavira, the most spectac-ular and largest excavatedHarappan city in India locat-ed in the Rann with a riverwhich resembles the mythicalHimalayan river Saraswati".

The team consists ofresearchers from IITKharagpur, ArchaeologicalSurvey of India (ASI), DeccanCollege PGRI Pune, Physical

Research Laboratory (PRL)and the Department ofCulture, Gujarat.

The data suggests that man-groves grew around the Rannand distributaries of Indus orother palaeochannels (rem-nant of an active river filled bysediments) dumped water inthe Rann near the southernmargin of Thar desert, the IIT-KGP statement said onThursday.

Continued on Page 3

BJP yet to discuss 3capitals idea: Kishan

The state governmentwill refer the BCGreport to the High-Power Committee,headed by Financeand LegislativeAffairs Minister

Harappan city declinelinked to lost river

State appoints two women copsto oversee cases under Disha ActPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The state government onThursday issued orders post-ing Special Officers to ensurecompletion of investigationand trial within 21 workingdays and for providing deathpenalty in cases of sexualoffences against women andchildren heinous in nature.

Accordingly, the Bill alsoprovides for establishment of

exclusive special courts fortrial of such offences.

As per the GO issued on

Thursday, Dr Kritika Shukla,IAS, as been posted as SpecialOfficer created out of IAScadre along with existing postof Director, Women Dev-elopment and Child Welfare.

Also, M. Deepika, IPS,Additional Superintendent ofPolice (Admn.), Kurnool wastransferred and posted asSpecial Officer, created out ofIPS cadre in the office of theAdditional DG, CID.

The Government hadin December passedthe Andhra PradeshDisha Bill, 2019making amendmentsin the IPC and CrPC

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VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | JANUARY 3, 2020 vijayawada 02

EGGRATES

` 39,310 (10 gm)

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` 46,700(1kg)

` 2200

HYDERABAD 466VIJAYAWADA 474VISAKHAPATNAM 487RETAIL PPRICE `4.74

SILVER

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(IN VIJAYAWADA)

IANS nNEW YORK

River ice cover will decline byabout six days for every onedegree Celsius increase inglobal temperatures, leadingto economic and environ-mental consequences, says anew study. According to thestudy, published in the jour-nal Nature, more than half ofEarth's rivers freeze overevery year. These frozenrivers support importanttransportation networks forcommunities and industrieslocated at high latitudes.

Ice cover also regulates theamount of greenhouse gassesreleased from rivers into

Earth's atmosphere, the studyadded. "We used more than400,000 satellite images taken

over 34 years to measurewhich rivers seasonally freezeover worldwide, which is

about 56 per cent of all largerivers," said the study's leadauthor Xiao Yang from the University of NorthCarolina, US.

"We detected widespreaddeclines in monthly river icecoverage. And the predicted

trend of future ice loss is like-ly to lead to economic chal-lenges for people and indus-tries along these rivers, andshifting seasonal patterns ingreenhouse gas emissionsfrom the ice-affected rivers,"Yang said. The researchers

also looked at changes toriver ice cover in the past andmodelled predicted changesfor the future. Comparingriver ice cover from 2008-2018 and 1984-1994, theteam found a monthly glob-al decline ranging from 0.3 to4.3 percentage points .According to the researchers,the greatest declines werefound in the Tibetan Plateau,Eastern Europe and Alaska.

"The observed decline inriver ice is likely to continuewith predicted global warm-ing," the study explained. Forthe future, the research teamcompared expected river icecover through 2009-2029 and

2080-2100. The study's find-ings showed monthlydeclines in the NorthernHemisphere ranging from 9-15 per cent in the wintermonths and 12-68 per centduring the spring and fall.

The Rocky Mountains,northeastern US, easternEurope and Tibetan Plateauare expected to take the heav-iest impact, the study said."Ultimately, what this studyshows is the power of com-bining massive amounts ofsatellite imagery with climatemodels to help better projecthow our planet will change,"said study researcher TamlinPavelsky.

Addanki Rajagets a pat forcultural activitiesPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former Union Minister fromTelangana state S. VenugopalaChari on Thursday appreciat-ed Addanki Raja founder ofPhilanthropic Society fororganising a programmereflecting the culture and tra-dition of the country.

The former Minister felici-tated Raja at his Hyderabadoffice on Thursday.

On the occasion, Raja saidthat he has been organising

various programmes and alsofelicitating people and organ-isations that strive to safeguardculture and tradition and servethe society.

He said that VenugopalaChari assured that theTelangana state governmentwould support the programmewhich willl be organised atDelhi soon.

Litterateur Dr E Samba SivaRao, South India culturalcoordinator D Parthasarathiand others were present.

Former Union Minister S. Venugopala Chari felicitates Addanki Raja, founder ofPhilanthropic Society in Hyderabad on Thursday.

App-based taxis, bikes bringdown drunken driving casesPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Thanks to app-based taxi andbike aggregators, many party-goers did not end up gettingbooked for drunken drivingcases after partying in themidnight parties this NewYear.

A senior police officer oncondition of anonymity said"We have observed someyoungsters (revellers) optedfor safe travelling by hiringcabs, auto-rickshaws, and alsothe bikes of Ola, Rapido anda few others after consumingliquor at the New Year par-ties."

The Vizag traffic policebooked 287 cases of drunkendriving in the interveningnight of December 31, 2019and January 1, 2020.

Assistant Commissioner ofPolice (Traffic), MRK Rajusaid around 180 drunken dri-ving cases were reportedunder Zone-I of Vizag PoliceCommissionerate and 107cases reported under Zone-II.

"Strict enforcement of thecity traffic police has led tofewer incidents of road acci-dents on New Year's Eve. The

police said that very few non-fatal accidents and one fatalaccident were reported duringinter vening night ofDecember 31 and January 1,in which one person died, saidMRK Raju.

"We had appealed to the

Vizagites to not drink anddrive, and also warned themof strict action if they werecaught for drunken driving.Our appeal seems to havebeen heeded. The number ofcases went up because wehad heightened vigil and

increase number of checkpoints," said ADCP (Traffic)M Ramesh Kumar. Vizag citypolice chief RK Meena saidthat they didn't let the drunkmotorists get away easily withthe checking teams equippedwith advanced breath analy-sers.

Sources said that the policeseized 10 cars, 20 auto-rick-shaws and over 250 bikes. Thepolice said that a majority of

the motorists whocaught for the tipsy

driving were theyoungsters only.

In three days,f r o mDecember 30to January 1,Vizagites con-

sumed copiousquantities of

alcohol worth Rs12 crore in the last

three days on the account ofNew Year celebrations.

Sources said that sinceliquor shops shut down at 8pm and bars and restaurantsdowned their shutters by 10pm, consumption of liquorwas less when compared tothe previous New Year's Eve.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

To upgrade facilities at theVizag Railway station, an inno-vative concept and first-of-itskind in Indian Railways, aHuman Interactive InterfaceSystem, a combination ofDigital Kiosk and DigitalBillboard was commissioned.

The system was developedby Bhubaneswar-basedNexyite Infotech ServicesPrivate limited. WaltairDivisional Railway ManagerChetan Kumar Shrivastavaand CMD of Vizag Steel PlantPradosh Kumar Rath inaugu-rated the new facility.

The salient features of thekiosk include free mobile andvideo calling facility, six fastcharging ports for mobilesand laptops, 10 inch interactivetouch screen facility, 24x7CCTV surveillance cameras,

advertising space on 50-inchLED screen which can interactwith passengers, digital screenwhich will also display variousinformation like weather, traininformation, feedback andinformation about local visit-ing places, Google maps, city

maps in the interactive tab.This project was developedunder non-fare revenue systemby the railways and providesinformation convenience aswell as revenue generation.The service provider can earnrevenue through advertising.

SCR to continue with special trainsPNS n VIJAYAWADA

In order to clear extra rush ofpassengers, SCR will contin-ue to run special trainsbetween Kakinada Town -Raichur and Vijayawada -Kurnool City.

Accordingly, Train No.07245 Kakinada Town -Raichur Bi-Weekly Specialwill depart from KakinadaTown at 2:25 pm on January3, 5, 10, 12, 24, 26 and 31,February 2, 7, 9, 14, 16, 21, 23and 28, March 1, 6, 8, 13, 15,20, 22, 27 and 29, 2020(Friday and Sunday) andreach Raichur at 9.10 am thenext day. In the return direc-tion, Train No. 07246 Raichur- Kakinada Town Bi-WeeklySpecial will depart fromRaichur at 2:05 pm on January4, 6, 11, 13, 25 and 27,February 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22,24 and 29, March 2, 7, 9, 14,16, 21, 23, 28 and 30 2020(Saturday and Monday) and

arrive at Kakinada Town at8:30 am the next day.

En-route these specialtrains will stop at Samalkot,Dwarapudi, Rajahmundry,Nidadavolu, Tanuku,Bhimavaram Town, Akividu,Kaikaluru, Gudivada,Vijayawada, Guntur,Narsaraopet, Vinukonda,Donakonda, Markapur Road,Giddalur, Nandyal,Betamcherla, Dhone,

Guntakal, Adoni andMantralayam Road stations inboth the directions.

Also, Train No. 07237Vijayawada-Kurnool City Tri-Weekly Special will departfrom Vijayawada at 8.25 pmon January 4, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16,18, 21, 23, 25 and 28,February 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15,18, 20, 22, 25, 27 and 29,March 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17,19, 21, 24, 26, 28 and 31, 2020

(Tuesday, Thursday andSaturday) and reach KurnoolCity at 7.20 am the next day.

In the return direction,Train No. 07238 Kurnool City- Vijayawada Tri-WeeklySpecial will depart fromKurnool City at 8.05 pm onJanuary 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 19,22, 24, 26, 29 and 31,February 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16,19, 21, 23, 26, 28 and 30,March 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 18,20, 22, 25, 27 and 29 Marchand April 1, 2020(Wednesday, Friday andSunday) and arrive atVijayawada at 5.05 am thenext day. En-route these spe-cial trains will stop at Guntur,Narsaraopet, Vinukonda,Donakonda, Markapur Road,Giddalur, Nandyal,Betamcherla and Dhone sta-tions in both the directions.

All these trains will consistof AC III Tier, Sleeper Classand General Second ClassCoaches.

Comparing river ice cover from 2008-2018 and 1984-1994, the team founda monthly global decline ranging from0.3 to 4.3 percentage points. Thegreatest declines were found in theTibetan Plateau and Eastern Europe

Global warming behind river ice cover loss, finds study

We have observed someyoungsters (revellers) opted forsafe travelling by hiring cabs,auto-rickshaws, and also thebikes of Ola, Rapido and a fewothers after consuming liquor atthe New Year parties

First-of-its-kind free video callingservice starts at Vizag Rly Station

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

PK Rath, CMD of RINL,Visakhapatnam observed thatthe steel industry was showingsigns of improvement in thecountry with the introductionof new initiatives to boostspending on infra, constructionand auto sector.

While wishing the RINL col-lective at a meeting inUkkunagaram on the New Year,Rath pointed out that manysteel companies in the worldwere under severe stress during2019 and the increase in rawmaterial prices like CokingCoal and Iron Ore severelyimpacted the entire steel indus-try's bottom line. RINL is alsono exception this development,he said. RINL leadership hastaken several new initiatives toface the challenges and evenwith lower production, achievedimprovement in techno-eco-

nomic parameters such asimprovement of BF productiv-ity, usage of PCI in all the BlastFurnaces etc, Rath mentioned.

He stressed on improvingPulverised Coal Injection (PCI)to around 150 kg/ton Hot Metalin Q4 to reduce the cost of pro-duction and improve the BFproductivity.

On the marketing front, Rathsaid that RINL achieved a sales

turnover of Rs 12,700 crore dur-ing April-December 2019despite the turbulent marketscenario. Exports achieved agrowth of 119 per cent and thesale of Value Added Steel hasalso seen a growth of 79 percent. The inventory level wasbrought down to below fourlakh tonnes by December-end,Rath added. He stated that onthe raw material securitization,

RINL has started participatingin e-auctions, tender route, pro-curement of slimes to supple-ment iron ore fines in SinterPlant. Actions were also initiat-ed for tie-up with Orissa MiningCorporation (OMC), he added.

RINL collective has a histo-ry of converting challenges intoopportunities, Rath said andcalled upon employees to exhib-it utmost discipline and work

collectively, supplemented withan emotional attachment topropel the Company on a con-tinuous growth path.

KC Das, Director(Personnel), VV VenugopalRao, Director (Finance), DKMohanty, Director(Commercial), KK Ghosh,Director (Projects), AK Saxena,Director (Operations), PJVijayakar, CVO, KV VidyaSagar, Executive Director(Works) I/c, EDs, GeneralManagers, HODs were presenton the occasion. New YearCalendar and Diary 2020,brought out by the CorporateCommunications Department,were released by Rath alongwith the directors and CVO ofRINL. Earlier, the CorporateStrategic ManagementDepartment gave a presentationhighlighting the achievementsand the focus areas for the New Year.

Steel industry showing signs of improvement: RINL

PK Rath, CMD and Directors and CVO, RINL releases, the New Year diary and calendar brought out by CorporateCommunications Department

PNS n JAMMIKUNTA

The Jammikunta Police sawthrough two brothers andapprehended them within 24hours. The police recovered700 grams of gold ornamentsand 6 kg of silver articles allworth Rs 11,70,000 fromthem. The game plan of theaccused is devising a robberydrama to avoid repaying bankloan. The arrested were iden-tified as Kasula Mahesh andKasula Bhaskar, who ownedVijayalakshmi Traders andJewellers at the GandhiChowk.

According to VBKamalasan Reddy,Commissioner of Police,Karimnagar, the duo com-plained to the police that amajor theft had taken place intheir jewellery shop onDecember 31 night. Thepolice detected the case with-in 24 hours and nabbed them.

According to the police,the duo availed loans fromvarious banks, including theSBI. They hatched a plan toavoid repaying of loan andconcocted the theft drama toavoid repayment of the loans.

Accordingly, they purchasedgold and silver and obtainedreceipts in the name of theirshop. Their game plan was to

claim insurance on bank loans,Mudra Loan and dupe thebanks by faking robbery.

As part of the plan, theybroke open the steel cupboardand threw household articleshelter-skelter and created atheft scene. They stored thevaluables at different places.

As part of the plan, one ofthe accused Bhaskar locked hishome and went to Warangalalong with wife and her rela-tives on the pretext that hiswife is ill.

The other accused, Maheshalong with his another broth-er went to Hyderabad to meetlawyer in a bank attachmentcase.

Bhaskar returned homeearly and dropped his wife andrelatives at his new home andhe came alone to his house-cum-jewellery shop and put abroken lock to the front doorand tried to convince theneighbours and gold mer-chants association.

VMC: Dumpingdebris onroadside toattract finesPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Vijayawada MunicipalCorporation (VMC)Commissioner PrasannaVenkatesh on Thursdayinstructed the officials con-cerned to take steps to ensurethat construction and demo-lition debris is not dumpedon the roads but transportedto the C&D Waste Plant atAjitsinghnagar in the city.

He inspected various partof the city including 4Crossroad Centre atBavajipeta, Durga Street inGandhinagar, SundarammaStreet, Rama Rao Street,Gnanapalli Street,Hanumanpet, SambamurthyRoad, Prakasam Road, AliBaig Street and Suryaraopet.

Venkatesh pulled up thesanitary inspectors for notclearing the garbage frominterior roads in Suryaraopetand Bavajipet by 7 am onThursday.

