RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015     !"#$                      !           NMDC playing big role to make India as global economic powerhouse NMDC Ltd, India’s largest iron ore miner, is charged up’ with the vision of the new CMD experiencing its golden period as its who organised a highly successful diamond Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) jubilee year celebrations in December 2017 Mr. N. Baijendra Kumar, has started bringing in Hyderabad where Vice President of India in `out of the box’ thoughts to inspire the Mr. M Venkaiah Naidu predicted that massive talented workforce of the company to NMDC would set several new benchmarks give their best. of success in coming up years. NMDC has thousands of highly talented Inspired by the way the diamond jubilee and dedicated manpower strength besides function was arranged, Naidu nicknamed world-level technical expertise and the NMDC as Nation’s Main Development resources. Corporation and asserted that NMDC has a NMDC’s hundreds of employees and big role to play if India has to become global workers are now feeling `inspired and economic powerhouse. Impressive production growth

NMDC Ltd, the largest poor off take in Karnataka shown resilient character thanked Ministry of producer of iron ore in in Q1. to excel in challenging Steel (GoI) and the country has once Mr N. Baijendra Kumar, times,’’ remarked Mr Chhattisgarh State again showcased excellent IAS, CMD, NMDC Kumar who is known for Government for their performance for the year congratulated all the his leadership acumen. immense support and 2018-19 as the company employees for their He thanked all the guidance. surpassed the 30 million dedicated hard work and stakeholders for their tonnes figure of excellent team work. support and specially production and sales for ``Team NMDC in spite of the 3rd year consecutively. man-made and natural NMDC has produced constraints 32.44 MT and sales of has 32.38 MT iron ore during FY-19 despite suspension of Donimalai Mine operations for 5 months, no exports up to August 2018, highest rainfall in Chhattisgarh’s Bailadila Sector and          !"#  NMDC’sNMDC’s BailadilaBailadila MineMine bagsbags GreentechGreentech SafetySafety GoldGold AwardAward

NMDC’s Bailadila Iron Ore Mine at Bacheli Complex in Bastar had been conferred '17th Annual Greentech Safety Gold Award, 2018' by M/s Greentech Foundation, New Delhi. The award was bestowed in a grand Award presentation ceremony conducted at Guwahati (Assam) on November 17, 2018. Sanjeev Sahi, Joint General Manager (Min) & Mines Manager, Bacheli Complex received the Award on behalf of BIOM, Bacheli Complex. The Project bagged the Greentech Safety Gold Award for excellent work in Safety and Health and effective implementation of Safety Management System in the mine.

Bailadila Iron Ore Mine (BIOM), 14NMZ mines; (ii) Ist prize in Kirandul Complex of the NMDC sustainable development under Limited bagged several prizes dur- highly mechanised group-A1 to ing Mine Environment and Mineral 14NMZ mines; (iii) Ist prize in Conservation Week 2018-19, environmental monitoring under Raipur region held recently at the highly mechanised group-A1 to state capital. 14NMZ mines; (iv) Ist prize in The prizes were presented to systematic and scientific BIOM, Kirandul Complex in development under mechanised recognition to best practices and group-A2 to 11ML mines; (v) 2nd performance in the areas of prize in publicity and propaganda environmental monitoring, under highly mechanised group-A1 sustainable development, systemat- to 14 ML mines; (vi) 2nd prize in ic and scientific mining etc. mineral beneficiation under highly A.K. Prajapati, General Manager, mechanised group-A1 to 14 ML BIOM Kirandul Complex received mines and (vii) 2nd prize in the prizes from chief guest K environment monitoring under Rajeshwar Rao, IAS, Addl. Secretary mechanised group-A2 to 11 ML to Government of India and mines. Mr. N. Baijendra Kumar, Controller General, IBM, IAS, CMD, NMDC Nagpur. congratulated employees Following are the prizes for their unstinted efforts bagged by BIOM towards environment Kirandul Complex: (i) friendly initiatives Ist prize in overall adopted in all its performance mining under highly activities. mechanised group-A1 to           RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015    -. #/ .010.12 .13456 %"!8  '5$+ '*&+:& 5:)% +5:,:5:& 5:,9+?; '<+5 6'<5').:9; $<9% '$<)$ :; + + :<5+ 5%)+ < :65& +< )% +'%9;+$ ' : <$+ :6 $@-7' .<+9+ 6<+ 6): <@6+ $ 6,5> @; 6              !"#$  6  !   "#$!% # &' %

