WHAT INDIA SAYS ABOUT ONE YEAR OF MODI …southasiandaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/part_13.pdfadded Akbar Panju, ... The survey by the CNN-IBN and IBN 7 news channels said the

CIRCULATED THROUGH : TORONTO, MARKHAM, SCARBOROUGH, RICHMOND HILL, VAUGHAN, WOODBRIDGE, ETOBICOKE, NORTH YORK, MALTON, REXDALE, BRAMPTON, MISSISSAUGA, OAKVILLE, HAMILTON, MILTON, STONEY CREEK, BURLINGTON

WHAT INDIA SAYS ABOUT ONE YEAROF MODI GOVERNMENT? SURVEY

Ajmer Singh Sidhu's Cup of Inspiration a huge success

MEMBERS AND WINNERS OF AJMER SINGH SIDHU'S CUP OF INSPIRATION WHO HELD A RACE AND COLLECTED $50,000 FOR NEPALRELIEF FUND. THE CHEQUE WAS PRESENTED TO UNICEF CANADA. ANOTHER CHEQUE OF $2,500 WAS DONATED TO POSSIBLEWORLD FOUNDATION CHILDREN'S CHARITY. I DETAILS ON PAGE 4

INDO-CANADIANSCIENTIST TURNS BLOOD

INTO NERVE CELLSToronto, (IANS) Stem cell scientists led by Mick Bhatia from the McMasterUniversity have successfully converted adult human blood cells into neuralcells. The team directly converted adult human blood cells to both centralnervous system (brain and spinal cord) neurons as well as neurons in theperipheral nervous system (rest of the body) that are responsible for pain,temperature and itch perception.This means that how a person's nervous system cells react and respond tostimuli can be determined from his blood."Now we can take blood samples and make the main cell types of neurologi-cal systems - the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system- in a dish that is specialised for each patient. Nobody has ever done this withadult blood. Ever," explained Bhatia, director of the McMaster Stem Cell andCancer Research Institute.Bhatia's team successfully tested their process using fresh blood as well asfrozen blood. Scientists can actually take a patient's blood sample and with it,can produce one million sensory neurons that make up the peripheral nervesin short order with this new approach."We can also make central nervous system cells, as the blood to neuralconversion technology we developed creates neural stem cells during theprocess of conversion," Bhatia noted.The revolutionary, patented direct conversion technology has "broad andimmediate applications".It allows researchers to start asking questions about understanding diseaseand improving treatments such as: Why is it that certain people feel painversus numbness? Is this something genetic? Can the neuropathy that dia-betic patients experience be mimicked in a dish?It also paves the way for the discovery of new pain drugs that do not justnumb the perception of pain.In the future, the process may have prognostic potential, explained Bhatia, inthat one might be able to look at a patient with Type 2 diabetes and predictwhether they will experience neuropathy by running tests in the lab usingtheir own neural cells derived from their blood sample."This bench to bedside research is very exciting and will have a major impacton the management of neurological diseases, particularly neuropathic pain,"added Akbar Panju, medical director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute forPain Research and Care. This research will help scientists provide person-alized medical therapy for patients suffering with neuropathic pain, the au-thors concluded. The breakthrough was detailed in the journal Cell Reports.

New Delhi, (IANS) Over 72 per cent of people surveyed in an opinionpoll said they were satisfied with the performance of the NDA govern-ment with 56 per cent stating that Narendra Modi was an effectiveprime minister who had helped improve India's image globally.The survey by the CNN-IBN and IBN 7 news channels said the re-spondents had shown "strong faith" in the Modi government with 61percent saying that the National Democratic Alliance government hasimproved their economic condition while 63 percent said India'seconomy had star ted looking up during the last one year.A press release said the survey was conducted by Axis MyIndia across23 states and more than 155 districts with a sample size of 20,00across all age groups and sections with a 70 to 30 urban-rural spread."The survey findings show an overwhelming support for Modi. Over72 per cent of the respondents said that they are satisfied with theper formance of the Modi government on account of development,skillful governance and lower prices in the previous year. Fifty-sixpercent of the sample believes that Narendra Modi is an effectiveprime minister and has helped improve India's image globally," therelease said. A nation snap poll, published by the India Today maga-

zine in its latest issue, had stated that Modi's popularity as primeminister had dipped since he assumed power in May last year andthat of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had gone up marginally.It had said that to the question "who should be the prime minister ofIndia", 33 per cent respondents had favoured Modi compared to 57per cent in August last year. The figure for Gandhi was six percent inAugust last year and 11 percent now. The CNN-IBN IBN7 release saidmost respondents in the survey felt that corruption and inflation haveeither come down or have stagnated at the very least."Employment oppor tunities have gone up as per 62 per cent of therespondents," it said. On the issue of the relationship between thegovernment and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh - the ideologicalfountainhead of Bharatiya Janata Par ty, 32 per cent of the respondentsfelt that there was no interference by RSS in the affairs of the government. "Onthe impact of controversial statements such as those relating to 'ghar wapsi',approximately 31 per cent of the respondents felt that such statements do not dentthe image of the government at all whereas approximately 33 per cent felt that suchstatements do have an adverse impact.

I CONTD. ON PAGE 12

AAP LISTS 100 DAYSACHIEVEMENTS, KEJRIWAL

SLAMS MODINew Delhi, (IANS) Delhi's AAP government on Monday listed 11focus areas of its work on completion of 100 days in office asChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hit out at Prime Minister NarendraModi for being "dictatorial".The Aam Aadmi Par ty government, which is in a tussle with thecentral government over powers related to posting and transferof senior officials, held a public meeting at Central Park inConnaught Place to mark its 100 days.At the venue - thronged by thousands of enthusiastic AAP sup-por ters who raised slogans to back the party's claims for morepower to run the government in Delhi - Kejriwal, accompaniedby his entire cabinet, pulled no punches in hitting out at the Modigovernment.Listing the government's achievements, AAP leaders said theyhad ensured cheap power and water, brought down corruptionsignificantly and ensured that the dwellings of the poor were notrazed. Apparently emboldened by the Delhi High Cour t's verdicton Monday that the city government's Anti Corruption Branch(ACB) has the "jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute" DelhiPolice officials, Kejriwal said god was on the side of his par tyand it had nothing to fear."We are not fighting with the centre, we want to work with them.But the BJP-led central government is imposing dictatorship inDelhi as they can not digest the absolute majority of the AAP inelections," he claimed. "We told the prime minister that you havemajority in parliament and we have it in the assembly (Delhi).And it is a golden oppor tunity to give Delhi statehood, but this isdictatorship," Kejriwal said.

I CONTD. ON PAGE 13

INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI (IANS).

2 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

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Amal Clooney wants tobe on Vogue's cover

Los Angeles, (IANS) British hu-man rights lawyer Amal Clooneyrepor tedly wants to complete oneof her life goals by appearing onthe cover of Vogue magazine.Amal, whose husband GeorgeClooney is friends with the fash-ion magazine's editor, has set hersights on gracing the cover of themagazine, repor tsfemalefirst.co.uk."One of Amal's great goals is toland the cover of Vogue. Amal con-siders herself the world's mostglamorous attorney and is ob-sessed with fame and fashion.Amal thinks nothing of going on$20,000 shopping sprees at high-end depar tment stores and de-signer boutiques," a source closeto the 37-year-old beauty told Life& Style magazine. She was alsorecently spotted having dinnerwith the magazine's editor atLambs Club in New York City,sparking rumours that a cover isalready in the works.

GAUHAR KHAN AND JASSI GILL PAY OBEISANCE AT GOLDEN TEMPLE IN AMRITSAR (IANS).

Save Max to holdthe Fifth AnnualAppreciation Event

Brampton - Save Max Real Es-tate Inc., leading real estate bro-kerage in Brampton, will be or-ganizing its Fifth Annual CustomerAppreciation event. The eventwill be held at New Built Cana-dian Convention Center at 79Bramsteele Rd, Brampton and setstage for one of the biggest cor-porate events in GTA witnessinga gathering of close to 2,000 people.Top dignitaries of Brampton includingMPP Vic Dhillon, Mayor ofMississauga, MP Parm Gill and Rap-tors Super Fan Nav Bhatia will gracethe function.While speaking to media, RamanDua, CEO Save Max, said that wewould like to welcome all our cli-ents to this grand event where inattendees will come and enjoySave Max Team’s hospitality. Theevent will include various danceper formances for enter tainmentand clients served a five-coursemeal along with best of drinks.There will also be special ar-rangement for kids’ enter tain-ment that will include a clownshow, face paint ing, bouncycastle and drawing competition.During the event, Save Max willrecognize the effor ts of all teammembers who have contributedtowards making Save Max a lead-ing brand in the real estate indus-try by holding an award cer-emony. This year ’s mega cardraw, co-sponsored byMississauga Hyundai is going tobe even bigger and better as SaveMax wi l l be giv ing away twoHyundai cars wor th $50,000 towinners.Save Max will also be recogniz-ing Sim Bhullar, first South AsianNBA player gracing the occasionalong with James Johnson fromSacramento Kings. For any moreinformation about the event orticket information please contactSave Max at 905-216-7800.


TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015s p e c i a l r e p o r t

ONTARIO - The cup, organized over the weekend was a big success. The cupwas awarded to Harjot Singh Bains and Supriya Kaur Singh, the fastest maleand female marathon runners. After completing the half-marathon last year,Karanpreet Kaur drew the greatest applause from the crowd when she com-pleted the full marathon this year at the age of 8 years. Another inspirationwas Sandhura Brar, who not only completed the marathon, but inspired 130of his friends and co-workers to participate in the event as well. The eventwould not have been possible without the dedication of each and everyGGSCF volunteer.On this occasion, two presentations were made. A $50,000 donation wasmade on behalf of the Sikh community to Unicef Canada. Another $2,500donation from rides, bake sales and pledges from participants was made toPossible Worlds Foundation for the children this charity supports. While onlysome are mentioned here, everyone who ran/walked for those that inspiredthem and proudly wore their names on their bibs were winners along withthose who inspired others along the route to the finish. There are certainlymany who were inspired to participate in activities in the future.

Ajmer Singh Sidhu's Cup of Inspiration a huge success



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY






MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 community

PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER MEETS WITH LOIS MITCHELL, NEW LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF ALBERTA. (PHOTO BY JASON RANSOM)

NEW LIEUTENANT GOVERNOROF ALBERTA APPOINTED

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the appoint-ment of Lois Mitchell as the next Lieutenant Governor of Alber ta.Ms. Mitchell is an accomplished businesswoman, long-time vol-unteer and community leader in Alber ta. With over 25 years ofbusiness exper tise, Ms. Mitchell is currently a senior par tnerand founder of Rainmaker Global Business Development, a rec-ognized international leader in consulting and marketing.Ms. Mitchell shares her knowledge and exper tise with numerousorganizations whose interests range from culture, to business, toeducation, to spor ts. She sits on the board of directors for UBS Bank(Canada), Mitacs and Canada World Youth and is co-founder and ViceChair of the Global Business Forum. She is also the Governor of theCanadian Women's Hockey Association, the Co-Chair of the Gold MedalPlates Dinner in Calgary in support of current and aspiring CanadianOlympians, chairs the advisory board of the Latin American ResearchCentre at the University of Calgary, and was a board member of theAlber ta Foundation for the Ar ts.