He asked the officials totake immediate steps to plugthe leakage to a drinkingwater pipeline at AnnadanamSamajam Road and to checkoverflow of sewage from theunderground drainage sys-tem at Rama Mandiram.

The VMC commissionerasked officials to ensure thatthe construction debris andgarbage were cleared fromthe roads and shifted to theC&D Waste Plant.

Fines should be imposedon those dumping construc-tion debris on the roads afterdemolition of buildings, theVMC chief said.

He said that measuresshould be taken to see that noinconvenience was caused tothe motorists on account ofdebris and garbage on theroads.

T’wood producer's sonbooked for abusing copsPNS n HYDERABAD

Panjagutta police booked filmproducer Natti Kumar's sonKranthi on charges of abusingpolicemen in an inebriatedcondition during New Yearcelebrations near CountryClub at Somajiguda.

According to police, thepatrolling team of Panjaguttapolice received a message ona brawl outside the CountryClub around midnight. Onreaching the place, the policefound that a few persons werecreating a nuisance at thespot. "When the patrol officerswere collecting details, Kranthibehaved rudely and creatednuisance. He obstructed thepolicemen and pushed them,"said Karunakar Reddy,Inspector, Panjagutta police.

Later, the police detainedKranthi and shifted him to thepolice station. Minutes later,Kranthi's father Natti Kumarand his family members cameto the police station andengaged in an argument withthe police. Based on a com-plaint lodged by the patrollingstaff, the police have registereda case under Section 353 ofIPC read with 34 of the IPC.

Cops bust fake theftcase, gold recovered

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | JANUARY 3, 2020 vijayawada 03

Madireddy takes charge as APSRTC MDPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Madireddy Pratap onThursday took charge asAPSRTC Vice-Chairman andManaging Director at RTCHouse here on Thursday.Executive directors and otherofficials accorded him a warmwelcome on the occasion.

Madireddy Pratap extend-ed New Year greetings to theRTC staff soon after assum-ing charge.

Later, he visited variousdepartments and interactedwith the officials and staff.

He said Chief Minister YSJaganmohan had fulfilled his

promise of merger ofAPSRTC with the govern-ment, thereby ensuring job

security to the staff. "This isa welcome development forthe staff," Madireddy Pratapadded.

The new VC & MD calledupon the staff and the officialsto work hard to make signif-icant contributions to helpAPSRTC withstand the com-petition in the transport sec-tor.

He said the staff and theofficials should justify theirstatus as government employ-ees by extending dedicatedservices. APSRTC shouldbecome a role model to othertransport corporations in thecountry, he said.

Jagan working to increase hispersonal wealth: YanamalaPNS n AMARAVATI

Former Minister and seniorTDP leader YanamalaRamakrishnudu on Thursdayalleged that Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy was inter-ested only in enhancing hispersonal income but not in cre-ating wealth for the State.

Addressing a press confer-ence at the TDP State office inGuntur, Yanamala said that ifthe Capital was shifted fromAmaravati, not only farmersbut the State too stands to lose.

He said the growth rate hascome down to 4 per cent andunderscored the need forwealth creation for implemen-tation of welfare schemes.

"Who sought the Capital atVisakhapatnam? It is already awell-developed city. It is beingmade the Executive Capitalonly for the sake of grabbing oflands by ruling party leaders,"Yanamala said.

Coming down heavily onJaganmohan Reddy, the TDPsenior leader said that the poli-cies of the YSRCP govern-ment were benefiting only theneighbouring states. Hecharged the CM with cheatingthe people by not ensuring thefruits of welfare schemesreached genuine beneficiaries.

The former minister said inTamil Nadu and Karnataka,incoming governments contin-

ue with the developmentalprogrammes that are initiatedby their predecessors. "This isthe reason why they are wit-nessing progress," he added.

Yanamala said JaganmohanReddy was behaving in such amanner that all his decisionswere benefiting only his asso-ciates. "Not a single develop-ment works had been taken upin the last seven days and sev-eral works had come to a halt.How can we earn income with-out creating wealth? How canthe government implementwelfare schemes?" he asked.

The former Finance Ministersaid investments were not flow-ing into the State and wonderedhow employment generationcould take place in such a sce-nario. "What suggestions arebeing given to the Chief

Minister who has a huge teamof advisors?" he questioned.

Yamanala said Amaravatiwas not just a city that wouldbenefit the farmers but was alsoa city that would bring revenuefor the State. "What is theharm in governing the Statefrom Amaravati?" he asked.

The TDP senior leader saidthere was no need for develop-ment of the Capital atAmaravati in a single phase.

Backing the proposal to setup the High Court bench atKurnool as there was a demandfor it for a long time now, hesaid the feasibility of such afacility there should be studied.He said if the government hadlove for North Andhra regionwhy has work on thePolavaram Project left canalstalled.

Botsa asks farmers to exercise restraint,not to walk into Chandrababu’s trap PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Describing Wednesday's visitto Amaravati Capital regionvillages by Leader of theOpposition N ChandrababuNaidu along with spouseBhuvaneswari and the cancel-lation of New Year celebrationsby TDP leaders and cadre astheatrics, Municipal MinisterBotsa Satyanarayana onThursday appealed to farmersof the region not to be swayedby such 'drama' and exerciserestraint.

He also flayed Pawan Kalyanfor his sudden visit and saidthat he was "acting after read-ing a script written byChandrababu Naidu. "Therewas no use of such temporarypeople," he said.

Addressing media here,Botsa observed thatBhuvaneswari might havetaken part in the protest pro-gramme at Amaravati whilereturning from Durga temple.

She donated two bangles tothe protesting farmers, he saidand said that it would havebeen far better if she hadreturned the lands acquiredinstead of giving away bangles.

Scoffing Naidu's claim thatYS Rajasekhar Reddy used tofear him, Botsa wondered why

a leader of YSR's stature couldhave dreaded Naidu. "Perhapsnoticing the ugly physique ofChandrababu, YSR was afraid,"he said sarcastically.

"Everybody knows howChandrababu grew politically.Is it not true that YSR helpedhim grow politically and evenbecome a minister?" Botsaasked.

He said that Naidu got anopportunity to serve residuaryAP for five years, but nevertook into consideration theprevailing conditions, theneeds of the state and develop-ment prospects. This led to thesituation precipitating, healleged.

"Naidu took back the state 20

years in terms of developmentand crossed the FRBM limitsdue to lack of financial disci-pline. It is causing problems tothe present regime," Botsa said.

Naidu was the reason behindthe bifurcation of the state," theYSRCP leader alleged andreminded that the TDP hadinitially given letter supportingthe bifurcation proposal.

"When the Centre urged thestate to hold an all-party meet-ing at the time of KCR's indef-inite fast, Ashok Gajapati Rajurepresenting the TDP spoke infavour of bifurcation of thestate," Botsa reminded.

He said that everyone wantsto ensure that north coastal APalso develops. "The state gov-

ernment will take a decisiononly after receiving reports bythe two committees.Decentralisation would mean,developing all 13 districts of thestate taking into considera-tion the geographical andsocial conditions prevailing,"Botsa said.

"Did Chandrababu enter-tain such an idea during hisfive-year regime? Instead, hemanaged to highlightAmaravati graphics on TV," theYSRCP leader said.

The task before the presentgovernment is construction ofirrigation projects, providingmedical and educational facil-ities, laying of roads, promo-tion of industries, building ofsea and air ports and so on.Development of the state islinked to execution of theseprojects, Botsa said, notingthat the previous regimeshelved all these developmentprojects.

He alleged that the farmersagitating in Amaravati have nofixed agenda and are insistingthat the government does thesame thing Chandrababu didand not take up alternative pro-jects.

"We have seen how paidartistes abused Minister forWater Resources Anil KumarYadav in the past. Now we areseeing how the farmers target-ed the YSRCP leaders for theircriticism," Botsa said, exhort-ing the people of all regions toexercise restraint.

"The state government isassuring Amaravati farmers togive developed plots and town-ship would be developed fulfill-ing the promise made by theprevious regime," he said.

He clarified that the stategovernment would take a com-prehensive decision afterreceiving reports of the High-Power Committee and theBoston Consulting Group.

Insider trading had taken place at thetime of construction of Hi-Tech city inHyderabad and the same phenomenonhad taken place in Amaravati too,Botsa alleged

Who sought theCapital atVisakhapatnam?

It is already a well-developed city. It is beingmade the ExecutiveCapital only for the sakeof grabbing of lands byruling party leaders

— YANAMALARAMAKRISHNUDU

Senior TDP leader

Continued from Page 1

Lands were purchased fromJune to December and the noti-fication on Amaravati wasissued later," Ambati said.

He said that thousands ofacres were purchased on bena-mi names. "If development iscentred around Amaravati, theproblem that surfaced inHyderabad would be witnessedin Amaravati too. That is why,the government has decided todecentralise the state capital," theYSRCP MLA stated.

He alleged that Naidu wasworried about the crash ofprices of lands owned by bena-

mi holders and accused the TDsupremo of creating a ruckus inthe name of injustice to farmers.

"This is why he took part inthe protest programme alongwith his spouse. Bhuvaneswari,Naidu's wife, was never knownto come out openly and takepart in any protest. She did soonly to try and save the bena-

mi lands," Ambati alleged. Referring to Naidu's state-

ment that he was prepared to goto jail for the sake of farmers,Ambati said that a probe wouldbe ordered into the inside trad-ing to unearth the benami dealsand cautioned the TDP chief tobe prepared to go to jail.

"Law will take its own course,"

he said, predicting that Naiduwas certain to go to jail forindulging in irregularities.

Ambati made it clear that thegovernment's policy was to havethree state capitals so that allregions are developed equally.

He made it clear that the gov-ernment will explore all possi-bilities to render justice to thefarmers who parted their landsfor Amaravati.

The MLA expressed the gov-ernment's inability to render jus-tice to the brokers, real estatedealers, benami farmers andbuilders who have been agitat-ing in the garb of farmers of thecapital region.

Ambati makes video on insider trading,tells Naidu to be prepared to go to jail

Researcherslink Harappancity decline tolost river...Continued from Page 1

"This is the first direct evi-dence of glacial-fed riverswhich are quite like themythological Saraswati,flowing in the vicinity ofRann," IIT Kharagpur's Prof.

Anindya Sarkar who ledthe research, said.

Dr. Ravi Bhushan andNavin Juyal from PRL,Ahmedabad dated the car-bonates from human ban-gles, fish otolith and foundthat the site was occupiedfrom 5,500 years back i.e.

pre-Harappan period tolate Harappan period, thestatement said.

The city expanded till4400 years followed by anabrupt decline nearly 4000years back - as per the find-ings of ASI's researchers Dr.R.S. Bisht and Y.S. Rawatwho were part of the team,it said. "Though theDholavirans adopted excel-lent water conservation strat-egy by building dams, reser-voirs and pipelines, theywere pushed to the limit bya catastrophic mega-droughtcollapsing the city due to thedrying up of the river,"Sarkar said.

He said Dholavira pre-sents a "classic case forunderstanding how climatechange can increase futuredrought risk" as predicted bythe IPCC(Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change) workinggroup. The study has justbeen published online inthe 'Wiley Journal ofQuaternary Science'.

Continued from Page 1

The agitation was beingintensified only to bring pres-sure on the government whichwas not giving any assuranceagainst shifting of the Capital.

Bandh would be observedin all the 29 villages of theCapital region.

Meanwhile, in a novel twistto their 16-day-old agitationagainst three Capitals in theState, the farmers and womenhave written to President RamNath Kovind seeking permis-sion to end their life.

Women staged protestsholding copies of their lettersto the President. The farmerscontinued their protests acrossthe Capital villages onThursday. Dharnas, sit-inand relay hunger-strikesmarked the day. Theyexpressed their resolve to go

ahead with their agitationuntil the government with-drew its plan to shift theCapital from Amaravati. Thefarmers said the governmenthad cheated them by not con-tinuing with the Capital con-struction at Amaravati.

Stating that their lives wereat the crossroad ever since theChief Minister announced hisintent to change the Capital,they demanded justice.

"Jaganmohan Reddy state-ments as the Leader of theOpposition and his words asthe Chief Minister were total-ly different," they said.

The Capital was being shift-ed to Visakhapatnam with anulterior motive to benefit somepeople, the farmers said, alleg-ing that the government wasdealing with them in a callousmanner and not responding totheir problems.

Farmers to intensifystir with Sakala...

Ambati said that a probe would beordered into the inside trading to unearththe benami deals and cautioned the TDPchief to be prepared to go to jail.

Madireddy Pratap

Protestagainst Pak'satrocities onminorities...Continued from Page 1

Strongly defending theCAA, he said it wasadopted by Parliament ina historic move, but thatthe Congress and its alliesand the ecosystem creat-ed by his party's rivalwere now against the veryinstitution. He said Indiacannot leave the Hindus,Christians and Sikhsapparently f leeingPakistan to "their fate"and added it was thecountry's responsibilityto protect them.

Modi pointed out thatthe efforts are especiallyto protect the Dalits andtribals in Pakistan.

The Prime Ministeralso pointed out that theabrogation of Article 370was a step towards endingterrorism and uncertain-ty in Jammu andKashmir.

BJP yet to discuss 3 capitals...Continued from Page 1

"It is not proper for BJPMPs to express divergentviews on the proposed threeCapitals even before theycome into existence. Theparty's decision is final andthe MPs should exerciserestraint while speaking onthe subject," he said.

It may be recalled thatBJP national spokesmanGVL Narasimha Rao recent-ly said that it was for the Stategovernment to decide on thelocation of the Capital.

Kishan Reddy made itclear that the Centre wouldnot intervene in the Stategovernment's decision toshifting of the Capital fromAmaravati. However, theCentre would oblige the Stategovernment if it sought anysuggestion in this regard, hesaid.

"What I have said aboutour party's stand on the issue

is final. If other leaders of theparty express different views,they are their personalviews," Kishan Reddy said.

Kishan Reddy's statementcame at a time when BJPleaders were making contra-dictory statements on thethree Capital proposal putforth by the State govern-ment.

The issue has rocked the

Amaravati capital regionwith the farmers taking tostreets for the past twoweeks. On the last day of thewinter session of theAssembly, Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy had hint-ed that the State would havethree Capitals at Amaravati(Legislative), Visakhapatnam(Executive) and Kurnool(Judicial).

Subsequent ly, it wasthought that the CM wouldformally announce his deci-sion during the Cabinetmeeting on December 27,but it was not to be.

Instead, he announced thata High Power Committeewould be constituted to studythe GN Rao Committeereport and the BCG report tobe tabled on January 3. Later,the government announcedthat it would take a finaldecision after the HighPower Committee submittedits report within 21 days.

PNS n NEW DELHI

As we prepare to see moreand more driverless cars, fold-able smartphones and smartAR glasses around us in acouple of years, the next decadewill also lead to the demise ofsome of your current favouritegadgets.

Some of these could beGaming consoles: The

arrival of Cloud-based gamestreaming services like AppleArcade, Google Stadia and theupcoming Microsoft XCloudare all set to change the waypeople play games, thus threat-ening the very survival of thetraditional gaming industryruled by consoles likeMicrosoft Xbox and SonyPlayStation.

Cloud-based gaming is thenew livestreaming trend aftermusic and video. One bigadvantage of Cloud gamingover the traditional one is

lower cost of setup which canbe played on smartphones,tablets, PCs and even TV. A keyadvantage is that gamingenthusiasts can play with mul-tiple players across severalplatforms with ease. The play-ers are also introduced to lead-ing world gaming champi-onships such as Fortnite WorldCup, Intel Extreme Mastersand many more.