  !    .. 3/ :;6'<5 than its 2014 tally. The party could not open its account in damant on his resignation 18 States and Union Territories. Afrom the post of the As crisis beset the Congress president, Rahul Opposition party, its chief Gandhi has conveyed to senior spokesperson Randeep party leaders Ahmed Patel and Surjewala on Monday urged KC Venugopal to look for his everyone to respect the sancti- replacement as he has made up ty of the CWC meeting and his mind not to continue as asked the media not to fall into chief of the grand old party. the trap of “conjectures, insin- Patel is a close confidant of uations, gossip and rumour- the Congress’ first family and mongering”. was one of the most powerful Surjewala said it is a demo- politicians during the 10 years cratic forum for exchange of          %    &   ' !%    ( "   $       of the UPA rule. After the dis- ideas and taking corrective       ) ) "    $ astrous performance of the action. It was a “closed-door” party in the Lok Sabha polls, meeting and any speculation Rahul has cancelled all meet- about it was unwarranted and ings and appointments and uncalled for. He was reacting to has declined to meet even news reports about happenings elected MPs. at the May 25 meeting, the first Taking responsibility for of the CWC after the Congress’s the drubbing at the hands of humiliating defeat in the par- the BJP, Rahul on Saturday liamentary polls. offered to resign as party pres- “The Congress party ident at a meeting of the expects everyone, including  logical and illogical analysis to workers are still being beaten Congress Working Committee the media, to respect the sanc- prove their point,” Modi added. up in West Bengal, but shock- (CWC), the highest decision- tity of a closed-door meeting of      Earlier, Modi offered ingly a section of the national making body of the party, but the CWC. Various conjectures, prayer at Kashi Vishwanath media had seen a selective it was “unanimously rejected”. speculation, insinuations,   temple, seeking the blessings of humanism behind such sacri- “He has conveyed that the assumptions, gossip and the Almighty again as he did fices of our party workers.” party will have to find a new rumour-mongering in a section  /.*$/ , + : 5 five years ago before assuming “We’d also faced political chief as he won’t change his                P                  of the media is uncalled for and the charge as PM. untouchability,” he said, citing mind. It is believed his moth-              ! "   #    $ unwarranted. hemistry has beaten arith- Modi appealed to the party the example of Gujarat when a er Sonia and sister Priyanka, “The CWC held a collec- Cmetic in the recent workers to overlook estab- section of film industry had who were earlier advising back his decision. party. Modi. tive deliberation on the per- Parliamentary election, said lished negativity in politics raised strong voices when his Rahul to continue, too have The Congress has mostly At the CWC meeting, In the midst of the disqui- formance of the party, the Prime-Minister designate and continue to adopt positiv- Government had invited a backed his decision. The future been led by members of the Rahul had accused three senior et, several State Congress chiefs, challenges before it as also the Narendra Modi, who is going ity. “Our success is the result of senior star (Amitabh course will be decided in some Nehru-Gandhi family except leaders — Ashok Gehlot, including Punjab’s Sunil Jakhar, way ahead, instead of casting to assume the charge as the PM our perfect synergy between Bachchan) for tourism pro- time now,” said a top AICC for the period after former Kamal Nath and P Jharkhand’s Ajoy Kumar, and aspersions on the role or con- for second time on May 30. Government policies and motion. leader. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi Chidambaram — of placing Assam’s Ripun Bora, too duct of any specific individual. “It was not for the first time organisational politics,” he said, In his marathon address, While majority of the was assassinated in 1991. The their sons above the party. offered to resign from their The gist of the deliberations when this political change was asking the party workers to Modi highlighted how for vote- Congress leaders hoped that party did not do well under Priyanka said the entire top posts following the party’s was made public in the CWC seen in Indian politics when the continue with the same so that bank politics the Opposition Rahul will “not abandon the Sitaram Kesri and then sever- brass of the party left Rahul drubbing in the elections. The resolution of May 25, 2019,” the chemistry of social strength the people