In 2012 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada andreceived the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. The ap-pointment announced today is the culmination of a process un-der taken by the Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal Appointments.Lieutenant Governors are appointed by His Excellency the RightHonourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, on therecommendation of the Prime Minister. They serve terms of atleast five years, during which they act as the province's vice-regal representative. Prime Minister Harper also took the oppor-tunity to thank the Honourable Donald S. Ethell for his dedicatedservice as Lieutenant Governor of Alber ta since May 11, 2010."Lois Mitchell is an exceptional Canadian who is well known forher leadership, dedication and community spirit. She is an excel-lent choice for Alber ta's next Lieutenant Governor and I am confi-dent she will make an impor tant contribution to Alber ta's future."- Prime Minister Stephen HarperSource: pm.gc.ca

JEWISH COMMUNITY'S AWARD FOR HARPER

PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER, JOINED BY RABBI SAUL EMANUEL, RECEIVES THE KING DAVID AWARD IN HONOUR OF HISPRINCIPLED SUPPORT OF ISRAEL AND JEWISH COMMUNITIES WORLDWIDE DURING THE KING DAVID AWARD GALA, HOSTED BYTHE JEWISH COMMUNITY COUNCIL OF MONTREAL. (PHOTO BY JILL THOMPSON)

Montreal - Prime Minister Stephen Harper attended a dinner hostedby the Jewish Community Council of Montreal, where he deliveredremarks and received the King David Award from Rabbi Saul Emanuel.He was joined by Denis Lebel, Minister of Infrastructure, Communi-ties and Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Economic De-velopment Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. According tothe organizers of the King David Award Gala, Prime Minister Harperis being honoured this year for his principled suppor t of Israel andJewish communities worldwide.

"I am deeply honoured to have been chosen as the recipient of thisyear's King David Award by the Jewish Community Council of Montreal.Canada's Jewish community continues to make tremendous contri-butions to every aspect of society across our great country, includinghere in Montreal. Our Government will continue to promote religiousfreedom in Canada and abroad and to take action against terroristsand extremists seeking to extinguish this fundamental Canadianvalue." - Prime Minister Stephen HarperSource: pm.gc.ca

YORK UNIVERSITY TOOPEN NEW CAMPUSIN MARKHAMAcademic programs will contribute toknowledge economy and global innovationMARKHAM - York University applauds the Government ofOntario's investment in the new York University-MarkhamCentre campus, located in an area of the province with ahigh level demand for post-secondary education. This newYork U campus enjoys strong suppor t from its par tners:The Regional Municipality of York, The City of Markhamand their academic par tner Seneca College, which willpar tner with York on several joint programs."We are delighted that Premier Wynne and the Ontariogovernment have recognized the strong merits of buildinga York University campus in York Region. We are par ticu-larly pleased with this recognition of York's considerablestrengths as a driver of Ontario's knowledge economy andits position as a global innovation leader," said MamdouhShoukri, President and Vice-Chancellor of York University."This new campus in Markham Centre solidifies York'sreputation as one of Canada's leading multi-campusuniversities, poised to meet the increasing demand forhigh-quality education and workplace-based learningoppor tunities, and well-positioned to spur economicgrowth in one of the fastest growing major urban areas inthe province."The University will now work on the detailed planning andimplementation phases. The new campus will accommo-date 4,000 students in the initial phase, after whichimplementation can be adjusted as appropriate to meetdemand for years to come as par t of a long-term strategy."Enhancing the post-secondary and research presence inYork Region is a strategic priority for us, and we lookforward to this campus becoming a reality," said YorkRegion Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson, as YorkRegional Council has committed up to $25 million towardthe facility.The new campus will be located in the City of Markham'sMarkham Centre, providing easy access to transit, majoremployers, research centres and the Markham Pan AmCentre. The site will be an integral par t of a developingurban centre that will provide many amenities to students.As such, it leverages infrastructure investments alreadymade by government and draws on private and publicsector par tnerships to optimize value. "We are thrilledwith the announcement of the first York University campusin Markham and York Region, which fur ther strengthensthe oppor tunities for students to thrive in their localcommunity," said Mayor Frank Scarpitti. "PremierWynne's Government is to be congratulated for thiscommitment to higher education which builds on therecent announcement of the GO line improvements toMarkham Centre that will see 15-minute rail service. Thisis a great example of a shared vision and collaborationfrom the Region of York, Province of Ontario and YorkUniversity."A wide range of degree programs including diverseprofessional programs will be offered at the campus, aswell as joint programs with Seneca College to encouragelearning, research and innovation at all levels.

Investment in Ottawa's Public Library toImprove Access to Digital Services

OTTAWA - Ottawa's public libraries suppor t and encourageliteracy, lifelong learning and cultural development and are animpor tant par t of building strong, vibrant communities.Ontario is investing in the Ottawa Public Library through the newOntario Libraries Capacity Fund. The Ottawa Public Library will receive$125,780 from the fund in its first year to improve IT resources andsupport research and innovation. The fund will help Ottawa's librariesimprove and expand internet and wireless services, develop user-

friendly websites, enhance collection development with new technol-ogy, such as e-books, and encourage innovation and research.The new Ontario Libraries Capacity Fund will build on the great workbeing done by Ottawa's Public Library Board by making serviceseven better and suppor ting impor tant research and innovation.This investment speaks to the impor tance of Ottawa's publiclibraries and the role they play in building strong, vibrantcommunities.

IKEA CONTINUES TOEXPAND OPERATIONSIN CANADABURLINGTON - Ikea announced plans today to open a397,000 square foot Distribution Centre at 3275 ArgentiaRoad, in Mississauga Ontario, with a projected openingdate of October 2015. The new unit, which will createapproximately 150 new jobs, will fulfil customer ordersfrom the four existing Toronto area stores and ecommercepurchases, as well as suppor t the growth plans for IkeaCanada to meet customers in new and existing markets."It is an exciting time for Ikea in Canada. With store salesincreasing along with huge growth in ecommerce, there isan oppor tunity to be more accessible to the many Canadi-ans through a multi-channel environment," says StefanSjöstrand, President, Ikea Canada. "This will be accom-plished by examples such as increased service offers,Pick-Up Points, an improved ecommerce inter face andoptimized distribution services; all resulting in ourcustomers having easier access to our products."

SIKH MAN MADE MAYOROF BRITISH DISTRICTLondon, (IANS) Indian-origin councillor Parvinder Singh Batthwas chosen as the mayor of Britain's Wokingham BoroughCouncil, the first Sikh to hold the position, media repor tedon Friday."Being born in Punjab to a farming family, I come from ahumble background," he said while officially taking overhis post."However I now feel even more humbled being chosen asthe new mayor," Get Reading online quoted Batth as saying.Councillor Batth named the children's organisation "Arc" asthis year's chosen charity. The organisation aims to trans-form the lives of children through a range of education, healthand child protection programmes.Since being founded in 2002, the charity has claimed to havehelped more than 430,000 children worldwide.Batth also thanked his wife for her suppor t.


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CELEBRATING CANADA'SABORIGINAL PEOPLES

BY MP PARM GILL

OTTAWA - The stories of Canada's Aboriginal peoples lie at heart ofthe story of Canada. Since 1996, June 21st -National Aboriginal Day-has been a special occasion for Canadians from all walks of lifeand from across the country to take the time to celebrate theimmense contributions and unique cultures of Canada's First Na-tions, Métis and Inuit peoples.Each of Canada's three groups of Aboriginal peoples - First Na-tions, Métis and Inuit - has its own distinct histories, languages,cultural practices and spiritual beliefs. Canada's diversity is oneour greatest strengths, and in sharing in this celebration, westrengthen the relationships that have contributed to our greatcountry.Indeed, one example is the proud history Aboriginal personnelhave within the Canadian Armed Forces, including service in someof the first battles on what is now Canadian territory. In fact, dur-ing the War of 1812, Aboriginals fought alongside British soldiersand English-and French-speaking militia to help resist an Ameri-can invasion of what is now Canada.

While it is always impor tant to remember the past, our Govern-ment is also focused on the future. Indeed, we are committed to strength-ening the relationship between the Government of Canada and Canada'sFirst Nations, Inuit and Métis- a relationship based on mutual respect,friendship and suppor t. In collaboration with Aboriginal leaders, weare delivering measures to help ensure that Aboriginal peoples canfully par ticipate in the labour market and have access to the sameopportunities for self-sufficiency and prosperity as all Canadians, in-cluding in the areas of health, economic development and housing.And we recognize the impor tance of Aboriginal peoples to Canada'scontinued growth and prosperity.Often coinciding with the summer solstice, National Aboriginal Daykicks off Celebrate Canada, a 4 day celebration that also includesSaint-Jean-Baptiste Day and Canadian Multiculturalism Day, and con-cludes with Canada Day.So, star ting on June 21st, let's celebrate our diversity, celebrateCanada's Aboriginal peoples and celebrate what makes Canada thegreatest country on ear th.

MODI GOVERNMENT'S ONE YEARGOVERNANCE HAS LARGELY BEEN ON TRACK

BY ANUJ PURI

As the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government enters its second year inoffice on Tuesday, there is no dearth of bouquets and brickbats for the "NaMo"regime in the media. On analysing the government's electoral assurances,the actions taken so far and the respective timelines being followed to achievethese, one would say it is reasonably on track in fulfilling its short-term,medium-term and long-term promises.Importantly, the continuation of the previous government's policies like LandAcquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Bill, and Real Estate(Regulation and Development) Bill will have significant impact on the realtyindustry once these are passed by the parliament. India's historically opaquereal estate sector will move towards more transparency with the introductionand implementation of these key policies.It is worthwhile to reflect on the grassroots-level transformation we canexpect to see:- Millions of home buyers in towns and cities and farmers across the country(the latter being landowners affected by infrastructure projects) are empow-ered with the clauses in the real estate regulatory bill and LARR- Investment opportunities in office spaces open up for small retail investorsthanks to real estate investment trusts (REITs)- The quality of life of millions of Indian citizens is upgraded when the pro-posed 100 smart and sustainable cities come to life- Benami, or fictitious, transactions, which have for the longest time been abane of the real estate sector, are eliminated.Let us take a look at the progress on some of the promises Narendra Modi'sparty made in its electoral manifesto. Specifically, we will isolate promiseswhich have direct bearing on enhanced governance and reinforced demo-cratic fundamentals, which are important for India's development and future-readiness:The promises that are on track:

- Transparency: Re-auctioning of coal blocks earned the government hugerevenues- Efficiency: Real-time effort towards rendering the existing institutional frame-works more efficient; a good example being the change in Food Corporationof India's food procurement and storage mechanisms.- Productivity And Accountability: Prime Minister Modi has been directlyinvolved in monitoring and raising the productivity as well as efficiency of hisministry officials. He is clearly bucking a chronic trend of bureaucratic un-availability and aiming to increase public access to government officials.- Black Money: The bill to curb black money has given a moratorium periodto bring back unaccounted money into the system by paying normal tax. Theongoing dialogue with the Swiss financial authorities to disclose secret ac-counts of Indians abroad is reaping results.- Corruption: Wired (online) transactions are now being encouraged for prop-erty transactions. This is a major step forward for curtailing black money inthe sector.- Investor Confidence: Market confidence has improved with the strengthen-ing of the Indian equity, debt, currency markets and equal tax regime that waspromised to both domestic as well as international investment companies.- Positioning India: Via a series of international tours, the prime minister ishelping India rid itself of its anti-investor image and is opening up new av-enues of foreign business in India, especially under the Make in India cam-paign.- Decentralisation And Cooperative Governance: Gradual increase in thefinancial autonomy of states, farmers have real-time information on mini-mum support price through digital channels and drastic price movementshave been largely under control. A focus on citizen outreach programmes aswell as leveraging social media have bought the people closer to the gover-nance process.Promises that may see progress soon:- States with similar problems will be able to form councils under NITI Aayogto discuss common concerns- NITI Aayog, along with other national agencies, will help individual states inmobilisation of resources.Promises that saw little or no progress:- Relaxing clauses in the LARR Bill, REITs and foreign direct investment (FDI)policies that investors find difficult to follow

- Increased credit facilitation to start-ups- Initiation of employment exchange programmes with other countries- Obsolete laws to be scrapped or modified- Online dissemination of court cases for better monitoring and creation ofspecialised courts to fast-track delivery of justice.In short, the Modi government has a fairly balanced list of hits and misses sofar. The trend does seem to lean more towards action than inaction. It defi-nitely seems that the prime minister has every intention of living up to thelarger part of his electoral promises in the future.One agrees with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajanwhen he says that the expectations from the new government when it came topower last year were "probably unrealistic". But it has, in fact, taken steps to createan environment for investment and is sensitive to concerns of investors.