Video camera

The previous decades wit-nessed the rise of video cam-eras to replace film cameras.Japanese tech giants likePanasonic or Sony were themajor producers of video cam-eras, which featured only a fewmegapixels and very short bat-tery life. In recent years, wehave already seen a sharp turnin the status of DSLRs.Mirrorless cameras and smart-phones have become morepopular for video recordingmong the consumers.

Wired headphonesThe 1990s saw great revolu-

tion for music lovers in theform on Walkman along withheadphones. The era ofWalkman ended soon withthe launch of multimediaphones which let its users storemusic on their smartphones. Inthe beginning, wireless head-phones were quite costly butnow with Chinese accessorymakers coming into play, theprices of these headphoneshave gone down. The rise indemand as well as supply ofwireless headphones haveadversely impacted the wiredheadphones and in the comingyears, they are likely to be partof history.

DVD playersDVD players were truly

introduced to consumers in themid-to-late 90s and quicklybecame a major source ofentertainment. With mass

adaptation of streaming plat-forms like Netflix, AmazonPrime along with built-in Blu-ray players in laptops and con-soles like the PlayStation 3,DVD technology is undoubt-edly on its way out. On-demand services through cablecompanies were the first steptowards eliminating tangiblemovie rentals.

Digital wrist watchDigital watch, especially

those by Japanese watch mak-ers Seiko and Casio, was some-thing which was admired bymost kids in the 1990s. Digitaldisplay watch gained its pop-ularity after the release of 1973James Bond movie "Live andLet Die" although the tradition-al Rolex also featured in it. Theadvancement of smart wear-ables, specifically in the formof smartwatches and fitnessbands, have already killed thebusiness of original digitalwatches.

Gadgets that could vanish in this decade

MANUU gets newindigenous web portalPNS n HYDERABAD

Maulana Azad National UrduUniversity (MANUU) Vice-Chancellor Dr MohammadAslam Parvaiz launched thenew indigenous web portal ofthe university. The website,www.imcmanuu.com, whichwas developed by the universi-ty's Instructional Media Centre(IMC) strives to showcase var-ious activities of the universityin well-structured mannerthrough intuitively designedinterfaces.

Dr Parvaiz while launchingand reviewing the website,appreciated the efforts made by

the IMC for developing anattractive and useful websiteand congratulated the team.Director of IMC, RizwanAhmed spoke about variousfeatures in the new website.

The MANUU authoritiessaid the website will open a newwindow to the world and adda new vision in terms of dissem-ination of knowledge and Urduculture. Prof Ayub Khan, ProVice-Chancellor, Prof S MRahmatullah, Registrar in-charge M G Gunasekaran,Finance Officer, MANUU,along with deans, heads andfaculty members of variousdepartments were present.

Nowhera to be producedin Mumbai Sessions courtPNS n HYDERABAD

Heera Group managingdirector Nowhera Shaikh isbeing transferred fromChanchalguda Prison toMumbai to be producedin Mumbai SessionsCourt for furtherinvestigation onpending casest h r o u g h o u tMaharashtra -Mumbai, Thane,Navi Mumbai,B u l d h a n a ,Murdzalzeera, andMalegaon.

Nowhera was first arrestedby the Telangana police inOctober last year in NewDelhi and brought toHyderabad on a transitremand. The arrest was madeduring the course of theinvestigations into a casebooked against her at Banjara

Hills police station inHyderabad for cheating,criminal breach of trust andcriminal intimidation. Shehas also been booked underTelangana Deposits of

F i n a n c i a lEstablishment Act

1999 and ThePrize Chits andM o n e yC i r c u l a t i o nS c h e m e s

(Banning) Act,1978.Police said it

found incriminating evi-dence against Nowhera, whoruns various businesses inIndia and the Middle East.Nowhera has been lodged inthe Chanchalguda women'sjail. While the lower courtshad granted her bail in somecases, she was yet to receivebail in other cases that hadbeen booked against her.

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | JANUARY 3, 2020 nation 04SHORT READS

‘Extremely sad thatSonia, Priyanka couldnot feel pain of Kota’LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath onThursday attacked Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi andgeneral secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra, saying it wasextremely sad that despitebeing women both could notfeel the pain of the motherswho lost their children at ahospital in Rajasthan's Kota. Ina series of tweets in Hindi, hesaid, "The death of 100innocent children is extremelysaddening and heart-wrenching. The death ofchildren is a blot on a civilisedsociety, human values andfeelings." "It is extremely sadthat Congress president SoniaGandhi and general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra, despitebeing women, are not able tounderstand the sorrow of themothers," he added. In anothertweet, he said it would havebeen better had Priyanka metand consoled the aggrievedmothers instead of indulging inpolitics in UP. At least 100infants have died atgovernment-run JK LonHospital hospital in Kota in thepast month.

Mohan Bhagwatreaches Indore forRSS meet

Bengal govtdistributes workbooksto students to KOLKATA: The West Bengalgovernment on Thursdaydistributed 'easy-to-learn'workbooks to students ofclasses five and six in around80,000 state-run and aidedschools to help them enhancetheir English proficiency,officials said. Chairman of stateSyllabus Committee, AbhikMajumder told PTI that Englishworkbooks 'Wings' and'Fragrance' were distributed tothe students of classes five andsix respectively, he said. "Boththe workbooks will helpstudents enhance theirproficiency in English. Thereare chapters in the books thatwill enable students to practiceEnglish," Majumder, chairmanof the school educationdepartment-appointedcommittee, said. There areseveral activity-based portionsin the books where studentscan solve questions to enhancetheir skills, he said. Majumdersaid the school educationdepartment had distributedEnglish workbooks to studentsof classes three and four lastyear. "We want to build a solidfoundation of English in everychild to dispel their fear of thelanguage," he said. EducationMinister Partha Chatterjee hadearlier said the stategovernment wants students ofvernacular-medium schools tosucceed in competitive exams.

INDORE: RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS)chief Mohan Bhagwat reachedhere on Thursday to participatein a five-day internal meeting ofthe Sangh. The meeting is beingheld in the backdrop of protestsin the country against theCitizenship (Amendment) Actand the National Register ofCitizens. Around 30 prominentRSS functionaries will alsoattend the deliberations, Sanghsources said. Apart fromreviewing activities of theprevious year, the strategy of theSangh in the new year is likelyto be discussed in meeting.

PNS n VARANASI (UP)

Activist Ekta Shekhar returnedhome to her 14-month-oldbaby here on Thursday, a dayafter an Uttar Pradesh courtgave bail to her and her hus-band Ravi Shekhar as well as56 others arrested for protestsagainst the CitizenshipAmendment Act and the NRCnearly two weeks ago.

The Shekhars, who run theenvironment NGO ClimateAgenda and made nationalheadlines with many voicingconcern about their toddlerdaughter Champak being leftalone, were among the 59people taken into custodyduring the protests onDecember 19. On Wednesday,the court of the additional ses-sions judge, Varanasi, grantedbail to Ekta (32) and Ravi (36),residents of Mehmoorganj,and 56 others, ending theirordeal. Ekta's lawyer HimachalSingh said the court had givenbail on a bond of Rs 25,000each. While she had beenreleased, her husband andothers would be out of jail byevening after their paper workwas over.

"I didn't think it would takeso long," an emotional Ektatold NDTV as she hugged herdaughter after two weeks.

"Main bata nahin sakti (I can'tput it in words)," she saidwhen asked how it felt.

She said it was a matter ofpride to be in jail as an activistbut, being a mother, eachmoment felt like an age.

"The 14 days were like exilefor me as a mother. TodayChampak is very happy...,"Ekta said after her release.

The bail application of thecouple -- nabbed along withother protesters from Leftgroups from Beniyabagh andnearby localities for violatingprohibitory orders underSection 144 of CRPC -- wasinitially cancelled by a lowercourt and the next hearingfixed for January 1.

PNS n NEW DELHI

A firefighter was killed and 14others injured when a batteryfactory collapsed in northwestDelhi's Peera Garhi followingan explosion due to a fire thatbroke out early on Thursdaymorning, officials said.

As many as 18 people wererescued from the building,including two caretakers and asecurity guard, they added.

The deceased firefighter hasbeen identified as Amit Balyan(20), who was admitted to SriBalaji Action Medical Institute.

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal condoled his deathand tweeted, "It is with deepsadness I inform you that oneof our firemen was martyredwhile saving people from fire.Our firemen save other peo-ple's lives by putting their livesunder extremely risk in diffi-cult circumstances. May hissoul rest in peace."

Delhi Lieutenant GovernorAnil Baijal also condoled thedeath of the firefighter.

"Deeply anguished overnews of death of fire operatorAmit Balyan Amit along withhis team members fought

bravely to save lives of manypeople. I salute his bravery Mysincere condolences to hisfamily members. All possibleassistance to be extended to theinjured & bereaved family," hetweeted.

A large portion of the two-storey building collapsed fol-lowing an explosion when fire-fighters were dousing the blaze,an official said, adding that firedepartment had received a callat 4.23 am.

According to fire depart-ment officials, the fire hasbeen brought under controlbut the cooling process is stillunderway. All the firemen,

who were trapped under thedebris, have been rescued.

Plumes of smoke billowedout from the building as thefire brigade personnel battledto contain the blaze. An eyewit-ness said several explosionswere heard as the blaze gutteddown the building.

Santosh Kumar, who worksin a plastic factory nearby,said around 9 am, the back sideof the building collapsed. "Twoto four persons were trappedstill trapped inside the build-ing and were heard screamingfor help. The fire personnel res-cued them with the help of aladder. They were alive," he

said. According to police, eigh-

teen people have been rescuedincluding two caretakers and asecurity guard. Most of themtrapped inside were fire per-sonnel, among them two ofthem is said to be critical andothers are out of danger.

Police said legal action isbeing taken under appropriatesections of the Indian PenalCode.

Delhi Home MinisterSatyendar Jain also visited thespot and ordered a magisteri-al enquiry into the matter.

A large portion ofthe two-storeybuilding collapsedfollowing anexplosion whenfirefighters weredousing the blaze,an official said,adding that firedepartment hadreceived a call at4.23 am

PNS n NEW DELHI

The office of the Lokpal, theanti-corruption ombudsman,will soon move out of its Rs 50lakh per month rented accom-modation at a five star hotel toits own permanent buildinghere.

A senior Personnel Ministryofficial said the Lokpal is like-ly to move out of its five starhotel temporary office at TheAshok Hotel in Chanakyapuriby this month.

"Total monthly rent isaround Rs 50 lakh and Rs3,85,09,354 has been paid fromMarch 22, 2019 to October 31,2019 for rent," the Lokpal ofIndia said in response to anRTI application filed by thisPTI journalist.

Space at the former ICDAR(International Centre ForAlternative DisputeResolution) building has beenallotted for the office of Lokpal,the reply stated when askeddetails of the steps being takenfor providing permanent officefor the ombudsman.

However, the reply did notgive details of the location ofthe new office.

"The office of Lokpal willmove out to its own permanentspace in the national capital,"an official said.

The Lokpal is an apex body

to deal with cases of corruptionat the national level. It has toenquire into allegations of cor-ruption against public func-tionaries of the central govern-ment in a time-bound manner.

President Ram Nath Kovindon March 23 administered theoath of office to Justice PinakiChandra Ghose as chairpersonof the Lokpal.

The Lokpal's eight memberswere administered the oath byJustice Ghose on March 27.

Former chief justices of dif-ferent high courts -- JusticesDilip B Bhosale, Pradip KumarMohanty, Abhilasha Kumariand Ajay Kumar Tripathi --took oath as judicial membersof the Lokpal.

Then first woman chief ofthe Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)Archana Ramasundaram, ex-Maharashtra chief secretary

Dinesh Kumar Jain, formerIRS officer Mahender Singhand Gujarat cadre ex-IAS offi-cer Indrajeet Prasad Gautamwere sworn in as the Lokpal'snon-judicial members.

There is a provision for achairperson and a maximumof eight members in the Lokpalpanel. Of these, four need to bejudicial members.

The Lokpal Act, whichenvisages the appointment ofa Lokpal at the Centre andlokayuktas in states to look intocases of corruption againstcertain categories of publicservants, was passed in 2013.

The government is alsoworking on finalising a formatfor filing complaints with theLokpal.

According to norms, a com-plaint shall be filed in the pre-scribed form to be notified bythe central government.

Pinaki Chandra Ghose

Space at theformer ICDAR(InternationalCentre ForAlternative DisputeResolution)building has beenallotted for theoffice of Lokpal

"I didn't think itwould take solong," anemotional Ektatold NDTV as shehugged herdaughter after twoweeks. "Main batanahin sakti (I can'tput it in words),"she said whenasked how it felt

PNS n BASIRHAT (WB)

Prohibitory order has beenclamped in three panchayatareas of West Bengal's North 24Parganas district followingclashes between members oftwo communities triggered by"unnatural" death of a shop-keeper, police said onThursday.

In addition to imposition ofsection 144 of the CrPC,

Internet services have beenstopped in Duttapukur,Amdanga and Deganga areasof the district, a senior policeofficer said.

Clashes broke out inDuttapukur area on Tuesdayevening after a shopkeeperwas found hanging inside aroom of a local club inHatkhola area, an officer of theBasirhat police district said.

Twelve persons have beenarrested for their alleged

involvement in the clashes,the IPS officer told PTI.

The club had organised a fairwhere the shopkeeper belong-ing to a particular communi-ty of the neighbouringKashimpur village had put upa stall, he said.

The shopkeeper was alleged-ly beaten up by members of theclub after he had a fight with awoman buyer on Tuesday.

Later, the shopkeeper wasfound hanging from the ceilingin a room of the club, the offi-cer said.

Following this, relatives ofthe shopkeeper went on a ram-page and vandalised severalshops, houses, vehicles besidessetting them on fire inHatkhola area, he added

They had also put blockadeson Jessore road alleging that

the man was killed by the clubmembers, the officer said.

Late on Tuesday night, agroup of men belonging toanother community fromHathkhola, attacked membersof the other group, the policeofficer said.

Prohibitory orders clamped, internet servicessnapped in parts of North 24 Parganas district

PNS n AMRITSAR/CHANDIGARH

A local Shiromani Akali Dalleader was shot dead by threemotorcycle-borne assailants atUmarpura village here, in whatthe opposition party claimedwas a "politically-motivatedmurder" carried out at thebehest of the ruling Congress.

The 50-year-old GurdeepSingh's killing on Wednesday isa second instance of fatal attackson SAD leaders in the state sinceNovember, when Dalbir SinghDhilwan was killed inGurdaspur. Gurdeep, whosewife is a village head, was killedwhen he was coming out of agurdwara after offering prayers,the police said.

Gurdeep was said to be aclose associate of senior AkaliDal leader and former ministerBikram Singh Majithia, whoalleged the crime was carriedout by Jaggu Bhagwanpuriagang and demanded a CBIprobe.

"It is a politically-motivatedmurder (carried out) at thebehest of the Congress," hetold a press conference inChandigarh.

The police said the assailantsmanaged to flee after pumpingfive bullets into Gurdeep's body,who died on the spot.

The police also said theyhave booked five people includ-ing a father-son duo, NirmalSingh and Harmanjeet Singh, inconnection with the killing.