of the country can parties never showed courage post”, sources close to him said al leaders convinced Sonia alone to fight it out against party won only 52 seats in the Congress leader said in a was clearly visible but shock- get optimum benefits of to look into the pains of the he is determined not to take Gandhi to take charge of the Prime Minister Narendra Lok Sabha polls, just six more statement. ingly, the political pundits were Government schemes. common people. not ready to change their estab- “Work and workers create  lished perception,” he said. a wonder,” said Modi, adding   Modi was addressing party that “with our work we suc- *  workers in thanksgiving func- ceeded in winning the faith of % &'   tion at Deen Dayal Updhyay the people. We have not done    &( (''))     Haskala Sankul (Trade any favour to them but it was *  ,       Facilitation Centre) at Bada their rights.”   R    ! "!   Lalpur here on Monday. Modi went on to highlight     "   !   “We had made a hat-trick the violence let loose against   , !$% % &"'( of victories performing party workers in several States,  "  ) $/ * :;6'<5 remarkably well in 2014, 2017 and said, “Undoubtedly, in * :;6'<5 % !"* +*"! #$% and 2019 but, unfortunately, achieving the same, our party  "!   n the wake of deaths of 22 the political pundits were not workers faced crises. Several of eads of BIMSTEC group- ,  "- Istudents at a coching institute ready to change their estab- our workers sacrificed their Hing which includes &') blaze in Surat on Friday, Delhi lished perception of the last 70 lives in Kerala, Kashmir, West Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, $()-(** Home Minister Satyender Jain years and sometimes they used Bengal and Tripura and our Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal .. '/ & *  !    on Monday issued directions to and Bhutan would be attend- $ 01 2, ((.  (  the chief of Delhi Fire Services ing the swearing-in ceremony  /. 0 "! %       (DFS) to “take strict action as of Prime Minister Narendra   * (  per the fire safety standards and  ) *) #   Modi on May 30. The Bay of "%&*   !( * :;6'<5=> 5%)+ guidelines to prevent recur- Bengal Initiative for Multi- " ((- rence of such accidents” in the Sectoral Technical and n a huge relief for the national Capital. Economic Cooperation (BIM- *3 &( ()' ICongress in , six The Director (Fire + )    STEC) is an international (*%)'(*  BSP MLAs cancelled their pro- Services) has been asked to organisation of seven nations *  ,  1 1! posed meeting with Governor immediately inspect and shut && (  6 :; 6 After the Naxals fled, the of South Asia and South East !! !2! Kalyan Singh at the last minute and seal coaching centres oper- body of Guddi, a member of the Kyrgyz President, cur-   $  and downplayed speculation *        '+                ating in highrise buildings hhattisgarh police on Organisation Squad of Malangir rently Shanghai Cooperation " * " about pulling out of the Gehlot                %      above the fourth floor. The CMonday dismissed allega- Area Committee of the Maoists, Organisation (SCO) chair, ! 3"    !  Government. ! "   #    $ Delhi Government further tions of security forces involve- was found. A revolver with six and Mauritius Prime Minister  """ * However, the Congress issued notice to all the civic ment in a fake encounter in rounds was also recovered. are also invited for swearing- ""!   !- faced trouble from within amid Pradesh, thus the news of its the SP cadre in the just con- authorities to enforce the which one civilian was killed in After the encounter, resi- in ceremony, according to the speculation of a Rajasthan MLAs seeking appointment cluded general elections. ‘Unified Building Bylaws’ in insurgency-hit Dantewada. dents of Hiroli had alleged that Ministry of External Affairs. / / )&(.))*$ Minister quitting in the wake of with the Governor sparked Meanwhile, a review meet- coaching centres. “There was no wrongdoing. Guddi Kunjam was picked up In his 2014 swearing-in-   * / the party’s electoral debacle. wild speculation. ing scheduled in Delhi to eval- “In the first phase, all The encounter was genuine,” from his house by the security ceremony, Modi had invited )420,  """ Two State Ministers came out BSP MLA Wajib Ali sought uate reasons for party’s drub- coaching centres operating in Special Director General (Naxal forces and then he was killed. Government heads of SAARC   "!    