IMPORTANTLY, THE CONTINUATION OFTHE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT'SPOLICIES LIKE LAND ACQUISITION ANDREHABILITATION AND RESETTLEMENT(LARR) BILL, AND REAL ESTATE(REGULATION AND DEVELOPMENT)BILL WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPACTON THE REALTY INDUSTRY ONCE THESEARE PASSED BY THE PARLIAMENT.INDIA'S HISTORICALLY OPAQUE REALESTATE SECTOR WILL MOVE TOWARDSMORE TRANSPARENCY WITH THEINTRODUCTION AND IMPLEMENTATIONOF THESE KEY POLICIES.



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PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER ANNOUNCES THE INTENTION TO PROVIDE LONG-TERM SUPPORT FOR THE ROYAL CANADIANMOUNTED POLICE AND THE CANADA BORDER SERVICES AGENCY TO HELP COUNTER TERRORIST THREATS, INCLUDING FROM HIGH-RISK TRAVELLERS. (PHOTO BY JILL THOMPSON)

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY CENTRE -GTA'S ONLY KIDS MUSEUM - NOW OPEN

TORONTO- The Children's Discovery Centre(www.childrensdiscoverycentre.com) - GTA's only children'smuseum designed specifically for kids six and under - openedits doors at 45 Strachan Avenue with an official ribbon-cuttingcelebration. Joining CEO and Founder, Jeanhy Shim were AdamVaughan - Member of Parliament, Spadina-For t York; MikeLayton - City Councillor, Ward 19; Jennifer Keesmaat - ChiefPlanner, City of Toronto; Geraldine Mabin - educator andAdvisory Board Member, and representing Toronto's youngcitizens - Maya Jordan, Levi Aaron and James Tito.In her remarks Shim commented: "This passion project star tedonly 18 months ago as a grassroots initiative and today with thesuppor t of other parents, friends, family and sponsors, we'vebrought this pilot project to life." The Children's DiscoveryCentre encompasses 20,000 sq ft of indoor space that will beopen daily until September 30th in its temporary location,donated by Diamondcorp and BUILD Toronto in the GarrisonPoint neighbourhood. Shim thanked her "incredible team oftechnical advisors, curators and Advisory Board of experiencedearly childhood educators," for their vital role in making thecentre a reality.Shim describes the Discovery Centre "like the ultimate mash-up of the ROM, Ontario Science Centre and AGO for children 6

and under to play, explore, learn, create, get messy, dress-upand use their imaginations." There are 10 themed DiscoveryZones, each thoughtfully designed by a team of early childhooddevelopment professionals and curators to stir the imaginationand inspire our youngest children to learn through creative play.A residential construction boom is contributing to the growthand transformation of Toronto, and record numbers of youngpeople are raising children in condos located in the core. Shimknows first-hand the challenges of child rearing in an urbanenvironment having a young daughter of her own. "This is notonly a place for our youngest children to explore and play, but itwill facilitate connections between parents, grandparents,nannies, day care workers, teachers and visitors to our City,"said Shim.According to Stats Canada figures, the number of children ages4 and under, living in Toronto's Downtown West area increased55% between 2006 and 2011. In the next 5 to 10 years, a fur ther6,000 babies could potentially be born to condo residents livingin this same area - 49 percent of whom were 25 to 39 years in2011. "We project that this will effectively triple the number offamilies with young children residing in the downtown core,resulting in heightened demand for family-focused products,services, amenities and lifestyle experiences," Shim explained.

MONTREAL - Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced theintention to provide long-term suppor t for the Royal CanadianMounted Police (RCMP) and the Canada Border ServicesAgency (CBSA) to help counter terrorist threats, includingfrom high-risk travellers. He was joined by Denis Lebel,Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmen-tal Affairs and Minister of the Economic Development Agencyof Canada for the Regions of Quebec, and Steven Blaney,Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.Canada is not immune to the threat of terrorism, as madetragically clear by the brutal attacks of last October in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, and Ottawa. Economic ActionPlan (EAP) 2015 proposes to provide intelligence and lawenforcement agencies with additional investigative resourcesto help them keep pace with the evolving threat of terrorismand continue protecting Canadians.For the RCMP, the new resources would suppor t theorganization's capacity to conduct criminal investigationsrelated to terrorism. This includes bolstering front-linepolicing through the five RCMP-led Integrated NationalSecurity Enforcement Teams, which investigate high-risktravellers and other national security threats.For the CBSA, additional resources would enhance theAgency's capacity to identify high-risk travellers and suppor tthe Agency's par ticipation in the RCMP-led National SecurityJoint Operations Centre, a group that examines individualcases of extremist travellers to tailor the most, timely,effective and accountable response.The measures announced today will require parliamentaryapproval.Quick Facts" As par t of EAP 2015, the Government is investingsignificant suppor t in intelligence and law enforcementagencies for additional investigative resources to counterterrorism." Through measures included in EAP 2015, includingthe Prevention of Terrorist Travel Act and amendments to theCanadian Passport Order, the Government has takenmeasures to strengthen Canada's ability to cancel, refuse orrevoke passpor ts as a preventative measure against high-risk travellers." On April 23, 2015, the Protection of Canada fromTerrorists Act received Royal Assent. This legislationcontains targeted amendments to the Canadian SecurityIntelligence Service Act to ensure our intelligence agencyhas the tools it needs to investigate threats to the security ofCanada and ensure our collective safety and security." In 2015, the Government introduced Anti-terrorismAct, 2015 to ensure that Canadian law enforcement andnational security agencies can effectively investigate andcounter those who advocate terrorism and take par t interrorist activities, prevent terrorist travel by air and theeffor ts of those who seek to use Canada as a recruitingground, and disrupt planned attacks on Canadian soil." Canada's current military contribution against ISIS,known as Operation IMPACT, was recently extended for up to12 months, until March 30, 2016, and expanded to includeairstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria." In 2014, the Citizenship Act was amended to enablethe government to revoke Canadian citizenship from dualcitizens and deny it to permanent residents who are con-victed of terrorism, high treason, treason or spying offences,depending on the sentence. In 2013, the Combating TerrorismAct made it a criminal offence to leave or attempt to leaveCanada for the purposes of par ticipating in or facilitatingterrorist activity." In 2012, the Government of Canada releasedCanada's Counter-terrorism Strategy, which guides more than20 federal organizations to prevent, detect, deny and respondto the threat of terrorism."Our Government understands that violent jihadism is not afuture possibility. It is a present reality in Canada and aroundthe world, and we know that we must be ready to face thisthreat right now. That is why our Government will continue todo everything it takes to protect Canadians and help defeatthose who attack our values. Today's announcement helpsensure that those brave men and women on the front lines ofthe battle against violent extremism and terrorism have theresources they need to protect us." - Prime Minister StephenHarperSource: pm.gc.ca

PM ANNOUNCESADDITIONAL SUPPORT TOCOUNTER TERRORISM


TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015c a n a d a

Annual Road Today Show & Job Fairin Brampton draws huge interest

INDIAN CONSUL GENERAL AKHILESH MISHRA OPENED THE 7TH ANNUAL ROAD TODAY SHOW & JOB FAIR AS CHIEF GUEST.SEEN HERE ARE OTHER GUESTS ALSO.

The 7th Annual Road Today Show & Job Fair held at the Brampton SoccerCentre on May 23rd was a well-attended successful event.Nearly 80 exhibitors from a variety of sectors of the trucking and transporta-tion industry took part in the trade show, including companies focused ontrucks (used and new), trailers, heavy-duty parts and accessories, servicingequipment and supplies, safety & compliance, education, training, mediaoutlets, insurance and financial services.The show was inaugurated by Akhilesh Mishra, Consul General of India inToronto. He was joined by Jeff Bowman , Brampton City Councillor and Chairof Economic Development, Stephen Laskowski, Vice-President Ontario Truck-ing Association and other dignitaries. Elected officials MP Kyle Seeback, CityCouncillor Gurpreet Dhillon and Trustee David Green also marked their pres-ence during the day.Special Greetings and Congratulatory Messages were sent in by Prime Min-ister Stephen Harper, Federal Minister of Multiculturalism Jason Kenney,Federal Transportation Minister Lisa Raitt, Premier Kathleen Wynne, OntarioTransportation Minister Steve Del Duca, MPP Harinder Malhi, BramptonMayor Linda Jeffrey and David Bradley, CEO of Canadian Trucking Alliancetowards a successful event.The Job Fair to hire drivers and owner-operators was a big draw as recruiterswere busy discussing available job opportunities. The staff from MTO com-mercial vehicle enforcement was in attendance to answer technical queriesand concerns of truckers. All visitors’ especially new comers and kids wereeducated and made aware about road safety issues.The show featured many activities of interest for attendees’ youngand old, including kids clown, live enter tainment, bouncy castle,driving simulator, giveaways and lots more. The mood of exhibi-tors and visitors was upbeat.Prominent community members attended the event including

Yudhvir Jaswal, Jagdish Grewal, Mar tin Singh, Ajay Lekhi, RanaSidhu, Harjinder Gill, Sodhi Nagra, Rajvir Boparai, Baljit Mand,Kanwalj it Kanwal, Dr Ranvir Sharda, Ranbir Chauhan, DeepakAnand, Jagdeep Kailey, Sandip Sangha, Raghbir Chauhan, RajGhuman, Rameshwar Sangha, Subash Sharma, Paramjit Birdi,Sukhjot Naroo, Harjot Ghuman, Ranj i t Dhi l lon, Jaspal Mann,Deepak Punj, Pavneesh Bhalla, Nik Mengi amongst others.Major Show sponsors included Arrow Truck Sales, ITS Transport, Die-sel Truck Centre, Dekra Canada, TD Canada Trust, Texis Truck Exhaust, Mil-lennium Printing and Hunter Express.The Road Today Truck Show management comprising of Minkle Mittal,Gurminder Walia, Surjit Johal, Vik Gupta, Kamaljit Johal and Manan Guptathanks the continued patronage received from the trucking industry and com-munity. For more event pictures, please visit facebook.com/roadtoday

L to R : Minkle Mittal, ABSA Canada; Kyle Seeback, MPBrampton West and Manan Gupta, show manager.