The police said Harmanjeetis wanted in several criminalcases. Station House Officer(SHO) Tarsem Singh said raidswere being conducted at their

possible hideouts to nab them.The police are also examiningCCTV footage obtained fromnearby areas.

Majithia, who was accompa-nied by former minister DaljitSingh Cheema at theChandigarh presser, saidGurdeep was very close to himand he had served the party fora long time.

Majithia also claimed thekilling was a culmination of"threats" being issued to himwith the warning of dangerousconsequences if he did not stopspeaking against an alleged"minister-gangster nexus" inPunjab.

SAD leader shot dead in Amritsar; partyblames Cong, demands CBI probe

PNS n BENGALURU

A large number of farmers whowanted to stage a demonstra-tion against Prime MinisterNarendra Modi protesting thenon-implementation of the'Swaminathan Report' weredetained at Bengaluru,Tumakuru and Shivamogga,police said on Thursday.

According to police, thedetentions have taken place incertain parts of Tumakuru,near Bengaluru as well as inShivamogga.

As part of his two-day visitto Karnataka, Modi is sched-uled to visit Tumakuru onThursday to pay his obeisanceto the departed seer ofSiddaganga Math ShivakumaraSwamiji and meet the presentpontiff SiddalingaMahaswamiji.

Later, he would address amega public meeting where hewill give away the KrishiKarman awards.

In the evening he will reachBengaluru to visit the DRDOfacility to dedicate five DRDOYoung Scientists Laboratoriesto the nation.

Pressing implementation ofthe Swaminathan Report,

which recommends a holisticnational policy, the farmersunder the leadership ofKodihalli Chandrashekar hadplanned to stage a demonstra-tion at Tumakuru.

Before they could leave forTumakuru, the police detainedthem. According toChandrashekar, the farmershave been arrested at

Nelamangala, Herohalli nearMagadi, Kunigal andKoratagere in Tumakuru dis-trict and Shivamogga.

Speaking to PTI,Chandrashekar said the BJPhas betrayed farmers by notimplementing theSwaminathan report.

"The BJP could implementall the agenda such as abroga-tion of Article 370, pavingway for Ram Temple inAyodhya and various otherpoll promises but it ignored itspromise of implementing theSwaminathan report," thefarmer leader said.

Chandrashekar also said hehas been detained at a groundon Magadi Road along withtwo others while farmers whowanted to take part in theprotest have been detained indifferent parts of the state.

Activist reunited withbaby after UP courtgives her, husband

PNS n KOLKATA

Islamic organisation PopularFront of India (PFI) has calledfor a protest rally against theCAA in West Bengal'sMurshidabad district onJanuary 5 and "invited" localTMC MP Abu Taher Khan toaddress it, an office-bearer ofthe outfit said on Thursday.

The Uttar Pradesh govern-ment has sought a ban on thePFI for their alleged involve-ment in violence across thestate during protests againstthe Citizenship (Amendment)Act, 2019.

"We are organising a rallyagainst the CAA inMurshidabad on January 5and have invited several speak-ers including MurshidabadTMC MP Abu Taher Khan. Hehas given his consent to be partof this protest programme,"PFI West Bengal general sec-

retary Manirul Sheikh toldPTI over the phone.

However, Khan, when con-tacted, said he has not receivedan invitation from the PFI andthe organisation has used hisname on their posters withouthis permission.

"I have neither received anyinvitation from PFI nor have Igiven consent to be present in

any such programme. If theoutfit is using my name with-out my consent, then it isunethical," the TMC MP said.

When asked whether theyhave received police permis-sion for the protest meeting,Sheikh said they have submit-ted an application to the dis-trict police seeking it but areyet to get a response.

1,000 techear in medicalcolleges resignPNS n BHOPAL

At least 1,000 teachers from sixgovernment medical collegesin Madhya Pradesh haveresigned in the last 48 hours topress their demands includinga "clear- cut promotion policy",their union said on Thursday.The protest could hit servicesin hospitals attached to govern-ment-run medical colleges.The protesting teachers wouldnot be reporting for duty fromJanuary 9, said Dr RakeshMalviya, secretary of the stateunit of the Central MedicalTeachers' Association.Remaining 2,300 teachers fromother colleges were expected totender resignations by Friday,he told PTI.

"We want the state govern-ment to come out with a clear-cut promotion policy for usand address anomalies in thepay and perks under the 7thPay Commission," Malviyasaid.

MEA nod soughtto prosecuteMedhaPNS n NEW DELHI

The Mumbai RegionalPassport Office has sought theexternal affairs ministry's nodto prosecute Narmada BachaoAndolan (NBA) activistMedha Patkar for not disclos-ing criminal cases against herin her passport application.

Sources in the passportoffice said the departmenthad written a letter to theMEA, seeking it go-ahead tofile a criminal case againstPatkar for concealing thedetails about many pendingcases against her at the time offiling the passport applicationin 2017. The officials said herpassport has automaticallybeen impounded after shesurrendered it on December 9,in response to a notice issuedto her seeking explanation.However, by surrendering thepassport she cannot absolveherself from prosecution, theyadded.

After receiving the permis-sion, the RPO will file a crim-inal case against her as per thePassport Act. The maximumpunishment under the Act istwo-year rigorous imprison-ment or Rs 5000 fine or both.

A complaint was filedagainst the activist in June2019 by a journalist, allegingthat Patkar had obtained herpassport by concealing andsuppressing material factsfrom the RPO 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 passport appli-cation of March 30, 2017claimed that no criminal casesare pending against her and inthe column on pending crim-inal cases, if any, she declared"none".

K'taka farmers held ahead of PM's visit

Clashes broke outin Duttapukur areaon Tuesdayevening after ashopkeeper wasfound hanginginside a room of alocal club inHatkhola area, anofficer of theBasirhat policedistrict said

PFI calls for anti-CAA protest in Bengal, ‘invites' TMC MP

One firefighter killed, 14 hurtin Delhi factory collapse

Lokpal to move out of Rs 50 lakhper month rented premises

PNS n NEW DELHI

Over two decades after theincident, two men have beenconvicted for raping a minorgirl and abetting the crimerespectively by the Delhi HighCourt, which said the medicalevidence corroborated the vic-tim's testimony.

The high court set aside thetrial court judgment that hadacquitted the two men of thecharges, saying the acquittalsuffered from the vice of per-versity, resulting in a gravemiscarriage of justice.

It said the 13-year-old girl,in her testimony before thetrial court, had given a vividand indubitable recount ofwhat she was subjected to bythe accused at the time of theincident in March, 1997.

"Having regard to the total-ity of the circumstances, app-earing on the record of the ca-se, we are constrained to obs-erve that the trial courtignored the cardinal tenets ofappreciation of evidence,including the weight to beattached to the testimony ofthe minor victim, since theaccused had evidently beenidentified immediately andarrested contemporaneously,"a bench of justices SiddharthMridul and IS Mehta said inthe verdict passed recently.

It said the trial court alsofailed to consider thecircumstance that no disputewas raised at the relevant stageregarding the identity of the

two men, nor was it broughtto the notice of the higherauthorities of the police or thelower court at the relevantpoint in time.

The bench said the medicalevidence corroborated theclear and unequivocal testimo-ny of the minor victim, whohad also identified the twomen as the offenders beforethe trial court.

The high court allowed theappeal of the prosecution chal-lenging the acquittal of the twomen and directed that convictsSurender Kumar and Ravinderbe taken into custody.

While Surender was con-victed for the offences of rapeand criminal intimidation,

Ravinder was held guilty ofabetment to rape.

The court will pass theorder on the quantum of sen-tence next week.

According to the prosecu-tion, the incident took placeon March 27, 1997, when thevictim and her younger broth-er had gone out to ease them-selves, and while Ravindercaught hold of the minor boy,Surender forcibly picked upthe girl and took her to a near-by vacant spot.

It said the girl raised analarm, but Surender gaggedher mouth and raped her andalso threatened her with direconsequences if she narratedher ordeal to anyone.

He left the girl there andfled, the prosecution said,adding that after some time,the girl's father came theresearching for her and she toldhim about the incident.

The girl's father informedthe police and an FIR for theoffences of kidnapping, rapingand criminal intimidation wasregistered under the relevantSections of the IPC at theAlipur police station here.

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | JANUARY 3, 2020 nation 05SHORT READS

Six killed, 13 injured as bus falls into gorge in RajouriJAMMU: Six people were killedand 13 injured after a busskidded off the road and fellinto a deep gorge in Jammuand Kashmir's Rajouri districton Thursday, police said. Thebus was on its way fromSurankote to Jammu when theaccident happened at Siot, theysaid. Police said a recuseoperation, assisted by thelocals, is underway. They saidsome of the injured are incritical condition.

Priyanka slams PMover Section 144 inVaranasi on ‘359 days'

Vaishno Devi footfallin 2019 lowest in 3years: Shrine BoardJAMMU: The cave shrine ofMata Vaishno Devi, situated atthe Trikuta Hills in Jammu andKashmir's Reasi, recorded itslowest arrival of pilgrims inthree years in 2019 with lessthan 79.5 lakhs devoteesvisiting the temple, ShrineBoard officials said onThursday. "As many as79,40,064 pilgrims paidobeisance at the cave shrine in2019 as compared to85,86,541 in 2018," an officialof the Shri Mata Vaishno DeviShrine Board (SMVDSB),popularly knows as ShrineBoard said. There has been adecrease of 6,46,477 pilgrimslast year as compared to 2018,and a decrease of 2,38,254pilgrims as compared to81,78,318 in 2017, officialssaid. The arrival of pilgrims atthe shrine was the highest in2018 in the five years since2014. In 2014, it had droppedto 78.03 lakh from 93.24 lakhthe previous year.

Delhi Congressstages protest,demands rollbackof LPG price hikePNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi Congress on Thu-rsday protested outside Sha-stri Bhawan here demandinga rollback of the hike in LPGprices. Narendra Singh, aprotester, was seen crooning"Mehngai dayain khaye jaathai", a popular Bollywood so-ng about inflation, at the ve-nue. Delhi Congress workers,led by party president Sub-hash Chopra, also raised theslogan of "Awaaz do, hum ekhai" that had rent the air dur-ing protests against CAA.

NEW DELHI: Congress leaderPriyanka Gandhi Vadra onThursday attacked PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, sayinghe has the "gall" to tell peoplethey have nothing to fear whenSection 144 was imposed inhis constituency of Varanasi on"359 out of 365 days". TheCode of Criminal Procedure(CrPC) section empowers anexecutive magistrate to prohibitan assembly of more than fourpersons in an area. Taking toTwitter, Priyanka Gandhi cited amedia report that quoted aBanaras Hindu Universitystudent as saying that in the365 days of 2019, Section 144was imposed in Varanasi townfor 359 days. "On 359 out of365 days in the year 2019,Section 144 was imposed inVaranasi town the PM's ownconstituency and he has thegall to say that people havenothing to fear?" she said inher tweet.

The Delhi High Court set aside thetrial court judgment that hadacquitted the two men of thecharges, saying the acquittal sufferedfrom the vice of perversity, resultingin a grave miscarriage of justice

PNS n NEW DELHI

Commuters on AirportExpress Line here can nowaccess internet using free high-speed WiFi inside train coach-es as the Delhi Metro launchedthe services on Thursday, thefirst such facility in any coun-try in the South Asian region.

The 22.7-km swankiest lineon the Delhi Metro networkhas six stations, and eight trainsply on this corridor, officialssaid.

The WiFi facility inside traincoaches on the Airport Linewas launched by DMRC chiefMangu Singh in a runningtrain on the express corridorthat connects New Delhi andDwarka Sector 21 stations.

"This is the first time in Indiathat WiFi facility is being pro-vided in underground metrotrains. India has become thefourth country in the world to

have this, as at present under-ground metro train WiFi facil-ity is available in Russia, SouthKorea and China," ExecutiveDirector of Corporate

Communications, DMRC,Anuj Dayal told reporters afterthe launch. According to theDMRC, this is also the firsttime, WiFi facility is being pr-ovided in underground metrotrains in the South Asianregion.

"A few metro cities globallyoffering WiFi connectivity in

underground trains areMoscow and St Petersburg(Russia), Seoul (South Korea)and Guangzhou, Shenzhen,Wuhan and Shanghai (China),"the DMRC said.

Passengers on AirportExpress Line will now be ableto enjoy all standard internetapplications like email,

Facebook, YouTube, Googlesearch, WhatsApp, video andaudio calls, and more whiletravelling inside a train.

Plan is also to extend the ser-vices to other corridors (Line1-6) -- Red Line, Yellow LineBlue Line, Green Line andViolet Line, Dayal said.

"The timeline for the expan-sion of the facility to other sixcorridors (Lines 1-6) is rough-ly one year. Based on the per-formance, we will see how itcan be extended to Lines 7, 8and 9 -- Pink Line, MagentaLine, Grey Line," he said.

A one-way journey on theswanky corridor takes 24 min-utes and about 60,000 peopleuse the line daily, according tothe DMRC.

The Airport Express Linehas six stations — New Delhi,Shivaji Stadium, Dhaula Kuan,Delhi Aerocity, IGI Airportand Dwarka Sector 21.

This Wi-Fi project wasimplemented by a consortiumof Maxima Digital Pvt Ltd (apartner of Maxima Telecom ofRussia), Technosat India PvtLtd and Sifi Technologie, theDMRC said.

"For a seamless WiFi expe-rience at the Airport ExpressLine, the consortium has laida dedicated 24-km fibre net-work, 7 km of power cable with44 base stations (pole as well asframe type) and other activecomponents along the line toensure that trains never loseWi-Fi connectivity," Dayal said.

Delhi Metro launches free WiFi inside trains on Airport Express Line

PNS n NEW DELHI

Vice President M VenkaiahNaidu on Thursday comple-mented the staff of RajyaSabha TV after the televisionchannel crossed 40 lakh sub-scriber mark on YouTube.

In a series of tweets, theUpper House chairman saidhe is "delighted to note thatRSTV today crossed 4 millionmark on YouTube."

Naidu said from a Youtubesubscriber base of 4.5 lakh inAugust 2017, RSTV increasedits footprints by a remarkable888 percent in the last 29months. "It speaks for thechannel's fast growing appealas an informative and educa-tive platform. It also indicatesviewers' hunger for right con-tent and sombre presentation.I compliment all concernedfor this achievement," he said.

RSTV is owned and oper-ated by Rajya Sabha and waslaunched in 2011.

The cable television net-work channel covers the pro-ceedings of Rajya Sabha.Apart from telecasting livecoverage of Rajya Sabha pro-ceedings, RSTV also bringsincisive analysis of parlia-

mentary affairs and currentaffairs.

Meanwhile, Naidu has alsoconstituted a six-membercommittee for the merger ofLok Sabha TV and RajyaSabha TV with a view to cutcosts and reduce extra spend-ing on coverage of parliamen-tary proceedings.

RSTV touches 40L subscribermark on YouTube, gets V-P pat

It speaks for thechannel's fastgrowing appeal as an

informative and educativeplatform. It also indicatesviewers' hunger for rightcontent and sombrepresentation. I compliment allconcerned for thisachievement

— M VENKAIAH NAIDUVice President

Mayawati questions Priyankasilence on death of infants PNS n LUCKNOW

BSP president Mayawati onThursday questioned thesilence of Congress leaderPriyanka Gandhi Vadra on thedeath of infants in Rajasthan'sKota district and said sheshould have met the womenwho had lost their children dueto the "laxity" of the AshokGehlot government there. In aseries of tweets, the formerUttar Pradesh CM alsoslammed the Rajasthan govern-ment for the death of infants."The death of 100 children inRajasthan's Kota district is verysad and painful. Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot and his govern-ment are still insensitive, disin-terested and irresponsible,which is highly condemnable,"

she charged in a tweet."But, what is more sadden-

ing is the fact that the top lead-ership of the Congress andespecially its lady general sec-retary maintaining silence overthis issue. It would have beenbetter that like she did in UP,she had met the aggrieved

mothers, who lost their chil-dren due to the laxity of theparty's government," she said.