in the open to demand a to downplay the significance of bing in Rajasthan was post- high-rise buildings (more than operations) of Police Girdhari “The allegations are baseless. which included Pakistan. The ( "! detailed assessment by senior the MLAs’ scheduled meeting poned in the wake of unavail- four floors excluding the stilt Nayak told The Pioneer. In all, 40 criminal cases were reg- then Pakistan Prime Minister 1!  %  leaders of the party. with the Governor. “It was ability of Congress president floor) shall be inspected by the Guddi Markam was alleged- istered against Guddi and he was Nawaz Sharif had attended the 5  *"!   !- Sources said the six BSP supposed to be a routine meet- Rahul Gandhi. Director (Fire Service),” the ly gunned down last week in an responsible for death of 34 oath taking of Modi. MLAs were scheduled to meet ing,” he said. Party sources said the order read. encounter with the security policemen and 11 civilians. However, Bangladesh   *5)./&* the Governor on Monday in Sources, however, said the meeting would be held on As per the law, forces in the jungles of Hiroli Police were searching him since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina )  ( () the evening. However, later BSP MLAs changed their minds Tuesday at Sonia’s residence in kitchen/cooking and storage of under Kirandul police station 2011 and the State Government would not be attending Modi’s *  , 5 6""  the Governor was informed on the instructions from the the presence of Ashok Gehlot, inflammable material are not when a squad of the District had declared a reward of 1 lakh swearing-in this time too as  7 (""" that the meeting could not party’s Central leadership fol- Deputy Chief Minister Sachin allowed on rooftops. Multi- Reserve Guard was out on an on his head,” Dr Abhishek Pallav, she would be on a three-  "  !" proceed due to illness of one of lowing the circulation of appre- Pilot and Congress State storey buildings, hotels and anti-Naxal operation. SP Dantewada said. nation tour close to May 30 . 5 !!" the MLAs, Deepchand. ciation letter by UPA chairper- incharge Avinash Pandey. commercial buildings will lose As per police, security per- “This is a ploy adopted by Liberation War Affairs  8 9!" The BSP has extended its son and senior most Congress Senior party leader Ahmed No Objection Certificate sonnel were advancing through the Maoists and under their Minister AKM Mozammel "  " *   support to the Congress in leader Sonia Gandhi hailing the Patel and Venugopal are likely (NOC) for violation Hiroli, when the exchange of fire pressure, villagers made the alle- Huq will represent her at the "!- Rajasthan and Madhya role of BSP workers along with to participate in the meet. of norms. broke out between the two sides. gations, he claimed. ceremony. /) :;6'<5 proscribed as a global terrorist increasing the threat percep- in which 40 Central Reserve the LoC is likely to see by the UN Security Council. tion, officials in the security Police Force (CRPF) personnel increased infiltration bids, offi- he Balakot air strikes Most of the terrorists now establishment said here on were killed, nearly all the ter- cials said, adding the Indian Tnotwithstanding, over three regrouping in the camps are Monday. ror camps were shut down as Army has taken all necessary dozen terror camps along the from JeM and Lashkar-e- Indicating that after the the Pakistan Army anticipated measures to prevent any mis- Line of Control (LoC) in Tayyeba (LeT). The Indian Balakot strikes, in which the surgical strikes. In fact, many deed by the Pakistani terrorists. Pakistan Occupied Kashmir Army has thus increased vigil JeM major camps were target- terrorists took refuge in the In fact, during the winter (POK) are getting active again. to thwart any Border Action ed and destroyed, notwith- JeM camp in Balakot. months, troops were not with- Post-Pulwama attack, these Team (BAT) action besides standing, the State sponsored With the three dozen odd drawn from the LoC, as in the camps were shifted deep inside infiltration. terrorism machinery of camps now regrouping, the past few years, as a precau- Pakistan fearing retaliation by Mixed teams of terrorists Pakistan is now active again Indian security establishment is tionary measure, they said. India. However, after lying and elite Special Services with the terror camps along the bracing for renewed bids to Moreover, taking note of dormant for nearly three Group (SSG) commandos of LoC reorganising themselves, sneak into Jammu & Kashmir the terror camps across LoC months, the ISI and the the Pakistan Army comprise they said. in the following weeks with the getting active, the Indian Army Pakistan Army are bringing BAT which carries out cross Most of the 40 odd camps Pakistan Army providing cov- has increased patrols all along these