6TH MISSISSAUGAMULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL -A DAY FILLED WITH FUN AND

ENTERTAINMENT FOR ALL!ONTARIO - The Creditview Hear tland Community and Health Ser-vices is hosting its Sixth Annual Mississauga Multicultural Festivalon May 30. In the past this successful festival has attracted morethan 5,000 attendees and more than 15 ethnic communities within the

Mississauga and Brampton areas have par tici-pated.This year, the organizations has also arrangedover 17 ethnic communities to brighten the daywith color ful dresses, dazzling dance per for-mances and amazing ethnic foods. There will bemany spor ts and fun programs for adults andchildren to make this festival a memorable onefor everyone.The festival is divided in three segments:9:00 - 11:30am A 4.5km Gul NawazWalk, now in its 3rd year will star t at 9:00amfrom Streetsville Square and go around CreditRiver.12:00 noon - 8:00pm The Main Festival willbe held at Streetsville Memorial Park, 335 ChurchStreet Mississauga.Ongoing enter tainment, spor ts and other activi-ties till 5:00pmCanadian and ethnic food from all over the world.5:00- 7:00pm Mushaira (poetry re-cital) Local poets will enter tain poetry lovers.Free parking and free entry.For fur ther information please contact:Shazina Manzoor: 647-539-7572

Ontario Protecting School Yearin Durham, Sudbury and PeelProposed Legislation Would Protect the School

Year for 72,000 Public Secondary StudentsOntario - Ontario has introduced legislation to protect the school yearfor 72,000 public secondary students in Durham, Rainbow and Peeldistrict school boards following an advisement from the EducationRelations Commission that students are in jeopardy of not being ableto complete their school year as a result of ongoing strikes.If passed today by all three par ties, the proposed Protecting the SchoolYear Act would end local strikes by the Ontario Secondary SchoolTeachers' Federation and bring the 72,000 secondary students inDurham, Rainbow and Peel district school boards back to class to-morrow.In order to ensure students star t school immediately following intro-duction of the Act, the government is seeking unanimous consentfrom all par ties to pass the proposed Protecting the School Year Act.Earlier today, the leaders of both opposition par ties were informed ofthe Education Relations Commission's advisement as well as thegovernment's intention to introduce the proposed legislation today.Under the proposed legislation, all parties to the negotiation remainable to bargain on outstanding local issues with the assistance of aboard of arbitration. If the par ties are not able to resolve outstandinglocal issues, a binding decision by the board of arbitration will beprovided. The board of arbitration has up to 120 days to issue anarbitration award and the parties may extend this time by agreement.Student achievement and well-being is an essential par t of thegovernment's plan for Ontario. The proposed Protecting the SchoolYear Act is a necessary step to get secondary students back in theclassroom. The government is strongly committed to ensuring stu-dents complete their school year, advance to the next grade, andgraduate to post-secondary education or the workforce.Quick Facts The Education Relations Commission is mandated to advise thegovernment when, in the opinion of the Commission, the continuationof a strike or lockout will place in jeopardy the successful completionof courses of study by the affected students. The Commission meetson an as needed basis and repor ts to the Lieutenant Governor inCouncil through the Minister of Education. The members of the Com-mission are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation full-time and oc-casional secondary teachers at Durham District School Board havebeen on strike since April 20, 2015. Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation full-time and oc-casional secondary teachers at Rainbow District School Board havebeen on strike since April 27, 2015. Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation full-time and oc-casional secondary teachers at Peel District School Board have beenon strike since May 4, 2015.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


MODI GOVERNMENTLACKS ECONOMICVISION: CHIDAMBARAMIP13india

FORMER AFGHANISTAN PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI CALLS ON THE PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI, IN NEW DELHI (IANS).

ONE YEAR OF MODI GOVERNMENT:25 ACHIEVEMENTS, 25 CHALLENGES

Onatrio - The following are a set of 25 key achievements ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi government in the past one year,as listed by stakeholders and analysts, and an equal number ofchallenges that need to be addressed:The Journey So Far:- Jan Dhan Yojana: More than 15 crore bank accounts opened,over 10 crore RuPay debit cards issued, with life cover,pension- Corporate sector adopts prime minister's 'Swachch Bharat'mission with promise of total sanitation by 2019- Cooking gas now under direct-cash-benefit transfer scheme,with potential saving of $5billion annually in subsidies, plusDiesel prices de-regulated

- Foreign equity in rail infrastructure allowed, without limit- Foreign equity cap in defence raised to 49 percent; 74 percentin case of technology transfer- Fast-tracking of defence purchases: 36 Rafale fighters beingbought, orders for several long-pending purchases placed- Foreign equity cap in insurance and pension sectors increasedto 49 percent- Nod for IPOs/FPOs by banks to raise funds, as long asgovernment equity remains 52 percent or over- Nod for real estate and infrastructure investment trusts, withtax benefits- Cabinet nod for Prime Minister's 100 Smar t Cities Project- $130 billion proposed spending on railways over five years on

schemes including high-speed trains- Definitive steps forward in introducing pan-India goods andservices regime- Successful conclusion of two rounds of coal block auctions,more lined up- Impasse in mining sector ended with passage of new bill forregulation and development- Successful conclusion of auctions for telecom spectrum formobile telephony and broadband- Launch of 'Make-in-India', 'Digital India' and 'Skill India'initiatives with focus on defence and electronics, primarily tocreate jobs- Mudra bank launched with Rs.20,000 crore corpus to extendloans of between Rs.50,000 and Rs.10 lakh to small entrepre-neurs- Commencement of divestment programme in public sectorcompanies- Disbanding of various ministerial groups for faster decision-making- Adoption of 14th Finance Commission recommendation on far-reaching changes in sharing of revenues between the Centerand the States- Single-window scheme for various clearances to steel, coaland power projects- Price stabilisation fund set up for agri-commodities to checkinflation- Warehouse Infrastructure Fund with Rs.5,000 crore corpus toincrease shelf-life of farm produce (replace if possible)- Clarity in tax treatment on income of foreign fund whose fundmanagers are located in India , as also on transfer pricing forresident and non-resident tax payers- Panel set up under law commission chairman on issue ofminimum alternate taxThe Challenges Ahead:- Land acquisition remains a sore point with industry and lackof consensus among political par ties is not helping in boostinginvestor mood- Fiscal prudence needs to come back on track, which could liftglobal sentiments on India with a fiscal deficit of 3 percent ofGDP soon- Innovative ways to be found to increase government spendingon various schemes- To promote ease of doing business, action awaited to clubtogether some 35 central laws per taining to labour into just fournew legislations- Promised schemes for gold monetisation and gold bonds to beannounced, draft norms out- Direct-cash-benefit transfer needs to extend fur ther tofer tiliser and food

I CONTD. ON PAGE 12


TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015i n d i a

Euphoria gone but hope yet for realty industryCONGRESS SPOKESPERSON PRIYANKA CHATURVEDI DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE IN CHANDIGARH (IANS).

BY VINOD BEHLFor India's realty industry, the initialeuphoria has died down and the highexpectations have also moderated inthe absence of swift relief, as thePrime Minister Narendra Modi gov-ernment concludes one year in of-fice on Tuesday. Yet, there is a stronghope of revival with sustained growth.It's taking longer than expected for'Achhe Din' -- or the good days prom-ised by Modi -- to arrive for the realestate industry, which is reeling un-der liquidity crunch, slow sales andhigh unsold inventory.This is because the government isworking on a medium-to-long termstrategy to revive economic growth

by boosting consumption and re-star ting investment cycle. And itstrongly believed that reform-led poli-cies work better in the long run forthe growth of real estate rather thanshort term booster dose.Notwithstanding the reformist poli-cies of the progressive and forward-looking government, the current realestate scenario is a matter of con-cern. Both investors and end-usersare deserting the market due to highproperty and lending rates amidstdemand-supply mismatch have ataken toll of the market.In the Delhi National Capital Region,the biggest residential real estatemarket in the country, for the first time

in three years, the sales have droppedmore than 50 percent in the first quar-ter of this year.The unsold inventory is rising sharplyacross the country, with Mumbai re-cording the highest 200,000 units,followed by NCR with 170,000 units.Going by the industry statistics, NCR,Mumbai and Bengaluru will respec-tively take about 54 months, 34months and 28 months to clear theinventory.Another worrying factor is the highdebt-to-equity ratio of real estatecompanies which are finding it diffi-cult to reduce debt due to high inter-est outgo and poor cash flows. Thecritical situation can be gauged from

the fact that market leader DLF sawits debt rising by Rs.628 crore toRs.20,965 crore in March quarter2015.But several reform initiatives under-taken by the Modi government in itsfirst year have raised high hopes ofreal estate turnaround. The govern-ment is putting great emphasis onboosting foreign direct investment toovercome fund crunch. Its policy ini-tiative to ease foreign equity rules inconstruction by reducing the mini-mum capital requirement from $10million to $5 million and built-up areafrom 50,000 square metres to 20,000square metres is meant to providelifeline to fund-starved developers.By clearing decks for real estate in-vestment Trusts (REITs), the govern-ment has provided new funding op-tion for developers and investmentavenue for retail investors. There isanother major initiative by way of al-lowing foreign investments in alter-nate investment funds. And in a re-cent twin-measure, the governmenthas eased foreign equity norms foroverseas Indians and liberalisedrules for allowing offshore loans inrupee.Further, single-window foreign equitynod and regulation of norms per-taining to foreigners and firmspurchasing proper ty in India areunderway. Besides these reformmeasures, the government is cre-ating policy environment that ispredictable and transparent andfor this measures like expeditiousand timely approval processes,progressive tax regime,rationalisation of labour laws andease of doing business are beingtaken.

WHAT INDIA SAYS ABOUTONE YEAR OF MODIGOVERNMENT? SURVEYCONTD. FROM PAGE 1Overall 43 per cent of the respondents felt that thosemaking controversial statement should be controlled,"the survey said.On the government's initiatives, the survey said 85percent respondents endorsed Swachch Bharat as one ofthe best initiatives and 76 per cent suppor ted PradhanMantri Jan Dhan Yojana. It said initiatives such as Makein India and Digital India also received a positiveresponse with 43 per cent and 42 per cent suppor trespectively "though there was some ambiguity withregard to the land bill"."Respondents also felt that PM Modi has effectivelyutilized every possible communication tool to reach outto varied audiences. 30 per cent stated that radio (MannKi Baat) has been used very well while 23 per centendorsed the use of TV, 20 per cent gave a thumbs-up tothe use of social media platforms while 17 per cent andfour percent mentioned public rallies and interventions inparliament, respectively as effective tools for communi-cation used by PM," the release said.

ONE YEAR OF MODIGOVERNMENT:

25 ACHIEVEMENTS, 25CHALLENGES

CONTD. FROM PAGE 11- Push needed to ensure new goods and services taxregime begins from April 1, next year- Challenges in agriculture remain, notably in ushering asecond Green Revolution to enhance productivity fur ther- Create a national common market for farm commoditiesand Agricultural Produce Market Committees should bejust one among numerous options to sell farm produce- Once a new law against back money abroad is enacted,strong follow-up mechanisms needed to ensure thereturn of ill-gotten stashed away by Indians abroad- Details on comprehensive bankruptcy code awaited- Public Sector Banks need a combination of fresh capitalinfusion, consolidation and freedom to hire talent and strongermechanisms to address the issue of stressed assets- Details on promised consolidation of public sectorbanks awaited- New banking licences yet to be issued- No clear road map on comprehensive policy to tacklesubsidies- Promised new policy on coal-bed methane still awaited- While existing ultra-mega power projects suffer,progress awaited in promised five new ones- Issue of minimum alternate tax yet to be resolved forpast cases- Rationalisation of direct tax regime with low rates andminimum exemptions, seen as a major initiative toensure compliance, remains a challenge- Delivery pending on proposed National IndustrialCorridor Authority, based out of Pune, to oversee smar tcities projects- Bill prepared but action awaited on higher investmentlimits for micro, small and medium units- Eliminating all exemptions for countervailing duty caneliminate the negative protection facing Indian manufac-turers and help the 'Make in India' initiative withoutviolating India's international obligations- The recognised weaknesses in present public-privatepar tnership model, the promised institution could be setup fast to remove impediments, notably the rigidness ofcontractual terms, and carving out of mechanisms forearly redressal of disputes- Delivery awaited on the promised 50 'no frills' airpor tsin Tier-II and Tier-III cities- The oil ministry now needs to spell out how it intends toachieve the stated objective of creating 25,000 km of gasgrid across the country.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 i n d i a

Congress workers led by party leader Subodh Kant Sahay stage a demonstration against land acquisition ordinance in Ranchi (IANS).