The BSP chief also said, "Ifthe the Congress general secre-tary does not meet mothers ofthe 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 infantshave died at a government-run

hospital in Kota in the pastmonth. Later in a statement,Mayawati said, "The BSP hasbeen opposing the divisiveCAA/NRC while the Congressis trying to derive politicalmileage. This is extremelyunfortunate."

The party chief also reviewedthe preparations for theupcoming Delhi assembly elec-tions. Elaborate discussionswere held on candidate selec-tion, the statement said.

The death of 100 children in Rajasthan's Kota districtis very sad and painful. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlotand his government are still insensitive, disinterested

and irresponsible, which is highly condemnable

— MAYAWATI, BSP ppresident

PNS n UNNAO

The Uttar Pradesh Police hassubmitted a charge sheet in acourt here in connection withthe death of a 23-year-oldUnnao rape victim, who wasallegedly set ablaze by fivemen.

Additional Superintendentof Police Vinod KumarPandey, who is heading aSpecial Investigation Team inthe case, said the charge sheetwas submitted on Wednesday.

"There is ample proofagainst the five accused per-sons, and the charge sheet wasprepared based on those evi-dences," he said on Thursday.

The 23-year-old Unnaorape victim, who was airlift-ed to Delhi and admitted toSafdarjung Hospital with 90per cent burns after being seton fire, died following a car-

diac arrest on December 6,2019. The woman was setafire by five men, includingtwo of her alleged rapists, onDecember 5 morning whenshe was going to Rae Bareli toattend a court hearing in therape case filed by her.

In her statement to SubDivisional MagistrateDayashankar Pathak, thewoman had said she wasattacked when she reachedGaura turn near her home onher way to the court.

She had specifically namedHarishankar Trivedi, RamKishore Trivedi, UmeshBajpai, Shivam Trivedi andShubham Trivedi as the per-sons who set her on fire.

The woman had alsoalleged that Shivam andShubham Trivedi had abduct-ed and raped her in December2018.

UP police submitscharge sheet in Unnaorape victim death case

2 men convicted in minor girl'srape case 23 yrs after incident

For accessing the high-speed internet facility,a passenger needs to log on to‘METROWIFI_FREE' network. After that, hewould need to enter the phone number toreceive an OTP. Once the login is successful,the commuter can enjoy free Wi-Fithroughout the journey

PNS n NEW DELHI

Jamia Millia Islamia onThursday rejected reportsthat one of their students suc-cumbed to injuries sustainedduring the protests againstthe amended citizenship law.

There were reports doingthe rounds that a student haddied during the police actionin the protests on December15. However, the hospital,where he was admitted, saidthat the deceased was not aprotester and had died due tochicken pox.

According to AhmadAzeem, Public relations offi-cer of the varsity, they havebeen informed by theProctor's office that thedeceased was not a student ofthe varsity. "A fake news iscirculating in social mediathat a boy namedA b d u r r a h m a n /Obaidurrahman died ofinjuries inflicted upon him bytear gas shell during proteston 15th December 2019, wasstudent of Jamia.

No student diedof injuriesduring anti-CAAprotest: Jamia

PNS nTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The Congress in Kerala onWednesday attacked ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan fortagging a letter written bysenior party leader RahulGandhi on the Loka KeralaSabha (LKS) on his Twitterpage. Vijayan had made pub-lic Gandhi's letter by thankinghim for the 'warm greetings tothe Loka Kerala Sabha,' a meet-ing of expatriates, currently onhere. The Congress-led oppo-sition in the state is boycottingthe LKS. "In his message,@RahulGandhi had opinedthat "the Loka Kerala Sabha isa great platform to connectwith the diaspora, and recog-nize their contribution",Vijayan tweeted quoting fromthe letter. AICC General

Secretary K C Venugopal andLeader of Opposition in thestate assembly RameshChennithala came out againstVijayan, saying he was tryingto whip up a controversy as theWayanad MP's letter was only

a gesture of courtesy. Gandhihad sent the letter onDecember 12 while theCongress-led opposition UDFdecided to keep away from theLKS on December 20,Chennithala said.

There was no need to makethe letter controversial as it wassent days before the UDF tookthe decision not to participate,Venugopal said in Thrissur.

Chennithala said it is natur-al for Gandhi to reply to the let-ter written by the ChiefMinister inviting him for themeeting. The attempt is tostoke a controversy, which wasunfortunate, he added.

The UDF decided to boycottthe meeting, as it was beingorganised extravagantly at atime when the governmenthas no funds to even paysalaries. No decisions taken atlast year's LKS have beenimplemented so far, he alleged.

Rahul Gandhi had showncourtesy by replying to the let-ter and it is unfortunate thatthe Chief minister is trying toexploit it, he said.

Cong attacks Pinarayi for postingRahul's letter on his Twitter page

PNS n BENGALURU

Former chief ministers ofKarnataka Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy on Thursdaylaunched a scathing attack onPrime Minister Narendra Modias he embarked on a two-dayvisit to the state attend events inTumakuru and Bengaluru.

In a series of tweets, theCongress and the JD(S) leaderstook a dig at Modi for hisalleged failure on various fronts."You did not visit Karnatakawhen it was devastated byfloods, you did not visitKarnataka when our farmerscried for help, but all of a sud-den, when you want to launchyour political propaganda, youremember the innocent peopleof Karnataka. Wah Modi Wah!!"Siddaramaiah tweeted.

In another tweet, theCongress leader claimed

Karnataka is starved of Centralgovernment funds as there wereno adequate flood relief, no GSTrevenue loss compensation andthere was a delay in the trans-fer of grant-in-aid.

He further said, "Beforeattempting to fool our people,let the people of Karnatakaknow when they will get theirdue share!" He also sought toknow from Modi why the 25

MPs from Karnataka have'turned off ' their engines.

"With 25 MPs from BJP anda state government with BJP,people hoped for a doubleengine. Instead, all BJP repre-sentatives have turned off theirengines and have become syco-phants to play a tune to youridiosyncrasies. Why, are theyscared of you?" Siddaramaiahsaid.

Former CMs hit out at PrimeMinster over Karnataka visit

SONBHADRA CLASH

5 cops askedto deposit 30 days' salaryas finePNS n SONBHADRA

Almost six months after 11tribals were killed in a clashover a land dispute here, theUttar Pradesh police has heldfive policemen responsible forlaxity and asked them todeposit their 30 days' salary asfine. The clash took place inSapahi village on July 17 lastyear. Twenty-one people werealso injured in the violence thaterupted after the village head-man, Yagya Dutt, and his sup-porters opened fire on a rivalgroup while trying to takepossession of 90 bighas ofland in Ghorawal area here.Five policemen have beenserved notice to deposit their30 days' salary as fine,Sonbhadra Superintendent ofPolice (SP) Ashish Srivastavasaid on Thursday.

When village head YagyaDutt tried to forcibly grab a dis-puted piece of land in 2017,police inspector Shiv KumarMishra and his predecessorMool Chand Chauhan didnot pay heed to complaints byGond tribals, he said. Theyhandled the matter with aprejudiced approach, he added.

Srivastava said three consta-bles — Kanhaiya Lal, SudhakarYadav and Pramod KumarSingh — did not act as per therule of law and followed direc-tions of their senior officers.

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)

The first day of the new decade saw thebirth of an estimated 400,000 babiesaround the world with India recording the

highest number at 67,385, a whopping 17 percent of the new births. We managed to leavebehind the world’s most populous countryChina, which welcomed 46,299 newborns thesame day. The good news is that accordingto the UNICEF, child mortality is down in thecountry and worldwide as in the last 30 years,the number of deaths of children under fivefell over 50 per cent. According to a

Government report titled Children in India 2018 — A Statistical Appraisal, therehas been a significant fall in the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in the country from46 in 2011 to 34 in 2016. The Under-five Mortality Rate (U5MR) has also gonedown to approximately 39 for 2016. However, the figures worldwide are not sopositive as far as newborns are concerned. In 2018, a whopping 47 per centbabies died in the first month of their birth, which is an increase of seven percent from 1990. Though each life is a cause to celebrate because of the poten-tial it holds, India, which is already labouring under the burden of overpopula-tion, hardly has a reason to cheer. As it is the country’s population is expectedto exceed that of China’s by 2027. We are projected to add nearly 273 millionpeople to our piece of the planet between 2019 and 2050. This, in a countrywhich is unable to feed its children as is evident by our dismal performance inthe Global Hunger Index. India slipped from the 95th rank in 2010 to the 102ndin 2019, behind its neighbours Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan!

Though our burgeoning millions make us an attractive market for most coun-tries, we have a demographic slag to deal with besides distorted developmentparadigms. The lack of employment opportunities in rural areas has seen a risein migratory flows to urban areas and by the middle of the century, half of thepopulation will be in cities. This will result in more urban slums, law and orderproblems and stretch the already thinly spread water, power resources, sanita-tion facilities and urban infrastructure. The Government is already struggling undera healthcare burden. Despite a huge middle class, a whopping 25 per cent peo-ple live on less than `143 a day. India accounts for one in three of the globalpopulation living in poverty. Unemployment is at a 45-year high and in the next20 years, the number of job-seekers or working-age population is expected togo up by more than 200 million. A whopping 30 per cent of the country’s youthaged between 15 to 30 years are neither studying nor working. Till we cannotguarantee a good life to our children, we must hang our heads and apologise tothem as they did not ask to be born in this mess that we have created.

The appointment of Gen Bipin Rawat asChief of Defence Staff (CDS) is a much-needed first step in military reforms. There

can be no doubt about the need for a unifiedmilitary command in resource-challengedtimes when warfare is all about technology andsmart integrated manoeuvres. In an age of highpotency threats and quick scrambles for a reac-tive strategy, our security apparatus cannot befragmented but must appear to be working intandem and as a complete ecosystem.However, the creation of this post is not enough

without a sound execution strategy. And going by the delay in setting up the office— the recommendation for CDS was made in 2001 by a Group of Ministers onnational security, headed by the then deputy Prime Minister LK Advani — topdefence management needs to be a priority. Of course, there are challenges inimplementation and a tussle for control implied in an overlap of civilian and defenceauthorities and procedural duplication. The CDS’ status is equal to that of a CabinetSecretary. He will be the principal military advisor to the Prime Minister, the CabinetCommittee on Security (CCS), the National Security Council (NSC), the DefenceMinister and the Home Minister (on internal security in disturbed areas and bor-der management). He must assist the NSC to formulate and review the nation-al security strategy and execute it. And though theoretically, he would still haveto work with the Defence Secretary and function with the Ministry of Defence(MoD), this could lay the ground for a territorial war of egos between existingbureaucracy and the military leadership. For the CDS would ultimately reducethe tasks of the MoD and the service headquarters to joint entities. The CDS willneed to be a bridge on many counts. First, he has to reconcile the three ser-vices, which are perennially caught in a hierarchical war. The fact that the firstCDS comes from the Army will always bear on his decisions as either prefer-ential or impartial. Second, there is the tough challenge of professionalising theDefence Ministry and cutting through the red tape, where workable policies meanan inclusion of sector experts, experienced strategists and serving chiefs. If theCDS gets caught up in turf issues, then the whole purpose of his office wouldbe defeated. In the absence of clarity of what he can and cannot do, there willalways be speculation about whether he can overreach himself in a civilian struc-ture. The sooner that role is defined, the better it is for operational integrity.

The CDS also needs to be backed up by theatre commands for no unifiedstructure can operate without these. As of now, we have just one theatre com-mand in Andaman & Nicobar islands though three others are already on the draw-ing board relating to cybersecurity, space and special forces divisions. A time-bound plan must be made as to how many theatre commands are required inour specific scenario. Most importantly, we need to develop our own templatethan rely on existing ones, simply because we need to rationalise budgets, infra-structure and manpower. Without optimising our resources, no goodwill can beearned on this initiative as we continue to question hikes in defence budgets whilecompromising spends in social sectors. Besides, the forces may actually needto use some civilian experts on smart management and organisational flows tobuild efficiencies in the integrated defence architecture. So that transparency isneeded. There is also a need to define the CDS’ role as a military advisor to theNuclear Command Authority. Since operational command will gradually shift totheatre commanders and the CDS, there will be some erosion of power amongservice chiefs. Obviously, the long-term purpose is about streamlining the forcesand that will impact key decisions on manpower, procurement and choice ofarms buys and an overhaul of the administrative structure as we know it. Whileit is true that hybrid wars cannot afford old set-ups, the Government has to makesure there are no misgivings about this new martial command formula. At thesame time, multiple and newer threats are real and hovering at our doorstep.India’s first CDS, therefore, has a lot of ground to cover and little time to wintrust. The Government has to set firm timelines for this initiative.

Loopholes remain

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

Declining fortunes

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

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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op nionVIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | JANUARY 3, 2020

06

India’s China agenda

CLAUDE ARPI

Compared to China, which is assertive and has undertaken innovative developments, Indiais definitively trailing. Preparation for any eventuality is the way forward to counter its rise

Akhilesh should stay inPakistan for one month andpray in Hindu temples, thenhe will have first-hand expe-rience of atrocities commit-ted on Hindus in Pakistan.

UP BJP chief—Swatantra Dev Singh

I've always viewed myselfas a hardcore commercialactor. And if you see my work, from the start, I've only done commercial cinema.

Actor—Akshaye Khanna

How often is a woman’sbody sacrificed on the profane altar of advertising,profit and pornography.The female body must berespected and honoured.

Head of Catholic Church—Pope Francis

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

The power of protests

It is axiomatic that protests have become an “essen-tial dimension” for mankind. In fact, they have nowbecome intrinsic to human existence. Humans protest

not just as individuals but as groups, communities andnations. They usually protest against something they per-ceive or believe to be harmful to them. The ongoingprotests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)seem to be the most significant one in post-IndependentIndia. Like it or not, they have stopped the ModiGovernment juggernaut in its tracks. They have erupt-ed at a time when the Government was under the illu-sion that it could do whatever it wanted to without beingquestioned or held accountable. They have come as abolt from the blue to the Government, which mistookits election victories as a licence to reshape the coun-try at its will.

The arrests of those who made kolams (intricateand decorative drawings on ground) with anti-CAA mes-sages were an illustrative example of Government repres-

sion. In a first, the Delhi police used Automated FacialRecognition System (AFRS) to screen the crowd at PrimeMinister Modi’s Ramlila Maidan rally. The rightness ofthe cause — India’s continued existence as a secularand pluralist democracy — espoused by the protesterscutting across religions and castes has thwartedattempts to give the protests a communal colour.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

INDIA SHOULDLOOK AFTER ITSOWN INTERESTS

AND FORGETABOUT VAGUE

IDEALISTICCONCEPTS. IT

SHOULD LEARNFROM THE

CHINESELEADERSHIP,

WHICH HASALWAYS

REMAINEDPRAGMATIC AND

DOWN-TO-EARTH.UNFORTUNATELY,

WHEN INDIASPEAKS ABOUT

ITS PAST, IT DOESSO TO AVOID

TALKING ABOUTTHE PRESENT

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

New Year births

At schools run by missionaries,children from well-off familiesexcel academically but whenthey go abroad, they eat beef.Why so? Because we have notinculcated sanskaar in them.