terrorists closer to the border raids to ambush Indian along the vulnerable stretches ering fire to the terrorists. the LoC besides further LoC to enable them to infiltrate Army patrols. As it is, the sev- of the long LoC are located not Due to prolonged winter strengthening its multi-tiered to stoke violence in Jammu & eral teams of SSG commandos, more than one to two kms this year and heavy snowfall, anti-infiltration grid. The main Kashmir. along with the Pakistan Army from the border and stationed most of the ingress routes espe- objective is to neutralise the This alarming develop- troops, moved forward towards close to the Pakistan Army and cially in North Kashmir infiltrators within a km or so ment comes even as Jaish-e- the LoC post Balakot air strikes Pakistan Rangers locations. remained blocked due to snow near the LoC if they are suc- Mohammad (JeM) chief by the IAF and remain Following the Pulwama till about a few days back. cessful in coming in, officials Masood Azhar was recently deployed even now thereby suicide attack on February 13 As snow is now melting, explained. RAIPUR | TUESDAY | MAY 28, 2019 chhattisgarh 04 Vascular diseases killing more Fire audit done in Raipur coaching centres after Surat blaze people than cancer: Dr Sahu n STAFF REPORTER RAIPUR K.N. KISHORE n RAIPUR unhealthy nails. unicipal Corporation, On treatment, Dr Sahu said, MRaipur conducted a fire r Krishnakant Sahu, Head of “In coronary diseases stent can be audit of all the coaching centres DDepartment and heart, chest used but for this ‘diffusely diseases’ located in the city on Monday. and vascular surgeon of Advance condition nothing is possible The inspection was done Cardio-thoracic and Vascular except for surgery and replace- after a devastating fire at a Surgery department, Dr Bheemrao ment.” coaching centre in Surat in Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, On success rate of surgery, he Gujarat calimed 21 lives recent- Raipur said, smoking and use of said in both cases by-pass of legs ly. tobacco products have increased and heart, the result is poor. Even A team of the civic body the number of Peripheral Vascular in lung cancer there are two condi- took note of the contingency Disease (PAD) and coronary artery tions one is primary where the arrangements made by the cen- disease, which are taking more smoker is affected and secondary tres to deal with fire accident. lives than the cancer. case where smoking affects the pas- According to official But these two diseases do not used to suffer from heart diseases. cult to walk even 2-3 kilometres. sive smoker. sources in the corporation, find more mention than cancer, But the age limit has now come Gradually it reduces to 500 metres, Giving a message, Dr Sahu zonal commissioner in different which is reaching dangerous pro- down to 40 years. which is technically known as said, “One should avoid smoking groups inspected the coaching portion, he added. On PAD symptoms, he said, ‘claudication’. The patient then feels and consumption of tobacco prod- centers in the capital city. They Interacting exclusively with “Generally it starts in the age group continuous pain in leg.” ucts and also avoid passive smok- specially took note of the fire ‘The Pioneer’, he said more people of 30-50 years. The patient does not He adds, further ulcer in legs ing. Those having attained age of fighting arrangements where notices with an ultimatum of 24 taken against the coaching cen- in the age group of 30-50 years die feel anything as there is no outer develops which than aggravates to 30 and above should go for regular the centers are running in mul- hours to rectify the errors and ters which will not follow the due to smoking and use of tobacco symptom until arteries of both legs ‘gangrene’, which leads to limb cardiac and lungs checkup. This tistory buildings. to make necessary arrange- norms of corporation in their products. Earlier, in India people in shrank by 60-70 percent. Once that amputation. The other symptoms will help for early detection and Wherever a lacuna was ments. respective buildings, the corpo- the age group of 50 years and above happens, the victim finds it diffi- are loss of hair on limbs and timely treatment of diseases. found, the officials have given Stern actions would be ration warned. Need to create awareness 8 bonded labourers Revenue secy conducts on menstruation: Bhedia rescued from Telangana surprise inspection at STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR for sanitary pads while several women STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR self-help groups