MODI GOVERNMENT LACKSECONOMIC VISION: CHIDAMBARAMNew Delhi, (IANS) In his strongest criticism of the economic policiesof the NDA government timed to coincide with the completion of itsfirst year in office, former finance minister P. Chidambaram has ac-cused the Narendra Modi government of lacking an economic vision.In an interview to India Today channel's "To The Point" programmebroadcast on Monday night, Chidambaram said the first year of theModi government in office is a story of missed oppor tunities.While complimenting the government for continuing the direct benefitsubsidy transfer policy and the other policies of the previous UPAgovernment, he said the biggest minus was the government's han-dling of agriculture.The lack of attention to agriculture, he told journalist Karan Thapar,"means that agricultural livelihoods are not improving, agriculturalincome is stagnating, and, therefore, agricultural demand is stagnat-ing"."This will have an impact both on Make in India and, more impor-tantly, any hope of getting to 8, leave aside 10 percent growth," headded.He also accused the government of damaging cuts in welfare schemesdesigned for the poor, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.Chidambaram went on to question why his successor, Finance Min-ister Arun Jaitley had altered the fiscal deficit targets that he had setas the previous one, and said doing so is a mistake. Jaitley had, in hisfirst full union budget in February, extended the target deadline forcontrolling fiscal deficit to three percent, reasoning that insistence on

AAP lists 100 days achievements, Kejriwal slams ModiCONTD. FROM PAGE 1The appointment of the acting chief secretary by Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung had triggered a turf warbetween him and Kejriwal. While this was resolved, the union home ministry in an order last week saidthe Lt. Governor will have the final say in matters related to public, police, services and land. It had alsotaken away the ACB's power to prosecute "officers, employees and functionaries" of the central government.Kejriwal praised his ministers for their work and also lauded the bureaucrats."Without these officers, we would have been zero. We have come this far because of them," he saidpointing towards the bureaucrats on the dais.Congratulating the people of Delhi over the high cour t verdict on ACB's powers, Kejriwal said: "Earlierduring our 49-day tenure, the ACB had star ted a probe against big people who were involved in corruptpractices. Once our tenure was over, the central government released an order limiting the powers of theACB to probe Delhi government staff.""In the order, the BJP limited the jurisdiction of the ACB saying it could conduct a probe only against

off ic ia ls of theDelhi government,whereas since itsinception, it (ACB)had been givenpowers to probeany off icer inDelhi whether heis of centra lgovernment, Delhigovernment, MCD orof Delhi police, ifinvolved in corruptpractices," he said.Kejriwal also said 11focus areas of hisgovernment includedpower, water,education, health,women's safety,jhuggi clusters,u n a u t h o r i s e dcolonies, traffic,pollution, and pricerise.The public meetingcame a day ahead ofthe special session ofthe Delhi assemblycalled by theK e j r i w a lgovernment overthe home ministrynotification on the Lt.Governor's powers.

a timetable to contain the deficit would harm growth prospects.The targets for the next three years have been set at 3.9 percent for2015-16, 3.5 percent for 2016-17, and 3.0 percent for 2017-18.Describing the government's Make in India campaign as "just a cleverslogan", Chidambaram said Reserve Bank of India GovernorRaghuram Rangarajan has recently shown that projects wor th some7 percent of GDP are stalled, adding that the first thing that must bedone is to clear these projects."Absolutely nothing has happened because no one has come to Makein India," he said.On insurance, Chidambaram pointed out that Jaitley can hardly claimcredit for raising the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit when thelatter and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj stalled this samemeasure during the UPA years.At a press conference here earlier in the day, Chidambaram rejectedasser tions by the ruling NDA that the opposition was trying to "ob-struct" key bills in parliament."Did we obstruct the insurance bill? They (NDA) did it for five (parlia-ment) sessions. I was vir tually imploring them to pass it. Did weobstruct the black money bill," he asked.Accusing the NDA yet again of being pro-corporate, he said: "Ifyou ask the farmer, the average farmer today will give a zero outof 10 (to the government). But if you ask a big industrialist, hewill, of course, give 10 out of 10. So it depends on who you areasking the question."

Heat wave toll crosses 500in Andhra, TelanganaHyderabad, (IANS) Telangana and Andhra Pradesh continue to reelunder intense heat wave, which claimed 85 more lives on Monday,taking the toll to 517 in six days. There was no let-up in severe heatwave conditions in the two Telugu states as the mercury remainedthree to six degrees above the average temperatures. While 45 moredeaths were reported from Andhra Pradesh, 40 people lost their livesin Telangana on Monday.The officials in the two states had confirmed 432 deaths till Sunday.While Andhra Pradesh accounted for 246 deaths, 186 people died inTelangana. As many as 102 people died in the two states in a singleday on Sunday. Unofficial sources, however, put the toll at 1,000during last six days. According to Hyderabad Meteorological Centre,Hanamkonda in Telangana on Monday recorded highest temperatureof 46 degree Celsius. Ramagundem sizzled at 45 degrees. Most ofthe towns in Telangana including capital Hyderabad recorded maxi-mum temperature of 42. The met centre has warned that the heatwave conditions may continue for next couple of days. Coastal AndhraPradesh too continued to sizzle. Kakinada, Machilipatnam and Tunirecorded highest temperature of 47 degrees. South coastal districtsof Krishna, Prakasham, Guntur and Nellore bore the brunt. They ac-count for the maximum deaths. The meteorologists have attributedthe heat wave to the dry winds blowing from north-westerly direction.Old-aged, children, labourers, rickshaw pullers, beggars and peopleliving in streets were the worst affected by the heat wave.

INDIA INC EXPECTS MODIGOVERNMENT FOCUS ON RURAL

ECONOMY: ASSOCHAMNew Delhi, (IANS) On the eve of the Narendra Modi government com-pleting one year in office, industry body Assocham said on Sunday thatit expects further reform initiatives in the next two quarters along withmore attention to the rural economy."Having taken several initiatives to unclog infrastructure projects andimprove ease of doing business, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's gov-ernment is expected to ive increased attention to the rural economy,although several of the financial inclusion programmes like the JanDhan Yojana would help the countryside," Associated Chambers of Com-merce of India president Rana Kapoor said in a statement here.He said there are select sectors of the economy which are under stress,including housing, real estate, banking and telecom. Merchandise ex-ports are also causing some anxiety of late with slowdown in globaldemand, he added. "Some of the innovative initiatives like monetisationof gold would bring in much-needed stability in the country's balance ofpayment by way of reduction in gold imports. Besides, there are hopesthat the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Bill would finally move towardsa law," Kapoor said.According to Assocham, domestic consumer demand has to be revivedwith improving the sentiment on employment opportunities to kick-starteconomic growth. "Consumer demand and the employment prospectsare closely connected. Sectors like tourism, aviation are some of thelow-hanging fruits, which must be ripened and plucked. They will createhuge employment opportunities along with creating an uptick for sec-tors such as construction and real estate," the chamber said. A holisticview must be taken about public sector banks' distressed loans so thatthey are not left with large and uncontrolled non-performing assets, itadded. Assocham also welcomed the formation of an expert committeeon resolving controversial taxation issues like the minimum alternatetax (MAT) for the foreign investors.


TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015w o r l d

IRAQI FORCES REPEL IS ATTACKSIN WESTERN PROVINCE

Protest in Cleveland after a white police officer in Ohio was found not guilty in the killing of an unarmed black man and woman (IANS).

BAGHDAD, (IANS) Iraqi security forces on Sunday clashed with Is-lamic State (IS) militants and repelled their attacks in Iraq's westernprovince of Anbar, provincial security source and an official said.The security forces and allied Sunni tribal fighters repelled two at-tacks by dozens of IS militants and five explosives-laden vehicles,including a booby-trapped armoured vehicle, on a residential com-pound, which is adjacent to the town of al-Baghdadi, some 200 kmnor thwest of Iraq's capital Baghdad, leaving at least six IS militantswearing explosive vests dead, a provincial security source toldXinhua news agency. The attacks also targeted the nearby mili-tary airbase of Ain al-Asad, which houses hundreds of US Ma-rines, but the troops repelled the attackers, the source said with-out giving fur ther details.Ain al-Asad military airbase is used by Iraqi military forces, aswell as roughly 300 US Marines as military trainers and advisers.Separately, the security forces and allied Shia and Sunni militias,known as Hashd Saabi (Popular Mobilization), recaptured the areaof Anqoura, south of the town of Khaldiyah, some 80 km west of

Baghdad, after they drove out the IS militants who seized the areaabout nine months ago, the source said. The capture of Anqoura willsecure the perimeter of Khaldiyah and nearby airbase of Habbaniyahfrom possible IS attacks on the security forces who are building uptroops to carry out a major offensive against the IS militants. Thebattle in Anqoura came a day after the troops and Popular Mobilisationunits retook control of the small town of Huseibah al-Sharqiyah, mov-ing from their bases in Habbaniyah airbase and Khaldiyah.The fight against the IS group is par t of a major counter-offensivedesigned to free the provincial capital city of Ramadi, some 110 kmwest of Baghdad, which fell into the hands of IS militants after deadlybattles last week. However, the IS militants earlier in the day repor t-edly hit on the other side of Iraq's largest province of Anbar, when theytook full control of al-Walid border crossing point with neighbouringSyria after clashes with security forces. "The militants of Daesh (Ara-bic acronym of IS) have seized al-Walid crossing early in the morningafter the withdrawal of Iraqi forces," another provincial security sourcetold Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

INCREASING NUMBEROF INDIANSSTUDYING IN CHINABeijing, (IANS) An increasing number of Indian studentsare coming to study in China, mostly in the medical field,while the number of Chinese students studying in India isholding steady, media repor ted on Monday. According toChina's education ministry, India has in recent yearsremained one of the top 10 sources of internationalstudents in China, China Daily repor ted. Last year, 13,578Indian students were studying in China, compared withonly 765 a decade ago. Eighty percent of them werefollowing undergraduate clinical medical courses indifferent medical institutions in China, the Indian embassyin Beijing said. The second most sought after course forthe Indian students is Chinese language and culture, theembassy said. Bhawna Bhatnagar, 26, who is studyingChinese at Beijing Language and Culture University, saidshe has a lot of interest in Chinese culture."And, as Indian and Chinese civilisations are two of the oldest inthe world, it's interesting to study them and learn the similaritiesand differences," she said. Studying courtesy the support of aChinese government scholarship, Bhatnagar said she was happyoverall with her studies."I am satisfied with the scholarship, which I think providesmost of the things I need to live here comfor tably," shesaid. Another woman from India is studying Chineselanguage and literature in China as she wants to learn thelanguage in its native country. "Just as a Chinese proverbsays: Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times,"she said, adding that her study and stay in China had beena wonder ful experience, and she would like to have a jobrelated to China in the future. The number of Chinesestudents in India has remained steady, but "very low", atabout 2,000 for the last few years, according to the Indianembassy. A majority of Chinese students in India arestudying at undergraduate levels in diverse subjects, withHindi language being a favourite. Zhong Jiacheng, astudent from China's Jiangxi province, is studying e-commerce at India's Vellore Institute of Technology. The21-year-old said many Chinese students are unwilling tostudy in India because they think the social environmentthere is not very safe, especially for female students. "Infact, it's OK, not as bad as people imagined," Zhong said,adding that there are about 40 Chinese female students athis university. What attracted Zhong to India were the lowexpenses, the English environment and the culture. "Myannual expenses here, including the tuition, the livingexpense, and everything, is about $5,000. It's muchcheaper than many other English-speaking destinations foroverseas study," he said.

DECISION ON GUWAHATI-DHAKA BUS SERVICEDURING MODI'S BANGLADESH VISITShillong, (IANS) India and Bangladesh will finalise the passenger bus service between Guwahati-Dhaka via Shillong during Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's visit to Bangladesh next month, a Bangladeshi official informed. The proposed bus service, which covers approximately 500km, will traverse from Guwahati via Shillong and then proceed to the southern slopes of Meghalaya's Dawki international trading beforeentering Tamabil (Bangladesh)-Sylhet-Dhaka route."The final decision to star t the Guwahati-Shillong-Dhaka passenger bus service will be decided by both the governments (India and Bangladesh)during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Dhaka next month," Bangladesh Road Transpor t and Highways Division JointSecretary Azharul Islam Khan told journalists here. Khan, who is leading a 22-member Bangladesh delegation for the trial run of thepassenger bus service, said an agreement and a protocol were also likely to be signed between India and Bangladesh before theservice was introduced. On May 22, Bangladesh officials star ted the trial run of the bus service on a Bangladesh Road Transpor tCorporation bus from Dhaka but failed to reach Assam's Guwahati city on time due to bad road connectivity. Khan said the passengerbus service will be a "win-win situation" for people of both the countries. India and Bangladesh presently have two regular bus services, onebetween West Bengal's Kolkata and Dhaka and the other between Tripura's Agartala and Dhaka.