Union Minister—Giriraj Singh

The CDS has to overcome many turf wars, the one withinservices and the other with the bureaucracy

No cheer there as a whopping 30 per cent of our youth agedbetween 15 to 30 years are neither studying nor working

Integrated efficiency

Do more with less

BECAUSE WE HAVE OPPOSED ANTI-PEOPLE POLICIES LIKE THE CAA AND THE NRC, THE CENTRE

HAS REJECTED OUR TABLEAU PROPOSAL. —WB MOS FOR PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS

TAPAS ROY

THE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT FOLLOWED RULES.OTHER STATES HAVE FOLLOWED THEM, SO THEIRTABLEAU PROPOSALS HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED.—WEST BENGAL BJP PRESIDENT DILIP GHOSH

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

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)

Resource efficiency is a key strategy that can transform the linear production-consumptionsystem to one that is circular, thereby preventing wastage and overuse of virgin materials

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

A stitch in timesaves nine

SOURAJIT AIYER

Communities are strengthened if people are readyto handle any crisis. So disaster-prepared citizens

form the foundation of a resilient society

SOUVIKBHATTACHARJYA

SHILPI KAPURBAKSHI

A MONITORINGPROCESS

THAT HELPSASSESS

THE RESOURCEUSE,

EFFICIENCYOF SECTORS

AND RESOURCESWITH

HARMONISEDMETRICS

AND REGULARPUBLICATION OF RESULTS

COULDGIVE RESOURCE

EFFICIENCYA HIGHER

PROFILE ININDIA’S

ECONOMICGROWTHPATHWAY

India is no stranger to natural calamities like cyclones, earthquakesand floods, particularly in recent years as the effects of climatechange are being felt across the world. Add to these man-made

catastrophes like fires, building collapses, industrial and transportaccidents and the list of disasters that test the resilience of ourcommunities is indeed a long one. Ideally, our citizens should beprepared to tackle any such mishap but the ground reality is verydifferent as most people in the country don’t know even the basicswhere it comes to handling disasters.

The need to build our contingency preparedness becomes evenmore acute when one considers that a nation of India's scale stilllacks the optimal level of institutionalised resources across the lengthand breadth of the country for efficient and effective disaster man-agement. It is also worth noting that a significant number of fatal-ities occur post-event, during any disaster, due to mismanagedhandling of the victims by the first-responders eager to help butwho lack the basic knowledge of how to manage crisis situations.

Sometimes even institutional teams can need the help of cit-izens when they find themselves in a dangerous situation, like theone the Delhi Fire Service personnel found themselves in after abattery factory collapsed in northwest Delhi's Peera Garhi follow-ing an explosion due to a fire that broke out early in the morning.Even though 18 people were rescued from the building, one fire-fighter was killed and 14 others were hurt when the structure col-lapsed trapping them inside.

This is a gap which some non-profit organisations are fillingby equipping our citizens with disaster management and crisis pre-paredness skills so that they can prevent unnecessary catastroph-ic situations from flaring up. They want to ensure that citizens arenot a liability to the institutional teams if such a disaster does occurbut are able to complement them and are able to help reduce thetoll a disaster takes on the local population. They want to makeour communities ready for all the activities that go behind disas-ter management.

One such example is a foundation in Maharashtra's earthquake-prone Palghar that targets schoolchildren, resident associations,factories and corporates to build their disaster management andcrises response skills. Its founder, Bhupendra Mishra, left his jobat the State Government's civil defence organisation to prepare peo-ple for a crisis as he had experienced first hand the disastrous resultsof an industrial accident in his childhood and later in life while help-ing a railway accident victim. These experiences made him realisethe lack of preparedness and awareness about disasters in ourcommunities and motivated him to turn into a social entrepreneur.Now communities are being trained by the foundation in numer-ous first aids, victim handling, tackling fires, basic rescue opera-tions and evacuation techniques, managing mobs, impartingCardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and so on.

This discourse about building disaster management skills inour citizens to make our communities more resilient is picking upglobally as well, including in the USA where successive hurricaneshave wrought havoc across its south and south-east.

But the idea to talk of this need is not to make our commu-nities excessively worried by colouring disasters as an impend-ing doom or Armageddon but to make the citizens better awareand prepared in case any eventuality ever occurs. Since the resilienceof our communities is only strengthened if our citizens are betterprepared to handle any crises, it may be safe to opine that disas-ter-prepared citizens are the foundation of a resilient community.

Ironically, most human resource courses in MBA colleges, espe-cially in India, are yet to imbibe disaster management in their cur-riculum, despite the fact the eventual growth in the manufactur-ing sector in fast-growing emerging markets could lead to indus-trial accidents, which in turn would mean lawsuits. Since preven-tion is better than cure, building better preparedness of the humanresource executives to be deputed at such establishments wouldnot only save the direct costs of the accident, but also the indi-rect legal costs. That alone is a significant economic opportunityto look at disaster management skills more seriously.

Top-down systematic funding would go a long way to insti-tutionalise the system of disaster management training through-out the country. Currently, only a small handful of Corporate SocialResponsibility funds and agencies are funding these efforts of thenon-profits in India. This should be scaled up if a paradigm trans-formation of our citizens' level of preparedness is to be realised.Countries like ours need to relook at how we are building crisispreparedness in our communities. After all, everyone has a roleto play during a disaster. However, making ourselves better pre-pared would go a long way to making our roles more effective andefficient.

(The writer is an author and consultant with a leading busi-ness insights portal)

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)

Fight TB through innovationsIndia contributes to 27 per cent of the burden of tuberculosis in the world. However, diligent efforts and constant

determination may enable the country to demonstrate leadership in the control of this communicable disease

MANOJ KUMAR

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | JANUARY 3, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

While the number of internetusers continues to grow, thespace it offers is underthreat, by the diktat ofgovernments.Where internetrestrictions are needed, theymust be proportionate andtransparent. Informationmatters. If it didn’t autocratswould not be so anxious tocontrol its flow. And thepeople would not keepfinding ways to circumventthose restrictions.

(The Guardian editorial)

INFORMATIONHIGHWAY CLOSED

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | JANUARY 3, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

Bajaj Auto totalsales down 3 pc in DecemberNEW DELHI: Bajaj Auto onThursday reported a 3 per centdecline in total sales at3,36,055 units in December2019. The firm had sold atotal of 3,46,199 units inDecember 2018, Bajaj Autosaid in a statement. Totaldomestic sales were down15 per cent at 1,53,163 unitsas compared to 1,80,351units in the year-ago month,it added. Motorcycle sales indomestic market were1,24,125 units last month asagainst 1,57,252 units inDecember 2018, down 21per cent, it added. Exportswere, however, up 13 percent at 1,60,677 units ascompared to 1,41,603 unitsin the same month a yearago, Bajaj Auto said. Totalcommercial vehicle saleswere at 51,253 units asagainst 47,344 units in theyear-ago month, a growth of 8per cent. Domesticcommercial vehicle sales wereat 29,038 units last month asagainst 23,099 units in thecorresponding month lastyear, a growth of 26 per cent,it added. Commercial vehicleexports were down 8 per centat 22,215 units as comparedto 24,245 units in December2018, the company said.

Royal Enfield salesdown 13 pc at50,416 units in Dec. NEW DELHI: Niche bike makerRoyal Enfield on Thursdayreported 13 per cent decline intotal sales at 50,416 units inDecember. The company hadregistered total sales of 58,278units in the same month ayear ago, Royal Enfield said ina statement. Domestic sales inDecember were at 48,489units as against 56,026 unitsin the year-ago month, down13 per cent, it added. Exportslast month were at 1,927 unitsas compared to 2,252 units inDecember 2018, a decline of14 per cent, it said.

AGR WOES

GNVFC gets telecom wingnotice on Rs 15,019cr duesPNS n NEW DELHI

Gujarat Narmada ValleyFertilizers and Chemicals(GNVFC) has received ademand notice from the tele-com department for paymentof outstanding dues worth Rs15,019 crore by January 23,2020.

The dues pertain to finan-cial years from 2005-06 to2018-19 in connection withVSAT and ISP licences held bythe company, it said. The out-standing includes interestamount as well.

The company said it is seek-ing expert legal advice in thematter to decide future courseof action.

"The company is presentlyexamining the said demandnotice and judgement of theSupreme Court by seekingexpert legal advice in the mat-ter," GNVFC said in a BSE fil-ing.

Based on the legal advice,the company will decide thefuture course of actions on theissue, it added.

The fertiliser firm informedthat it has "received a demandnotice from the Office ofController of CommunicationAccounts, DoT, Ministry ofC o m m u n i c a t i o n s ,Government of India, GujaratTelecom Circle,Ahmedabad...directing thecompany to deposit the totaloutstanding amount of Rs15019,97,48,444 (inclusive of

interest amount) beforeJanuary 23, 2020, in respect offinancial years from 2005-06 to2018-19 in connection withVSAT & ISP Licenses held bythe company".

The Department ofTelecommunications (DoT)has also sought Rs 1.72 lakhcrore in past statutory duesfrom state-owned gas utilityGAIL India following theSupreme Court's AGR(Adjusted Gross Revenue) rul-ing in October.

The DoT had sent a letter toGAIL seeking Rs 1,72,655crore in dues on IP-1 and IP-2 licences as well asInternet ServiceProvider (ISP)licence. In response,GAIL has told theDoT that it owesnothing more thanwhat it has alreadypaid to the government.

Besides GAIL, the DoT isalso seeking Rs 1.25 lakh crorefrom PowerGrid which had

both a national long-distanceas well as an internet licence.PowerGrid says it has an AGRof Rs 3,566 crore since 2006-07and after adding penalty itcomes to Rs 22,168 crore.

After sending out notices tofirms such as GAIL, the DoThas said any relief to non-tele-com companies from paymentof enhanced levies can comeonly from the Supreme Court.

The DoT is currently "exam-ining" the replies given by thestate-owned non-telecom firmson the AGR dues, a senior offi-cial had recently told PTI.

Bharti Airtel, VodafoneIdea and other telecom com-panies owe the governmentnearly Rs 1.47 lakh crore inpast statutory dues.

These AGR liabilities aroseafter the apex court in Octoberlast year upheld the govern-ment's position on includingrevenue from non-telecom-munication businesses for cal-culating the annual AGR oftelecom companies, a share ofwhich is paid as licence andspectrum fees to the exchequer.

The apex courtallowed three monthsto the affected compa-nies to cough up theamounts due to thegovernment.

The DoT has mean-while made it clear that

the AGR order will apply to alllicencees, including compa-nies such as GAIL, RailTel, andPowerGrid.

The dues pertain to financial yearsfrom 2005-06 to 2018-19 inconnection with VSAT and ISPlicences held by the company, it said.The outstanding includes interestamount as well

Sensex rallies 320 pts;Ultratech jumps 5 pcPNS n MUMBAI

Market benchmark Sensex ral-lied over 320 points while theNifty ended at its fresh lifetimehigh on Thursday, led by index-heavyweights Reliance Industriesand HDFC twins as global mar-kets logged robust gains.

The 30-share BSE indexended 320.62 points, or 0.78 percent, higher at 41,626.64. It hitan intra-day high of 41,649.29.

Similarly, the broader NSENifty closed 99.70 points, or0.82 per cent, up at 12,282.20-- its all-time high.

Ultratech Cement was thetop gainer in the Sensex pack,surging 4.37 per cent, followedby Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank,L&T, Reliance Industries, SBI,HDFC, HDFC Bank, AxisBank, ONGC and ITC.

On the other hand, BajajAuto, TCS, Infosys, NTPC,Nestle India, Kotak Bank andHero MotoCorp fell up to0.89 per cent.

Traders said domestic

investors followed Asian equi-ties which rallied on Chinesecentral bank's fresh stimulusfor the country's slowing econ-omy.

Bourses in Shanghai andHong Kong spurted up to1.25 per cent, while Seoulended in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europealso opened significantly higher.

On the currency front, therupee depreciated 11 paiseagainst the US dollar to 71.33(intra-day).

The 30-shareBSE indexended 320.62points, or 0.78per cent, higherat 41,626.64. Ithit an intra-dayhigh of41,649.29

BSE toconduct mocktrading on January 4PNS n NEW DELHI

Leading stock exchange BSEon Thursday said it will con-duct mock trading sessionsfor various segments onJanuary 4.

The mock trading onSaturday is scheduled forcommodity derivatives, equi-ty derivatives, currency deriv-atives and equity segments.

Continuous trading incommodity derivative andcurrency derivative segmentswill begin at 10:00 am and goon till 3:30 pm.

For equity and equityderivatives segment, sched-uled time for continuous trad-ing is 10:15 am to 3:30 pm.

"The mock trading ismerely for the purpose oftesting and familiarizationand that the trades resultingfrom such mock trading willnot attract any margin oblig-ation or pay-in and pay-outobligation and will not createany rights and liabilities,"BSE said in similarly wordedseparate notices.

Mock trading sessions aregenerally conducted by stockexchanges to test the perfor-mance of their system toenable flawless trading.

China’s support, trade optimism lifts Asian marketsAFP n HONG KONG

Asian markets started the newdecade on the front foot, withmost rallying out of the blocksThursday on lingering tradeoptimism, while China's cen-tral bank announced freshstimulus for the country's stut-tering economy.

The broad advances come asinvestors remain upbeat aboutthe global outlook afterWashington and Beijing even-tually reached a trade agree-ment to ease tensions betweenthe two, while Brexit uncer-tainty has essentially beenremoved.

However, geopolitical wor-ries resurfaced following awarning from North Korean

leader Kim Jong Un that mora-toriums on nuclear and inter-continental ballistic missiletests had ended, with talkswith the US going nowhere.

Shanghai and Hong Kong led

gains after the People's Bank ofChina said it would lower theamount of cash lenders mustkeep in reserve, freeing upmore than USD 100 billion forloans to small businesses.

The move comes as leaderstry to kickstart growth in theworld's number two economy,which is running at its weak-est for almost three decades.

"We expect the PBoC tocontinue to ease policy through2020, trying to ensure growthremains around that six percent target," Stephen Halmarickat Commonwealth Bank of

Australia told Bloomberg TV."Easier monetary policy

across Asia and the Pacific is atheme for this year as well."

Shanghai and Hong Kongboth added one per cent, whileSydney gained 0.1 per cent andSingapore put on 0.7 per cent.

Taipei, Mumbai, andBangkok also rose, thoughManila and Jakarta retreated.

Tokyo remains closed for therest of the week.

Dealers were also being sup-ported by relief after DonaldTrump said the mini China-UStrade deal will be signed off inWashington on January 15,and he will later travel toBeijing for the next phase oftalks.

The signing will smoothconcerns that the pact couldsuffer a last-minute collapse,which has niggled sometraders.

Seoul was down one per centafter Kim declared a self-imposed moratorium was nolonger needed, raising the pos-sibility that the North couldsoon resume missile launchesor nuclear tests.

Shanghai and Hong Kong led gainsafter the People's Bank of China saidit would lower the amount of cashlenders must keep in reserve, freeingup more than USD 100 billion for loansto small businesses.

PNS n MUMBAI

Everstone-backed IndoSpaceon Thursday launched threeindustrial and logistics parksin Gujarat, Andhra Pradeshand Haryana.