Fallen US soldiers "a debt we can never fully repay": ObamaWashington, (IANS) The US President Barack Obama called the fallen US soldiers "a debt we can never fully repay" during a visit to theArlington National Cemetery.Commemorating the Memorial Day, a day to honor those who have sacrificed their lives while serving in the US military, Obama onMonday laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers."It is a debt we can never fully repay," Xinhua quoted Obama as saying, "but it is a debt we never stop trying to repay, by remaining anation wor thy of their sacrifice. By living our own lives the way the fallen lived theirs- - a testament that greater love has no other thanthis than to lay down your life for your friends."The President noted that this is the first Memorial Day in 14 years that has been observed without US forces engaged in a major groundwar. Obama praised American soldiers for their "honor, courage and selflessness" in every war, from the Revolutionary war againstBritain to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.It is also repor ted that this is the first Memorial Day ceremony since the end of the ground war in Afghanistan, where more than 2,200American soldiers died since 2001.Nearly 10,000 American troops are set to remain in Afghanistan into 2016, fulfilling what the administration called "non-combat roles",such as coordinating drone strikes and training Afghan security forces."We'll continue to bring them home and reduce them to embassy presence by the end of next year, but Afghanistan remains a verydangerous place," Obama said.Defence Secretary Ashton Car ter and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mar tin Dempsey also spoke at the event.On May 30, 1868, the first official Decoration Day was declared by General John A. Logan and observed at Arlington National Cemetery.During World War II, the Day was expanded to an renamed Memorial Day to honor all Americans who died in military service.The day which is remembered on the last Monday of May, has become a national holiday since 1971.

TURKEY, US AGREE TO GIVE AIR COVER TO SYRIAN REBELSSeoul, (IANS/AKI) Turkey and the US have in "principle" agreed to provide air suppor t to mainstream Syrian rebels being trained andequipped to fight Islamic State militants, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said here on Monday."They have to be suppor ted via air. If you do not protect them or provide air suppor t, what is the point?" he told Daily Sabah newspaperduring a visit to Seoul.He did not go into details on what "in principle" meant or what kind of air cover would be provided or by whom.The long-delayed scheme is meant to send 15,000 troops back to Syria but has been mired in delays amid repor ts of disagreementsbetween the two NATO allies.Turkey says its support for scheme is conditional on a comprehensive strategy that includes battling forces loyal to Syria's authoritarianpresident Bashar al-Assad.While opposing Assad, the US maintains the goal of the training is only to defeat IS in Syria. US officials have said the aim is to train5,000 Syrians a year for three years at a base in the central Turkish city of Kirsehir and at sites in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.Ankara and Washington agreed in February to train and equip the Syrians under a $500 million US programme.

US MEDIA UNDERLINESCHALLENGES AFTERMODI'S ONE-YEAR RULEWashington, (IANS) Reflecting on the completion of one yearof Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, the US mediaon Monday underlined various challenges facing his govern-ment, saying he "must face the reality that much of hisagenda is still only potential"."After soaring through India’s political stratosphere on theeconomic promise 'achche din aa gaye' or 'better daysare coming', Mr. Modi must face the reality that much ofhis agenda is still only potential," the New York Timessaid while analysing the achievements of the primeminister's one-year-old government.While counting Modi's accomplishments in some sectorslike allowing more foreign investment in railways anddefence sectors and helping cut red tape, The Wall StreetJournal said: "On other key fronts, Mr. Modi has movedless decisively, frustrating investors who hoped for bolderchange after last year’s election."The NYT pointed out that India is now seen as a brightspot as soon-to-be "the world’s fastest-growing largeeconomy," but at home, "job growth remains sluggish".Listing the political challenges faced by Modi, the USdaily said the opposition had blocked "two of his centralreform initiatives and brand him 'anti-poor' and 'anti-farmer'".On the economy front, the Journal said Modi's governmenthas avoided privatising state-run banks and companies,"which could trigger unpopular job cuts"."Despite vows to improve India’s reputation for unpredict-able tax collection, the government has hit investors withdemands for back taxes they say they shouldn’t have topay," it added.Analysing Modi's “Make in India” campaign, the Journalsaid the aim of supercharging manufacturing growth to12-14 percent a year, "is so far mostly hype". "In the yearended March 31, manufacturing activity expanded by 6.8percent, from 5.3 percent the previous year, with electric-ity shor tages and congested por ts holding back growth,"the repor t said.According to the daily, foreign institutional investors (FIIs)have pulled around $2 billion out of Indian stocks andbonds in May so far."India’s benchmark S&P BSE Sensex is among the worst-per forming major Asian indexes this year, with a gain of0.5 percent through Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 and HongKong’s Hang Seng Index are up more than 16 percent sofar this year," it said.The NYT said that if Modi was to succeed, "he must copewith a huge, fragmented bureaucracy".



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY




SHOULD DO AN ACTIONFILM TOGETHER: STALLONE

TWEETS TO SALMAN

NEVER THOUGHT I'D DO A MAHESHBHATT FILM: VIDYA BALAN

WHEN SONAKSHI'S DESIRETO SING 'STAGNATED'

SUNNY LEONE RUBBISHES BEING

OUSTED FROM CELINA'S FLAT

Mumbai, (IANS) Sylvester Stallone and Salman Khan have a mutualadmiration society, it seems. The Hollywood star is all praise forthe "super talented Indian superstar", and has thrown up a sug-gestion to the "Dabangg" star to do an action film together. OnFriday, the "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" actor had called upon his 12 mil-lion fans on micro-blogging website Twitter to follow the legend-ary actor as he is their "hero ka hero".The "Rambo" star replied to Salman, tweeting: "Would like to thankthe super talented Indian superstar SALMAN KHAN the Complimenthe Tweeted! We should do an ACTION FILM together." Stallone hasearlier had a Bollywood stint. He did a cameo in Sabbir Khan's"Kambakkht Ishq" in 2009. On Friday, Salman posted on his Twitterpage: "Agar kisi ko follow karna hai? Bahar ka... Inko follow karo@TheSlyStallone. Aapke Hero ka hero Sylvester Stallone (If anyonehas to follow a Hollywood star, then follow Sylvester Stallone. He isthe hero of your hero)."

Mumbai, (IANS) Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha, who has come onboard as a judge on singing reality show "Indian Idol Junior", says shewanted to polish her crooning skills but the "desire stagnated" in child-hood itself. "My music teacher taught me Sa re ga ma pa, but did notreturn after that and that is where my desire to sing stagnated," Sonakshisaid at the launch of Sony Entertainment Television's "Indian Idol Jun-ior", which will beam starting May 30. When Sonakshi shared thisdesire, the show's co-judge Vishal Dadlani promptly added: "She is agood singer. We are doing a film titled 'Akira' where Sonakshi is the'hero'. I promise you that she is going to sing in that film." The actress,who delivered a memorable performance in "Lootera", says she wantedto sing in that movie. "I love the song 'Sawaar loon' and would havedefinitely sung it for myself," said Sonakshi, who is the daughter ofactors Shatrughan Sinha and Poonam Sinha.

Mumbai, (IANS) Actress Sunny Leone, who was ear-lier living in Celina Jaitley's house here on rent, hasrubbished rumours that she was asked to leave forthe way she was keeping it. According to repor ts,Sunny was asked to leave the house as Celina wasirked by the way her house was being maintained,and that now she is "apparently living in hotels" asshe is "yet to find an alternate accommodation." De-nying the news, the Indo-Canadian adult film star,who has found space in Bollywood films, told IANS:"We don't comment on garbage news that people putout. Everyone knows we live in a Juhu flat for thepast year... it's a beautiful flat. We shifted (out) oneyear back when our lease ended." Sunny has foundpopularity in Hindi cinema with films like "Jism 2","Ragini MMS 2" and "Ek Paheli Leela".

Mumbai, (IANS) Intense subjects inter twined with erotic elementsare often at the core of movies from the Bhatts' Vishesh Films stable.Actress Vidya Balan, who features in their upcoming production"Hamari Adhuri Kahani", says she never thought she would do a filmunder the banner."I never thought that in my career I would do a film with Vishesh Filmsbecause the kind of films the banner makes are very different fromother films, for some reason. So I was thrilled when I got a call to bea par t of this film," Vidya said here on Friday during the promotion ofher film at radio station. Directed by Mohit Suri, the film also starsEmraan Hashmi and Rajkummar Rao. It is an intense love story whichis inspired by the life of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's parents.Vidya is happy that she got the chance to do a romantic film after along time. "I have not done a love story after 'Parineeta', but this is abeautiful intense love story. I am glad that I am a par t of this filmbecause it is very special for me in many many ways. One of thereason is Mahesh Bhatt saab. He gave up direction before I becamean actor.

SHABANA AZMI ADDRESSES DURING A PROGRAMME ON KAIFI AZMI IN PATNA (IANS).





MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015 b o l l y w o o d

2 GABBAR IS BACK TERI MERI KAHAANI

3 TANU WEDS MANU RETURNS MARI GALI

4 PIKU LAMHE GUZAR GAYE

5 DIL DHADAKNE DO DIL DHADAKNE DO

6 ABCD - Any Body Can Dance - 2 BEZUBAAN PHIR SE

7 DAARU PEEKE DANCE KUCH KUCH LOCHA HAI

8 ABCD - Any Body Can Dance - 2 HAPPY BIRTHDAY

9 PIKU BEZUBAAN

10 ABCD - Any Body Can Dance - 2 SUN SAATHIYA

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TANU WEDS MANU RETURNS HIT

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songsSONG

GALLANGOODIYAAN

FILM: DILDHADAKNE DO

MIDWEEK BOX

OFFICE REPORTPIKU IRS 100.00 CRORESGABBAR IS BACK IRS 85.00 CRORESBOMBAY VELVET IRS 23.00 CRORESTanu Weds Manu Returns IRS 10.00 CRORESKUCH KUCH LOCHA HAI IRS 03.22 CRORES

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Movie Review

TANU WEDS MANU RETURNSa scaled-up family entertainer

BY TROY RIBEIROVery rarely do sequels create an im-pact as the original, but in the case of"Tanu Weds Manu Returns", the in-tensity is as forceful or more than theoriginal. Once again packed withsharp and witty dialogues, fine per-formances and a feel-good factor,"Tanu Weds Manu Returns" excelsas a scaled-up family entertainer.This sequel takes off from where itleft in the previous edition in 2011and returns with the lead pair afterfour years of jaded bliss. Their mar-riage is now on the rocks. TanujaTrivedi aka Tanu is as moody as shewas and he, Manoj Sharma aka Manuis at the end of his tether. Still in Lon-don, their divorce is inevitable afterTanu manages to ensure that Manuis kept back in St. Benedict Mental

Hospital in Twickenham in Britain.She returns to Kanpur to her family.Manu too returns forlorn to Indiawhere he lands up meeting KusumSangwan, who is Tanu's lookalike.Seemingly in love with Kusum, hedecides to remarry.With well-etched but flawed charac-ters, the performance of each actoris noteworthy. Kangana steals theshow with the dual role she essays.In both her characters, she is distinctin her sartorial style, speech andmannerisms. As Tanu, she is an ex-tension of herself as portrayed in theearlier edition. But as KusumSangwan, a Haryanvi athlete, shebrings out a sharp contrast, exhibit-ing her prowess as an actress.Kusum's simplicity and sincerity getyou emotionally attached to her.

R. Madhavan complements her withhis overall subtle and restrained per-formance. He plays the traumatisedhusband to the hilt. But he also hitsthe right high-pitched notes convinc-ingly as the harassed husband at themental hospital.Of the rest of the supporting cast,Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as ad-vocate Arun Kumar Singh is vibrant.With his casual, yet evocative per-formance, he displays sparks of bril-liance. Deepak Dobriyal as Pappi,Manu's confidante is over-the-top. Heis repetitive and after a while, is jar-ring in the narration.Jimmy Sheirgill as Raja Awasthi hasa few scenes where he makes hispresence felt as the unlucky man-in-love. Swara Bhaskar as Payal alongwith Eijaz Khan as Jassi, make a fine

pair and are fairly noticeable.Director Anand L.Rai's plot is punc-tuated with moments of family ten-sion and spiced with great rustic col-loquial one-liners that sparkle. Thedialogues keep you in splits.His screenplay is frothy and he takesa lazy approach in certain scenes.Though scene after scene you rollwith laughter, they falter at times withforced humour. This is evident in theseminar scene, where Manu is in-vited to give a medical speech.The graph of the narration too, is in-consistent. The first half thoughflighty, is engaging. The second halfdigresses with lengthy unwarrantedscenes; espec ia l l y the scenewhich has Geeta Dutt 's song"Ja, ja, ja bewafa" as the back-ground score and Tanu wander-ing aimlessly on the streets.The rest of the songs mergewell into the narration. The En-glish jazz number, "So What if Iam an old school gir l " takesyou by surprise. It stands outas an odd piece, but one thatsettles well into the overlay. It iswell-picturised too. The back-ground score is loud and exces-sive, but suits the overall designof the film.Conceived as a realistic film, theproduction quality is apt and cin-ematographer Chirantan Das'sframes are atmospheric. Theycapture the small town ambience per-fectly. Kangana's performanceunarguably ups the viewing quotient ofthe film. So watch this film for herand Himanshu Sharma's razor-sharp dialogues.

Hrithik, Ashutoshtop Shabana Azmi's'favourites list'Mumbai, (IANS) Veteran actressShabana Azmi is looking forwardto watching Hr i th ik Roshan-starrer "Mohenjo Daro", directedby Ashutosh Gowariker as bothof them are on her "favourites list".Hrithik had shared on the micro-blogging website on Saturday thatthe cast completed the f i lm'sshooting in Bhuj, Gujarat, after101 days of shoot. The veteranactress then congratulated theteam of the film, which also starsPooja Hegde."@iHrithik @hegdepooja Con-gratulations to the team. Lookingforward to the fi lm. AshutoshHrithik are amongst top of myfavourites list," Shabana tweetedon Sunday. "Mohenjo Daro", anepic love story set in the IndusVal ley civi l isat ion, also starsKabir Bedi, Arunoday Singh andKishori Shahane. The film willreunite Hrithik and Gowariker af-ter the 2008 film "Jodhaa Akbar".

CAST: KANGANA RANAUT, R. MADHAVAN,

JIMMY SHEIRGILL, DEEPAK DOBRIYAL,

EIJAZ KHAN, SWARA BHASKAR,

MOHAMMAD ZEESHAN AYYB, RAJENDRA

GUPTA, NAVNI PARIHAR, K.K. RAINA AND

DIPTI MISHRA

DIRECTOR: ANAND L.

RATING: ***

Still in discussion: Ekta Kapooron female lead of 'Azhar'Mumbai, (IANS) Dodging questions about whether Nargis Fakhrihas been roped in as the female lead for "Azhar", a biopic onformer Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, producer EktaKapoor has said the discussion is on with some names. The finalname, she said, would only be revealed once "we sign on thedotted line". "I don't know where these reports come from. I thinksome journalist has a dream and next day it gets printed," Ektasaid here Thursday on being asked if Nargis is a part of the film.Talking about the "big wish list" for the movie, she added: "Wehave a couple of names, but like I said, we have just finishedwriting the film, and we have certain number of cast (members)to be discussed. "The shooting will star t from the next month andwe are still in discussion with actors. I can't disclose anythingtill we sign on the dotted line." It was reported that Nargis will beplaying Azharuddin's second wife Sangeeta Bijlani in the film.


TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015b o l l y w o o d

RANVEER SINGH, ANIL KAPOOR AND FARHAN AKHTAR DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE TO PROMOTE THEIR UPCOMING FILM,DIL DHADAKNE DO IN KOLKATA (IANS).

'DIL DHADAKNE DO' A WORLD-CLASS FILM: ANIL KAPOOR

Kolkata, (IANS) Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor, who will be seen in therole of a patriarch of a dysfunctional Punjabi family in the for thcomingfilm "Dil Dhadakne Do", said the movie is a world-class project. Alsostarring Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Shefali Shah, Farhan Akhtarand Anushka Sharma, "Dil Dhadakne Do" (DDD) is a family film, saidthe 58-year-old veteran. "It is a family film. It is a Zoya Akhtar film soit has a distinct style. It is a film which you can easily say is world-standard," Anil said here on Sunday while promoting the film. Set fora June 5 release, DDD also has another character - a dog named

Pluto - which, according to Anil, is the real hero of the flick. "Pluto isthe real hero of the film. We all make up the ensemble around him. Heis the real rockstar," said Anil, the father of actress Sonam.Talking about his role, the "Slumdog Millionaire" actor said peoplewill notice a difference in his look. "I am tired of people asking meabout there being no difference over the ages. In this film you willnotice the difference and this is why I did the film. You will see thedifference (faraq in Urdu) and you will be proud of it (faraq)," said Anilwho spor ts a salt and pepper hairstyle.

My mom, wife worried about my health: Aamir KhanMumbai, (IANS) Actor Aamir Khan, who keeps losing and gaining weight for his films according to thedemand of the scripts, says it worries his mother and wife. The actor has now gained weight for"Dangal", in which he plays a wrestler, and weighs 95 kg at present. "I am 95 kg right now and that'senough for the character. My breathing has changed... when I tie my laces, my stomach comes inbetween. After 20 seconds, I have to (take a long) breath," Aamir told repor ters here."My mom and my wife are very worried about my health as they feel I am playing with my health. EvenI feel the same," he added. The actor says he will lose weight and will be back in shape once the project is over. "ByDecember (2015), we will finish the shooting, and in the next five months I will lose weight and then have one moreschedule in the month of June, where my character is young. When the film will come to an end, I will be back to the 'PK'look," said the 'Mr. Perfectionist', who flaunted eight-pack abs in "Ghajini".

COLOSSAL' SUED FOR BEINGSIMILAR TO 'GODZILLA'Cannes, (IANS) Actress Anne Hathaway's upcoming film "Co-lossal" is facing a lawsuit from Toho, a company which ownsthe onscreen monster Godzilla. The film has been sued by theJapanese company for being too similar to their classic cre-ation. Written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo, "Colossal" iscurrently being shopped around at the Cannes International FilmFestival. "The Director's Notes also make clear that Defendants havenot only taken the Godzilla Character as their own, but that they alsointend to use the Godzilla Character in precisely the same way thatToho used the character in its initial film - attacking Tokyo," the lawsuitreads, reports aceshowbiz.com. The story of the film follows a womanwho, when news reports surface that a giant lizard is destroying thecity of Tokyo, gradually comes to realise that she is strangely con-nected to these far-off events via the power of her mind. "Toho isinformed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that Defendantshave knowingly used the Godzilla Character to attract interest andattention in their 'Colossal' project so that it would stand out in a crowdedfield of competitors on the film sales circuit," the complaint continued.

I DON'T REMEMBER MUCH OFTHE 1970S: AL PACINOLondon, (IANS) Veteran Hollywood actor Al Pacino says hedoesn't "remember much" of the 1970s. The "Godfather" actorhas opened up about struggling with the attention he received inthe wake of the blockbuster's release in 1972. "I was havingdifficulty with all the attention," he explained. "I was a drinker,for sure, my career was exploding in the seventies and, I'msorry, but I don't remember much of the seventies," mirror.co.ukquoted Pacino as saying. "Now when I come to think about it, Idon't remember much of the eighties either," he added. The 75-year-old"Scent of a Woman" star says he hasn't had a drink in 30 years and creditshis drama teacher Charlie Laughton -- who he calls "the most influential"person in his life -- for changing his ways. "He was the one who said to me,'Al, I'm not asking you to stop or do anything, but to be aware that you areactually drinking and taking stuff'. That awareness started and a year or solater, I decided to give this stuff up. It saved my life," he told The Sun.

'MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 6'ALREADY IN DEVELOPEMENTLos Angeles, (IANS) The sixth installment of "Mission: Impos-sible" franchise is under development. Paramount, Bad Robotand Skydance Productions are currently developing the moviewhich is tentatively titled "Mission: Impossible 6". According toTracking Board website, Tom Cruise, David Ellison, DanaGoldberg and J.J. Abrams would be all returning to produce themovie. Don Granger and Matt Grimm, meanwhile, are set toserve as executive producers with Elizabeth Raposo set to over-see development on the upcoming action movie. Cast membersand production date have not yet been set, and plot details forthe film have also not been revealed, , repor ts aceshowbiz.com.Meanwhile, "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation", the fifth in-stallment, is slated to be released on July 31 this year in the US.The action-adventure-thriller sees Tom Cruise returning to re-prise his role as Ethan Hunt.

h o l l y w o o d



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


MUMBAI INDIANS LIFT SECOND IPL TITLE WITHA 41-RUN WIN OVER CHENNAI SUPER KINGS

Chennai began their reply on the wrong note, as Mike Hussey (4) departed cheaply,but Dwayne Smith (57; 48b, 9x4, 1x6). and Suresh Raina (28; 19b, 3x4, 1x6) set out torepair the damage and take the battle into the opponent camp with a 66-run secondwicket stand. However, veteran office Harbhajan Singh - on a high after his recall tothe Indian team - showed the door to Smith, and that proved to be the turning point ofthe game, as CSK never got going after that. Wickets tumbled, as Raina becameHarbhajan's victim in the tweaker's next over, while Dwayne Bravo (9) and skipper MS Dhoni (18) also could not do much. The dye was cast, and once Dhoni went back in

the 16th over, with the score reading 124/5, it was all over. AAFor the winners, Mitchell Mcclenaghan (3/25), Lasith Malings (2/25)and Harbhajan Singh (2/34) were the main wicket takers. Earlier, , the MumbaiIndians built their innings around two partnerships, as they set an asking rate of10.15 for Chennai on a flat strip. A rollicking 119-run second-wicket stand betweenopener Lendl Simmons (68; 45b, 8x4, 3x6) and skipper Rohit Sharma (50; 26b, 4x6,6x2) took the team to a position of solidity after the loss of opener Parthiv Patel in theopening over itself.

BY SIRSHENDU PANTHKolkata, (IANS) AA far too superior Mumbai Indianscrushed Chennai Super Kings under the weight of adaunting asking rate on Sudnay Ato lift the covetedIndian Premier League title for the second time, in avir tual replay of the final between the two sides in2013 at the same venue Eden Gardens. Put in to bat,Mumbai gave an awesome batting display to plunder202/5, and then restricted Chennai to 161/8, finishingwith a 41 run victory before a capacity 66,000 pluscrowd at the iconic ground. Chasing the tough target,Chennai Super Kings lost an early wicket and neverquite seemed like taking up the challenge,vir tuallychoking Aunder pressure as the asking rate kept mount-ing. In the end, the battle seemed quite one-sided.Two years back, Mumbai had defeated Chennai by 23runs to annex their maiden title at the Eden. Mumbainow have evened with Chennai and Kolkata KnightRiders - each having been crowned champions twice.

NOW I LOVE THIS GAME OFCRICKET: NEETA AMBANI

Kolkata, (IANS) Ecstatic at the Mumbai Indians be-coming the IPL champions for the second time, teamco-owner Neeta Ambani has admitted she had no idea ofthe game when the IPL began but now she loves the sport."During IPL one and two, I did not understand the game at all.But now I love this game of cricket and I love all the fans whocome and support Mumbai Indians in huge number," saidNeeta after her team trounced Chennai Super Kings by 41runs at the Eden Gardens here on Sunday. With the RohitSharma led side making a remarkable turnaround after start-ing off disastrously, Neeta said she started to belief of be-coming the champions yet again after they beat ChennaiSuper Kings in the first qualifier to enter the finals."For us every match has been like a final as we had to winevery match. But when we won the last match in Wankehede,that's when we had the belief that we can win," said Neetadedicating the IPL victory to the fans of the team. Son AkashAmbani credited the players and the support staff for thewin. "We put a lot a lot of effort to make sure we had the rightbalance of team and have lot of options.A But nine wins outof ten matches is absolutely fantastic. Full credit goesto the boys and the whole team together,a he said.