With this, the company hasadded nearly 120 acres ofspace, which will boostIndoSpace to grow its foot-print across significant regionsand achieve its long-term goalof 120 million sqft of modernlogistics infrastructure acrossthe country.

IndoSpace has a portfolio ofaround 34.5 million sqft acrossdeveloped and under-con-struction projects compris-ing 34 industrial and logistics

parks in nine cities, the com-pany said in a statement.

The three new industrialand logistics parks are locatedat Becharaji in Gujarat,

Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh,and Sohna Taoru in Haryana.

"As a national developer, westrive to provide modernlogistics and warehousing

facilities across strategic andsignificant locations. Thelaunch of these three parksmarks IndoSpace's rapidgrowth in laying down astrong foundation for grade Alogistics infrastructures acrossthe country," EverstoneGroup Vice Chairman – RealEstate, Rajesh Jaggi said.

He further said 2019 wassignificant for the company asit entered into new markets aswell as expanded in the exist-

ing ones. "We wish to carrythe same momentum in thisnew year," Jaggi added.

The industrial park inBecharaji is spread over 40acres and is situated closer toBecharaji-Mandal SpecialInvestment Region.

Becharaji is developing intoone of the largest industrialmanufacturing hubs for carand two-wheeler manufac-turers and is also home toJapanese industrial cluster.

The three new industrial and logisticsparks are located at Becharaji inGujarat, Anantapur in AndhraPradesh, and Sohna Taoru in Haryana

IndoSpace launches 3 industrial, logistics parks

Sugar outputdown 30.22 pcin Oct-Dec 2019 PNS n NEW DELHI

The country's sugar produc-tion has fallen sharply by30.22 per cent to 7.79 milliontonne in the first three monthsof current marketing yearending September, but ex-mill prices have remained sta-ble so far, helping mills clearcane payment to farmers ontime, ISMA said on Thursday.

However, sugar exports arehappening at a good pace,Indian Sugar Mills Association(ISMA) quoting market datasaid, adding mills have so farcontracted for shipment ofover 2.5 million tonne of sugarunder the government'sMAEQ (Maximum AdmissibleExport Quantity Quota).

Ex-mill sugar prices haveremained steady in the range ofRs 3,250-3,350 per quintal innorth India and at Rs 3,100-3,250 per quintal in the southIndia, the industry body added.

"Since the centre has notincreased the Fair andRemunerative Price (FRP) for2019-20 as also the state gov-ernments like Uttar Pradesh,Uttarakhand and Punjab havenot hiked the State AdvisedPrice (SAP), ex-mill pricesremain stable, mills are in abetter position to be able topay cane price to the farmerson time," ISMA said in astatement.

Releasing the latest produc-tion data, it said the country'stotal sugar production hasdropped to 7.79 million tonnetill December 2019 from 11.17million tonne in the same peri-od of the 2018-19 marketingyear (October-September).

In its first estimate, the

industry body had peggedsugar production lower at 26million tonne this year from33.16 million tonne in 2018-19. The second estimate willbe released next month.

Sugar production inMaharashtra -- the country'slargest sugar producing state -- dropped to 1.65 milliontonne till December 2019, asagainst 4.45 million tonne inthe same period last year, thedata showed.

The average sugar recoveryin Maharasthra has declined to10 per cent from 10.5 per centachieved in the year-ago peri-od due to loss of sucrose con-tent in the flood-affected sug-arcane crop.

Minister: Lanka extends freetourist visa facility until April 30 PNS n NEW DELHI

Sri Lanka on Thursday extend-ed the free visa-on-arrivalscheme till April 30 for the cit-izens of 48 countries, includingIndia, Tourism MinisterPrasanna Ranatunga said, asthe country tries to revive thetourism sector which was hit bythe Easter Sunday bombings.

In April, Sri Lanka suspend-ed its plans to grant visa-on-arrival to citizens of 39 countriesafter the devastating bombingsthat killed 258 people.

In July, the island nationadded more countries, includ-ing India and China after it re-launched the free visa onarrival scheme, which wasimplemented from August 1.

"We have decided to extendthis facility due to requestsfrom the stake holders. ACabinet paper would be sub-mitted for this purpose,"

Ranatunga said.In the aftermath of the

Easter Sunday bomb attacks,the USD 20 visa fee for SouthAsian travellers and USD 35fee applicable to visitors fromthe rest of the world werewaived off.

Tourism which contributes5 per cent to the island's GDPwas dealt a severe blow afterthe ISIS linked local extremist

group National ThawheedJammath (NTJ) carried outsuicide bombings which killedover 260 people at three luxu-ry hotels and three churches onApril 21.

Sri Lanka's tourism arrivalshad received a boost by early2019 with over 10 per centincrease in arrivals year on year.The Lonely Planet had by thennamed Sri Lanka as a toptourist destination in the world.

However, after the EasterSunday bombings, the indus-try suffered mass scale can-cellations of prior bookings. InMay last year the arrivals suf-fered over a 70 per cent slump.

The tourism industry offi-cials said the arrivals during2019 were well below the 1.9million arrivals target.

The first 11 months data for2019 had showed arrivals hadbeen 1.67 million down bynearly 20 per cent.

Shriram TransportFin to raise Rs 1,000 crorePNS n MUMBAI

Shriram Transport Financeon Thursday said it is look-ing to raise up to Rs 1,000crore through bonds.

The base size of the issue isRs 200 crore with an option toretain oversubscription aggre-gating up to Rs 1,000 crore, thecompany said in a release.

This is the second tranche ofbonds to be issued by the non-banking finance company.

"The funds raised will beused for onward lending,financing and for repayment/prepayment of interest andprincipal of existing borrow-ings of the company and forgeneral corporate purposes,"the release said.

It is offering three- andfive-year bonds with month-ly, annual and cumulativeinterest payment options andseven-year bonds withmonthly and annual interestpayment options.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Realty firm Puravankara Ltdwill invest Rs 125 crore todevelop a housing project inPune in partnership with alocal builder.

The company said it willconstruct 236 apartments inthis four-acre project 'PurvaAspire' and is expecting a rev-enue of Rs 200-250 crore.

The first phase of this pro-ject will be ready by September2023.

Puravankara said it hasidentified Pune inMaharashtra as one of the core5-6 cities for growth and plansto launch various projects,comprising around 10 millionsq ft, in the coming years.

"Pune is one of the key mar-kets for Puravankara. In thelast one decade, Pune hasemerged as an IT and auto-mobile hub. The residential

real estate market in Pune haspicked up quite well as com-pared to other cities in pastthree years," said AbhishekKapoor, COO-Residential,Puravankara.

The company is evaluatingvarious joint venture propos-als to expand its presence inPune market.

Puravankara has 40 millionsq ft of projects which arecompleted and delivered;around 20 million sq ft underdevelopment. Currently, thetotal land asset of the compa-ny is nearing 70 million sq ft.

Puravankara announcesRs 125cr housing project

Commercial papersworth over Rs 1.1 lakhcrore get listed on BSE PNS n NEW DELHI

As many as 52 issuers have list-ed commercial papers worthover Rs 1.1 lakh crore on theBSE since November 2019.

The exchange enabled the list-ing of CPs and announced frame-work for them in November2019. "Till date, 52 issuers havedone 288 issuances of commer-cial papers and have successful-ly listed CPs of Rs 1,11,080 croreon BSE. The weighted averageyield of these issuances is 6.11 percent with an average tenor of 137days," the bourse said in a state-

ment. Besides, the BSE saidnine firms have made appli-cations with the exchange tolist their CPs for a total issuesize of Rs 5,950 crore. Theeffective date for listing of theirCPs with the bourse is Jan 2.The firms are Kotak SecuritiesLtd, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd,Birla Group Holdings Pvt Ltd,Power Grid Corporation of IndiaLtd, Kotak Mahindra Prime Ltd,Motilal Oswal Financial ServicesLtd, JSW Steel Ltd, KotakMahindra Investments Ltd andSharekhan BNP ParibasFinancial Services Ltd.

Ex-mill sugarprices haveremained steadyin the range ofRs 3,250-3,350per quintal innorth India andat Rs 3,100-3,250per quintal in thesouth India, theindustry bodyadded

Prasanna Ranatunga

Mir Quadir Ali

ver the past eightdecades, the All-India IndustrialExhibition, popu-larly known asNumaish, has been

an integral part of the city’slandscape. Scheduled to runfor over one-and-a-halfmonths each year, the annualfair draws lakhs of peoplefrom many cities.

Numaish was first con-ceived in 1938 to raise fundsfor conducting an economicsurvey of the state by the

Osmania Graduates’Association (OGA). Duringthe meeting, Mahmood Ali,one of the members, suggest-ed that the stalls set up inconnection with the Nizam’sSilver Jubilee Exhibition atthe Public Gardens could beused to hold another exhibi-tion that can help raisemoney for the OGA.

The idea was immediatelyseconded by the others pre-sent at the meeting — MirAhmed Ali Khan, Mir AkbarAli Khan (a barrister, wholater became the Governor ofOrissa, as it was called back

then), Raja Guru Das,Shankarji and others.

Initially known as theNumaish-e-Masnuath-e-Mulki, the latter part of itsname faded from conversa-tion and only Numaishremained. Like the name,which means exhibition,much has changed aboutNumaish, but its inherentcharacter — a fair that allowsfamilies to bond with theirloved ones in the evenings ina fun-filled environment —remains intact.

The proposal was alsoaccepted by the then

Municipal Commissioner ofHyderabad, Nawab MehdiNawaz Jung Bahadur whodirected the municipal staffto spruce up the PublicGardens for the second exhi-bition. OGA had saved a lotof money by reusing the stallsbut were still short of funds.Then they approachedprominent private citizensand organisations for funds.

Ultimately, the conceptcame to life with about 100stalls that were set up inOctober 1938. BesidesShankarji who was the hon-orary secretary, Mohammed

Farooque, Abdur Raheemand Khaja Hameed Ahmedwere among the founder-members of the exhibitioncommittee.

Khaja Hameed Ahmeddrafted the prospectus of thefirst Numaish which listedthe eligibility criteria for itsmembership, which was lim-ited and was without mone-tary compensation for thework done by the members.It was also decided that theprofits from Numaish wouldbe utilised for developmentpurposes and that the com-mittee would promote asocial, economic and indus-trial environment in the stateand in the country in general.It was also decided that theNumaish would be a place toeducate people.

The first Numaish wasinaugurated by Nawab MirOsman Ali Khan, Nizam VIIin 1938 at the Public Gardensor Bhaag-e-Aam as it wascalled then. It was open foronly 10 days and theresponse was overwhelming.

Unlike the past few decadesof Numaish, the shops werekept open only during theday. Overwhelmed by thesuccess of the first Numaish,the exhibition committee, asit was formally being calledby then, decided to holdanother exhibition the fol-lowing year. With clamourgrowing to extend the dura-tion of the exhibition, thecommittee decided to host itfor a fortnight.

There were also demandsfor allocating a separate dayjust for women to visit the

exhibition which were heardby the committee and weremet.

As the years passed, thenumber of stalls grew and theaddition of children-centricstalls imbued an aura of aproper village fair. This alsoturned Numaish into anevent that attracted families.

After the third year, theOGA constituted a societythat came to be known as theexhibition society. The man-date of this society was toplan and conduct the exhibi-tion every year.

The society realised thateven a fortnight was notenough to cope with thenumber of visitors and theduration was extended to amonth. In 1946, Sir MirzaIsmail, the then Diwan(Prime Minister) of the king-dom of Hyderabad, decidedto shift Numaish to its pre-sent venue.

In 1948, after Police Action,Numaish became the All-India Industrial Exhibitionand this version was inaugu-

rated by the first GovernorGeneral of India, C.Rajagopalchari. From then on,the Numaish has grown fromstrength to strength, attract-ing lakhs of people each year.

Proximity of the NampallyRailway Station to the venuewas one of the major factorsthat contributed to the suc-cess of the fair as it helped thetraders and the local indus-tries easily transport theirgoods to the Public Gardens.

Another factor contribut-ing to the success of Numaish’s was Shankarji.Remembered as the drivingforce behind the exhibitionsociety, his leadership turnedNumaish into a social serviceinstitution.

Now, besides being a plat-form for small industries, theexhibition society providesvocational training for womenand has established institu-tions for graduate and post-graduate education as well.

The exhibition will be opento public until February 15

NUMAISH WASFIRST CONCEIVEDIN 1938 TO RAISEFUNDS FORCONDUCTING ANECONOMICSURVEY OF THESTATE BY OGA

O

THE HISTORY OFNUMAISH

Since its establishment in1938, Numaish has

become a part of the cityas much as the Charminar

or the biryani. Here is alook at the history of this

popular exhibition thatpeople across the city

flock to each year

Speaking to V SATEESH REDDY,television actor Pawon akaPavaan Sai, a Hyderabad-based actor, shares about hisjourney to acting, his dreamrole, charity activities, tryingout his hand on bigscreen, urge to learnnew things andmore

PLACING THE SCRIPTABOVE ALL ELSE

orn and brought upin Hyderabad, tele-vision actor PavaanSai is known for hisbreakout roles intelevision serials like

Happy Days, MogaliRekulu, Muddu

Bidda, SravanaSameeralu andMudda

Mandaram.Speaking

to The

Pioneer,Pavaan Sai

shares how hisjourney began intelevision and his

dream roles.

Learning to dance Pavaan started acting

on the small screen in2009 in the serial Happy

Days. In order to land thisrole he spent around five yearsgoing from office to office, giv-ing auditions for roles anddisplaying his skill set toeveryone he came across.

“My family moved toHyderabad before I wasborn and my parents set-tled here. Being born andbrought up in this city, Iwas always interested in thefilm and television industryhere. I completed my school-ing in 2003 and my gradua-

tion in B.Com from WesleyDegree College. During thesame time, I started learningdance from my brother’s friend who is a choreographer.Later, I learned acting too fromhim. With my skill set in hand,from 2004 to 2009, I visitedmany offices seeking role intelevision, and finally got myfirst one in Happy Days in 2009.It is a comedy serial with col-lege life as its backdrop,” sharesPavaan. “Next, I got an oppor-tunity to work in the popularMogali Rekulu serial. It is withMogali Rekulu that I made amark and attained a certain

level of popularity and I willalways be thankful to theserial’s director ManjulaNaidu for giving me thisopportunity.”

Great response “Television audience treat

TV actors as members of theirown family. I can especially feelthis when I meet them afterwork and they appreciate myrole. Nowadays, televisionactors are earning a name forthemselves by displaying theirtalents in other media too. Eventhe reverse is true as manyactors from the film industryhave started acting in TV seri-als. In my opinion, it alldepends on talent. Many havegained stardom on social mediaand are now getting opportuni-

ties to feature in

movies. Hence being dedicatedto the profession is all there isto it,” says Pavaan.

Movie trials Pavaan is keen on proving his

acting talent on the big screentoo but he is specific about thekind of roles he wants to por-tray. He says, “I have beenoffered some movie roles butI’m looking for scripts wherethe story is the hero. I don’tmind playing the role of a hero,a villain or any other role aslong as the script is good.People have seen me do differ-ent types of roles on TV and, inthe same way, I want to do dif-ferent roles in movies too.” Hisdream roles include like theantagonist (Eshwar) he por-trayed in Mogali Rekulu and therole of a Military officer shownin the movie Uri.

Women as villains In cinema, most of the vil-

lains are men but in serials it isthe other way round. Whetherasked if showing women as vil-lains in several serials will havean impact on the viewers’ per-ception of women in general,Pavaan says, “I suggest peopleto just watch serials as enter-tainment and not take it per-sonally. Don’t emulate serialactors. Like movies, serials areonly for entertainment and Ihope there is not much impactby these roles on people.”