80 PERTOSA DRIVE, UNIT 12,BRAMPTON ONT., L6X 5E9

IT HAS BEEN A GREAT JOURNEY, COULDN'THAVE ASKED FOR MORE: ROHIT

Kolkata, (IANS) After winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015crown, Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper heaped praise on team sayingthat it was a great journey so far in the season adding he couldn't haveasked for anything more from his victorious team. Mumbai defeatedChennai Super Kings by 41 runs in the final at the Eden Gardens hereon Sunday to be crowned as Champions. Chasing a monumental 202/5, the Super Kings could only manage 161/8 from 20 overs.For Mumbai, it was Rohit Sharma (50) and Lendl Simmons (68) whohelped them post such a formidable total, while for Chennai the onlynotable contribution came from the bat of Dwayne Smith (57). "It hasbeen a great journey. I couldn't have asked for more. It was impor tantto show character. We knew we had guys who could do that. This is asweet victory because we came from nowhere, with people writingus off," Rohit said at the post match presentation ceremony.The skipper who was also awarded the man-of-the-match for hi 26-ball 50 said, "It's always been good here. Whenever I have comehere, I have taken happy memories back. It has been a very goodjourney. To bounce back from that situation we found ourselves in thefirst half is very rare."

CSK LACKED INDIVIDUAL MATCH WINING EFFORTS: DHONIKolkata, (IANS) With Chennai Super Kings yet again ending up as the runners up in the IPL at the Eden Gardens here, skipper M S Dhonilamented lack of individual match wining effor ts and said the team could not reach hundred percent level of efficiency. Dhoni alsoattributed the second over bowled by Mohit Shrama to be a key factor wherein CSK conceded the momentum to Mumbai Indians whowon the match by 41 runs to lift their second IPL crown."The second over was not good and thata¿s was the instance when we gave the momentum to Mumbai. I felt it was quite a tough wicketand if you did not give width, but the second over was the one where we gave them the land slide which we were not able to control," saidDhoni at the presentation ceremony. "The kind of momentum they built on from that point of the game, we were not really able to comeback into the game," said the keeper-batsman. Bowling the inning's second over, pacer Mohit Sharma conceded 16 runs including twofours and a six all hit by Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma. Mumbai went on to score 202/5. Dhoni also rued his side's inability to get off toa flying star t while chasing the daunting total. "When chasing, it was impor tant for us to get a good a star t but in the first six we got only30 or 35 runs. So, from that point it was difficult for us to come back into the game. Dhoni also said the team missed the servicesA ofdashing Kiwi opener Brendon McCullum who had to leave the IPL for doing duties for the New Zealand national team. "Losing McCullumjust before the knock out stage was a big blow as he always gave us a good star t at the top especially when the wicket is good. In thesetypes of wickets he is an ideal opener," he said. Even as he praised his team for collective effor t, Dhoni claimed the players could notreach their optimal level of efficiency. "It was more of a team effor t coming to the final. But I don't think we reached hundred percentefficiency level because there are quite a few cricketers in our side who haven't done as well as they should have.

It was about key playersgetting momentum:Sachin TendulkarKolkata, (IANS) With Mumbai Indians staging a remarkable turn-around and saunter to their second IPL title, team mentor SachinTendulkar on Sunday asser ted there were no self doubts whenthe team began on a disastrous note in the beginning of thetournament."No I don't think there were any self doubts when we had a badstar t because our batting was capable of playing some megainnings. Lasith Malinga has been the leading bowler in all IPLs,So, AIt was about key players getting the momentum. We al-ways had the belief of a turnaround," Tendulkar said after hisside trounced Chennai Super Kings by 41 runs at the Eden Gar-dens here to lift their second IPL crown. "We stepped together,worked hard, executed our plans. It was about how we stayedtogether during tough times," said the cricket great."These are the occasions you play cricket for and it was allabout executing your plans," he said about Mumbai becomingchampions again. Talking about his role in the team, Tendulkarsaid it was more of giving advises to batsmen when needed."The suppor t staff has been doing a good job and as and when Ifelt something, I would share with the batters. Basically, it wasbeing around and as and when my inputs were required, I wasthere.A Overall I felt it was terrific turnaround as we did not hadbest of the star ts," added Tendulkar.Team chief mentor Anil Kumble credited skipper Rohit Sharmafor leading from the front. "Winning the IPL means a lot. Credit tothe boys for the way they played. Rohit led the team from thefront and today was an example of that. It's a fantastic teameffor t and the credit also goes to the support staff," said Kumble.Coach Ricky Ponting said winning the IPL crown was a specialmoment of his life."I told the players before the match that it has been specialcouple of months in my life and if we can cap off with a win heretoday then it will be the most memorable one. Full credits to theboys for the way they turned things around," Ponting said as histhe entire Mumbai squad and suppor t staff jumped in joy.

MUMBAI INDIANS, WINNERS OF THE IPL 2015. (IANS)

IPL 2015: In the arena of youngsters,'golden oldies' shimmerBy Anurag DeyKolkata, (IANS) Cricket's shor test format is usually said to besuited for the fresh legs and young blood but a number of playersin the latest edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) have yet againproved that age is just a number.If 17-year-old Sarfaraz Khan fearlessly hitting bowlers is a sightto behold, veterans like Ashish Nehra, Chris Gayle and BradHogg have turned back the clock and literally made the adage'old is gold' come true.Spearheading the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pace attack, Nehrastood out scalping 22 wickets at 20.40 runs apiece."I have got three Man-of-the-Match awards this season and thatsays it all. It is not easy for a fast bowler to pick up that manyawards in one season. People are noticing it more because I am36 and a guy at this age is doing something unbelievable inTwenty20s," the left-armer said.Mumbai Indians' 35-year-old offie Harbhajan Singh yet againshowed why he is called a fighter. The feisty cricketer sizzledwith the ball, and at times even with the bat, to play a crucial rolein his team winning their second IPL crown.Bowling with his usual guile, the 'Turbanator' took 2/26 againstCSK in Qualifier 1 to take Mumbai to their third final. In the sum-mit clash at the Eden Gardens, he yet again proved to be Chennai'snemesis, scalping the prized wickets of dangerous openerDwayne Smith and middle-order mainstay Suresh Raina.With 18 wickets to his name in IPL-8 and a 19-ball fifty to boast,the selectors did fulfil the man's 'burning desire' to play for Indiaagain as he made a comeback to the national Test squad for theBangladesh tour after more than two years.Yet another 'oldie' who has drawn the spotlight is Kolkata KnightRiders' (KKR) chinaman bowler Bradd Hogg. At 44 - the oldestplayer in IPL history - the Australian made full use of the limitedchances he was offered. Besides bamboozling the batsmen, hewas also a livewire on the field.Playing just his second game this season, Hogg took 4/29 toenable KKR canter towards a seven-wicket victory over CSK athome. With nine wickets to his name from six matches, thetweaker earned lavish praise, both from his teammates and ri-vals for his grit, determination and hard work.CSK all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who took 26 wickets to win thepurple cap, is also no youngster. At 32, the Trinidadian was skip-per Mahendra Singh Dhoni's go-to-man and his knack to pick upwickets at crucial junctures powered the team to their sixth IPLfinal, although they faltered at the last hurdle losing to MumbaiIndians by 41 runs.Delhi Daredevils did finish a poor seventh in the standings, buttheir 36-year-old South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir earnedplaudits. Picking up 15 wickets, he contributed significantly inthe team's five victories in 14 games. Well, it's not the bowlersalone, in the batting depar tment too, the weather-beaten proshave left their mark. Only four centuries were scored in the latestedition of the cash-rich league and the youngest of the four cen-turions is Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) AB de Villiers,who is 31. Arguably the best batsmen in contemporary cricket,the South African skipper notched up 513 runs from 16 matchesto be the RCB's batting mainstay. RCB opener Gayle, at 36, yetagain lived up to the billing of being the world's most destructivebatsman. Besides winning the maximum sixes award with asmany as 38 hits over the boundary, the Jamaican cracked hisfifth century in IPL, scoring 117 against Kings XI Punjab. Plunder-ing 491 runs this season, he has now 3,199 runs to his name tobe third highest run-getter in IPL history. The other centurions --Shane Watson of Rajasthan Royals and CSK's big hitting openerBrendon McCullum, both 34, -- have defied age to contributesignificantly for their respective teams.After going down to Mumbai in the final, CSK skipper Dhoni at-tributed the absence of McCullum as one of the reasons for hisside's loss. The opener, who left the tournament to join his NewZealand side for the Test series in England, had scored 436 from14 outings, giving a solid star t in most matches.He may not have lit the stage on fire, but CSK's 40-year-oldMichael Hussey once again justified his nickname -- Mr. Cricket.Still fit as a fiddle and a safe fielder, Hussey struck a 46-ball 56against RCB to shepherd CSK through a tricky chase and takethem to their sixth final.

BOLLYWOOD CHANTS 'MUMBAIMUMBAI' AS MI LIFT IPL CROWN

RANVEER SINGH, ANIL KAPOOR AND FARHAN AKHTAR DURING THE FINAL MATCH OF IPL 2015 BETWEEN MUMBAI INDIANS ANDCHENNAI SUPER KINGS AT THE EDEN GARDENS IN KOLKATA (IANS).

Kolkata, (IANS) Cheers and congratulations poured in from Bollywoodas Mumbai Indians registered a thumping 41-run win over ChennaiSuper Kings to bring home the Indian Premiere League trophy at theEden Gardens on Sunday. While actors Ranveer Singh, Anil Kapoorand Farhan Akhtar celebrated at the grounds with the men in blue,others took to Twitter to express their joy.Ritesh Deshmukh said : "Mumbaiiiiiii Mumbaiiiiiiiiiiii @mipaltan Champions".

Abhishek Bacchan wished both teams on their performance but high-lighted a ablue weekend'. "@ChelseaFC win the EPL. @mipaltan winthe IPL. it's a BLUE weekend!! Well done both teams," he said.Music composer Anu Malik also expressed his love for the team."Oopar WaleA ne sun li dua IPL cup hamara hua @mipaltan CON-GRATULATIONS. Badhai ho keh rahan hain saara jahaan #IPLFinal#MIvCSK LOVE U GUYS," he said.

PAKISTAN WIN T20 SERIES AGAINSTZIMBABWE 2-0, FANS ECSTATIC

Lahore, (IANS) Fans celebrated international cricket’s return to Paki-stan after six years with the home team sweeping both the Twenty20Internationals against Zimbabwe here.The 2-0 series win doubled the joy for thousands of Pakistani cricketfans who turned out in large numbers at the Gaddafi Stadium here asinternational cricket came back to the Asian country for the first timesince the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus here in March2009. A large number of people turned out to witness their stars playon home soil on May 22 and 24. Amidst tight security, enthusiastsflocked to the stadium with posters and placards in suppor t of Paki-stan cricket, also thanking the Zimbabwean team for their suppor t.Fans painted their faces and bodies in national colours with someholding posters of “6 years of tor ture. Thanks for revival of cricket inPakistan”. Another fan held up a poster saying: "Welcome Zimbabwe.

Peace we love.” Pakistan’s most famous fan -- Chacha Cricket -- wasalso present in the stadium. Thousands battled the 42 degree Celsiusheat and stifling security checks in long queues for hours to catch aglimpse of the matches."It's a great occasion and the win made it greater. With this match wehave given a positive message to the world that Pakistan is a safecountry," Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi said.Pakistani bowling legend and coach Waqar Younis said the occasionmade Pakistan a proud nation.“Playing on home soil in front of our own people gives you a differentfeeling. The way Lahore rose for us was simply the best. We areproud of our people and nation. I had said that people should keepsome patience as they might face minor problems but I am happyeverything went well," Waqar said.



Documents

WHAT INDIA SAYS ABOUT ONE YEAR OF MODI …southasiandaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/part_13.pdfadded Akbar Panju, ... The survey by the CNN-IBN and IBN 7 news channels said the