Learning new thingsHe said that he never felt

like a star and always loveto learn new things. Headds, “Never lose your headin success and never loseyour heart in failure.” WithOTT platforms, peoplehave a lot of options towatch in their free time.When asked if OTT plat-forms impact the televisionviewing experience, Pavaan

said that OTT platforms

gives more opportunities forpeople who want to pursue act-ing and it will be another plat-form like television.

Role modelsPavaan says that he loves

Hrithik Roshan’s dance and hisenergy levels. He shares, “Iadmire each and every actor fortheir efforts to bring out a qual-ity output. Hrithik Roshandance and energy levels are out-standing. I also like acting ofDwayne Johnson, Shah RukhKhan and Allu Arjun. Myfavourite movies are TaareZameen Par, Bommarillu. Myfavourite serial is Mogali Rekuluand I love my role as Kashi inMuddu Bidda serial.”

Giving back to society Pavaan says it is important

for people to give back to soci-ety. For this television actorsbanded together to start theCricket Association forTelevision, through which they have been raising moneyregularly through charitymatches for NGOs in need.Speaking of the same, he shares,“I was very happy for playingthe matches knowing that theproceeds will be used for help-ing the underprivileged. Apartfrom this, I also help someNGOs procure necessaryamenities for them. I lend ahelping hand with a hope thatmore people will come forwardto change society if they seeactors also doing it.”

Being fit and healthyPavaan said that being fit and

healthy is important for anactor. He explains, “Getting anopportunity is important for anactor. I suggest upcoming actorsto never miss out any actingopportunity and give your 100per cent. We have to be trans-parent in the field. Being fitand healthy is must in this competitive field.”

B

Television audience treat TVactors as members of their ownfamily. I can especially feel thiswhen I meet them after workand they appreciate my role.Nowadays, television actors areearning a name for themselvesby displaying their talent inother media too. Even theconverse is true as many actorsfrom the film industry havestarted acting in TV serials. Inmy opinion, it all depends ontalent. Many have gainedstardom on social media andare now getting opportunities tofeature in movies. Hence theprofession is all there is to it.

Out of the

BOX

FridayJanuary 3, 2020

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

omedian KathyGriffin is nowmarried to herlongtimeboyfriend RandyBick. The 59-year-

old comedian said “I do”early on Wednesday in whatshe described, alongside aclip on Twitter, as a ceremo-ny lasting “just under 14minutes”, reportspeople.com.

Griffin’s video of theceremony was only of thefirst minute or so andshowed actress LilyTomlin hilariously offici-ating.

“What was supposed tobe a shallow, “toot it andboot it” one-night standhas grown and flourishedinto something far moremeaningful,” said Tomlin

as she began the ceremony.“They stayed together.

Then they couldn’t stay awayfrom one another.”

Griffin wore a pearlywhite, short-sleeved gown byDiane Von Furstenberg withearrings by Erica Courtney.

She captioned the video:

“LOVE IT! We promised youatypical. We are in love andwe cannot stop laughing.Thank you @LilyTomlin andJane Wagner!#HappyNewYear.”

In a separate tweet, shewrote that her wedding dresswas a sweet callback to herfirst date with Bick in 2011.She wore that same dressthen and, for their ceremonyon Wednesday. “He pickedout this dress and showed methis photo. Romance is hottttagain,” she tweeted.

Griffin told people.com:“Randy and I are doing sortof toy rings for the ceremonybecause neither one of us likewearing rings ever. So we willnever wear rings. Deal withit.”

Their surprise “I dos”came just hours after Griffinannounced her engagementto Bick in a video she sharedon Twitter on New Year’sEve.

“Happy New Year! And,surprise! We’re getting mar-ried! Tonight! After mid-night!” the two said in uni-son in the clip.

KATHY GRIFFINmarries beau

Randy Bick

10

Vijayawada Friday January 3, 2020 what’s brewing?

ollie Fitzgerald, who had a minorrole in Captain America: The FirstAvenger, has been arrested in con-nection with the murder of hermother. According to the policestatement, on December 20 last

year, law enforcement officials responded toan armed disturbance at the house of mother,Patricia E. Fitzgerald, in Olathe, a city inKansas, reports variety.com.

Patricia, 68, was discovered with an appar-ent stab wound, and was pronounced dead onthe scene.

“A 38-year-old, white female, known to thevictim, was contacted on scene and transport-ed to a local hospital with minor injuries,”read the original police statement. It was laterupdated to that Mollie had been arrested.

Mollie has been charged with second-degree murder and is being held on a$500,000 bond, reports Kansas City Star.

Mollie had a small role in 2011’s CaptainAmerica: The First Avenger that is billed asStark Girl on IMDb. She also worked as anassistant to the director of the movie, JoeJohnston.

M

C

CAPTAIN AMERICA actressheld for mother’s murder

FARHANunveils intenselook from Toofan

he first still fromFarhan Akhta’supcoming filmToofan is out andhe is looking noless than a pro-

fessional boxer.In the image, Farhan is

seen standing at a boxingring, donning a blue jerseyand flaunting his rippedmuscles. “When life getsharder, you just get

stronger. Iss saal #Toofanuthega...Happy to share thisexclusive image with you aswe dive into the new year.Hope you like it,” Farhanposted on Instagram.

Directed by RakeyshOmprakash Mehra, Toofan, a sports drama, is scheduled to release onOctober 2.

The film also featuresMrunal Thakur.

T

FUN TIME

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

racks within theMovie ArtistsAssociation(MAA) have creptinto the New Yearas well. At the

annual MAA diary launch inHyderabad on Thursday,executive Vice-PresidentRajasekhar, stormed on tothe dais and snatched themicrophone from writerParuchuri Gopalakrishna.The actor claimed that theMAA is far from functioningsmoothly. The likes ofChiranjeevi, Mohan Babuand Jayasudha who wereseated on the dais were hard-ly pleased with this act ofRajasekhar.

“Since last March, I haven’tdone a film as I was thor-oughly immersed with theday-to-day activities off theMAA. I’ve been experiencingproblems at home too. Thepressure got to me, leading toan accident recently. I’ve lostmy Mercedes because of it. Iagree with Chiranjeevi garuwho had said that everyoneshould be allowed to partici-pate equally for the smoothfunctioning of the MAA. Butthings are anything butsmooth here. Our opinionsare being suppressed,” heclaimed. When Chiranjeeviraised objections toRajasekhar’s speech, the latterasked him to wait as he didn’tinterrupt the former’s speech.When Mohan Babu tried tointervene, Rajasekhar said,“Nothing happens if youshout.”

He added that there’s notransparency at the MAA. “I

will speak the truth. If anyallegations are leveled againstme, so be it. I will lead anhonest life,” he said, beforegiving back the microphone.

A visibly upset Chiranjeevisaid that there was no pointfor him to grace the event ifelders are not respected. “Icondemn Rajasekhar’sactions. The event was goingin a pleasant way until hebroke the protocol,” he saidand added that disciplinaryaction should be initiatedagainst Rajasekhar.

Rajasekhar’s wife Jeevithawas quick to get into damagecontrol, saying that it was a

‘slight disturbance’ to whatotherwise was a very impor-tant event. “My husband is achild at heart. He doesn’tbelieve in hiding his emo-tions. I am sorry for theinconvenience caused. Wehave great respect for you(Chiranjeevi). All said anddone, there are issues atMAA. But as Chiranjeevigaru said, let us not takethem outside but solveamong ourselves,” she said.

Earlier, Chiranjeevi hadasked the MAA to come uptwo to three events this yearso that more corpus fund isgenerated. “Last year, I’ve

been to event abroad to raisefunds. We can ask Nagarjuna,Balakrishna to do the samethis year. Even Mahesh Babu,Pawan Kalyan, Prabhas, RamCharan, Allu Arjun amongother young heroes should beasked. I’m sure if I ask them,they will attend the events.More the corpus fund, morewe can help. I will representthe MAA to the governmentif any help is needed.Sometime back I asked KTRto allot to two to three acresof land for the film body. Heresponded positively andasked me to identify the land.We couldn’t proceed with it

yet. But the offer is still there.In fact at a recent event that Iattended, KCR garu said thathe would help the industrygrow. We should be readywith a plan,” Chiranjeevi stated. — NG

Vijayawada Friday January 3, 2020

11

tollywoodDrama at MAA diary launchC

t the first pressmeet of S.S.Rajamouli’s ambi-tious RRR that washeld in March lastyear, the film’s

producer D.V.V. Danayyasaid that the estimated bud-get of the film stood at Rs400 crore. But as is the casewith previous Rajamouli’sfilms, the budget has shot upsignificantly, The Pioneer haslearnt. His earlier films likeEega and Baahubali had acertain budget on paper but

things changed drasticallyonce he took to sets. It’s asimilar case with RRR, star-ring Jr NTR and RamCharan, as well. And produc-er Danayya is not losing sleepover it as he knows he canmake huge profits out of theventure.

A source close to thedevelopment informs,“Initially after the pre-pro-duction work, Rajamouli feltthe film needs a budget of Rs350 crore for completion as itdoesn’t involve constructing

massive sets like the onesmade for Baahubali.However as he began shoot-ing it, he felt that his visionnow required a budget of Rs400 crore. As the shoot pro-ceeded, he realised that heneeds another additional Rs50 crore. Currently it is esti-mated that the film’s budgetwill be around Rs 450- 500crore, making it the secondbiggest Telugu film after thetwo-part Baahubali movie.”

“Producer Danayya isn’tfretting over it as he under-

stands the huge market forthe film. He knows he canmake a windfall out of theproject. The only thing on hismind is to get a properrelease date. He is keen on asolo release for the film. It’sunlikely that the film will getits previously planned July 30release this year even thoughmore than 75 per cent of theshoot has been wrapped up.”

Set in early 1920s, RRR is afictional story based on tworeal-life heroes and freedomfighters —Alluri Seetharama

Raju and Komaram Bheem.Tarak is playing the youngerBheem, with English actressOlivia Morris paired along-side him, while Charan willbe seen as younger Ramaraju,with Alia Bhatt as his leadinglady. The likes of Ajay Devgn,P. Samuthirankani and Irishactors Alison Doody and RayStevenson are essaying signif-icant roles. M.M. Keeravaniis the film’s composer. In alllikelihood, the film will openin 10 languages on a simulta-neous note.

RRRbudget

soarsIt is common

for filmmakersto exceed their

initial budgetestimation.NAGARAJ

GOUD findsout why

Rajamouli’sRRR exceeded

the initialbudget and

what’s next forthis epic drama

A

lthough hehasn’t hadmuch suc-cess as adirector,R.P. Patnaik

has always hoppedfrom one genre toother as a storyteller.After his last ManaloOkkadu that dealtwith electronic media

and its influ-ence on

society, the director,who was once asought-after musiccomposer has goneback to his favouritegenre, horror.

His next, titledAlisha, is a horrorthriller. It features rel-atively new faces likeAishwarya Salvi,Vedhanth Saluja,Richa Kalra andAkshay Backchu inlead roles.

The filming went tofloors last year and amajor part of it will beshot abroad. Besidesstory and direction,RP is composingmusic for the filmwhich is a productionventure by Dr Sonal.

A

RP PATNAIKgoes back to hisfavourite genre

RAVI BABUtargets youthwith his next

fter his disastrous Aaviri, actor-turned-film-maker Ravi Babu has moved on. Heannounced on the first day of the New Yearthat the title of his next movie will beCrrush, a youthful comedy entertainer. In

his trademark Ravi style, he even unveiled a posterwith three men ogling at a bikini clad young woman.While he has refrained from revealing the castdetails, we hear it will feature a bunch of newcomers.It will go to floors from January 24 and will be readyto hit the cinema halls in summer. The director him-self is producing it under his home banner A FlyingFrogs production, while his trusted script advisorSatyanand has helped him on the script front.Marthand K. Venkatesh is the editor, whileBhaskarabhatla will pen the lyrics.

A

ellamkonda SaiSreenivas admits thathis thought processbehind choosingscripts has changedafter the success of

Rakshasudu. From now on, hewants to prioritise quality overquantity. “I got a good namebecause of Rakshasudu and Iwant to live up to it with the oneor two films I would do everyyear. I want to pick the rightfilms. Rakshasudu taught me alot. Earlier I used to compromiseon a couple of scenes in myfilms but now, there’s no roomfor compromise as audienceshave become smarter,” he says.

Currently, the actor is shoot-ing for Kandireega directorSantosh Srinivas’ next. Havinggone to floors recently, the unti-tled film is 20 per cent done

with shooting. “It’s a characteri-sation-based movie, a first forme. I play a role who doesn’tstick to his words. He changesaccording to situations aroundhim. Except for the last 20 min-utes, which will be highly emo-tional, the rest of the film willleave the audience in splits. It’s a

full-length entertain-er. Comedy is toughto crack but I’m giv-ing my best,” headds.

The actor, whowill celebrate his26th birthday today,was in the newsrecently for hiseight-pack abs. Hesays that he was inthe US for a coupleof months post therelease of Rakshasuduwhere he decided toget fit.

“I even grew mybeard in the process butonce I came back toIndia, director Santoshwanted me to sport a cleanshaven look as his hero is ayoung boy,” he says. — NG

B

Film with SantoshSrinivas is a laughriot: SREENIVAS

CURRENTLY, THEACTOR IS SHOOTINGFOR KANDIREEGADIRECTOR SANTOSHSRINIVAS’ NEXT.SOURCES SAID 20 PERCENT OF SHOOTINGHAS BEEN COMPLETED

Rajasekhar resignsLater in the day,Rajasekhar tendered hisresignation as MAAexecutive Vice-President.In a letter, he blamedMAA president Nareshfor his decision, sayingthat his peer is not main-taining transparency, notrespecting the majoritymembers’ decisions andtaking decisions unilater-ally. “Even the diarylaunch event was not dis-cussed in an EC meetingbut was only sent as awhastapp message toJeevitha,” he said.

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | JANUARY 3, 2020 sport 12

PTI n GUWAHATI

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.

PTI n NEW DELHI

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.

AFP n CAPE TOWN

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 century made him thefirst black African to make a hun-dred 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.

PTI nMUMBAI

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 HHOST DDELHIMOHALI: 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 TTAKE OON GGUJARATKOLKATA: 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 the pre-mier 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.

PTI n KOLKATA

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.

PTI nMUMBAI

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.”

AFP n SYDNEY

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.

PTI n NEW DELHI

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.

Australia vs New ZealandLive from 5:00am IST

SONY SIX NETWORK

CLASH OF THE TITANS

Mumbai opener Prithvi Shaw in action during Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament against Assam PTI/File Picture

Focus on Shaw, Rahane as Mumbai take on Karnataka in Ranji clash

Bengal batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran andAbhishek Raman vs Andhra PTI/File Picture

Ranji TrophyLive from 9:30am IST

HOTSTAR

Mayank Agarwal in action for Karnataka PTI/File Photo

Mayank’s absenceis opportunity for others: Karun

Kiwis sweat onKane’s fitness

Patel’s advice to Pant: Keep awayfrom opinions, focus on game

SL arrive in Guwahatifor T20I series

Bavuma out of England Test

South Africa vs EnglandLive from 2:00pm IST

SONY SIX NETWORK

India, under Kohli,can win all ICCtournaments: Lara

BCCI to set up medical panel for NCA