are involved in making SDM, tehsil offices n the occasion of World Menstrual sanitary napkins. ight villagers, residents of vil- STAFF REPORTER n Hygiene Day on May 28, lage Chaandan under Kasdol O Meanwhile, addressing the round- E RAIPUR Chhattisgarh women and child develop- table for journalists on the subject, police station limits of Baloda ment minister Anila Niharika Barik Singh, sec- Bazar district of the state, work- ollowing strict instruc- Bhedia said women retary, Department of ing as bonded labourers at Ftion from Chief Minister should not consider Ganganagar of Peddapalli dis- Health and Family wel- Bhupesh Baghel to dispose “period” as shameful, trict of Telangana were rescued of pending cases related to but they should be fare, Government of on Monday. the officials found that Chhattisgarh called upon common people, State many cases related to proud of it. On the state government’s Revenue Secretary N.K. girls and women to partic- income, caste and bonafide It is linked to pro- instruction, district administra- Khaka accompanied by divi- creation and a natural ipate in ‘Pyari Bitiya’ event tion had constituted a team to residences and land demar- sional commissioner G.R. cations were not resolved in process, he added. scheduled on May 28, rescue the villagers. The team Churendra conducted a sur- Women are uncom- across the state organised handed over the villagers to vil- they were taking bath or food, to their native village the stipulated time frame. prise inspection at the office Similarly, they came to fortable to speak about at Health and Wellness lage Sarpanch in presence of the villager said. “We were leading a life of of Sub Divisional Magistrate this natural occurrence Centres. their family members. The owner used to allow bonded labourers,” Roshan said. know that applications (SDM) and Raipur Tehsil under Lok Sewa Guarantee both in urban and rural The girls will be One of the villagers Roshan only one person at a time to go Somehow the district adminis- office on Monday. areas. briefed on hemoglobin and menstrua- Mahar said that they had gone to out. The kiln owner had given tration was informed about our too were not resolved in According to informa- stipulated time. She said, due to periods, adolescent tion including cleanliness . Telangana through one broker them some advance but it was plight, which led to our rescue,” tion the officer duo took girls refrain from moving out of house Prasanta Dash, CFO UNICEF said named Kumar Belpada of not sufficient to meet their day- he pointed out. District adminis- Notable, the CM has note of the pending cases in instructed to step up the and skip schools, and follow age-old there is need for integrated effort to cre- Odisha to work at a brick kiln in to-day expenditures, Mahar said. tration then constituted a joint the courts of SDM, taboos. State government had initiated ate awareness in which media can also Ganganagar. The villager further added team of officials drawn from administrative work and Tehsildar, Additional resolve the pending cases several schemes to create awareness, play a key role. The kiln owner used to that even after completion of the labour, police, women and child Tehsildar and all the Nayab including ‘Suchita’ scheme for school Different events are being organised harass them and keep them work, he did not give the wages development departments and related to common man at Tehsildar of the capital city. the earliest. going girls, installing vending machine on the issue from May 27 to 29, 2019. under constant watch even when and even prevented their return conducted the rescue operation. During the inspection, Two Naxals held, Nehru had awakened national consciousness: Baghel explosives recovered STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR STAFF REPORTER n BIJAPUR t is a false propagation to Acting on a specific “Iblame Nehru for the partition wo Naxals were arrested input about a of the country. Instead, Muslim Tand four improvised explo- League leader Muhammad Ali sive devices (IEDs) were recov- meeting of villagers Jinnah had sown the seeds of parti- ered from their possession in was convened by tion on the basis of religion. Hindu insurgency-hit Bijapur district, Mahasabha leader Vinayak police said here on Monday. Naxals in Lingagiri, Damodar Savarkar also endorsed The ultras were identified Korsaguda and the idea”, said Baghel. as Kowasi Hunga (23) and Baghel was addressing a sym- Kartami Kosa (25). They were Aautpalli village in posium “Nehru Ka Bharat”, held apprehended by a joint team of Basaguda, the here at Congress’s state headquar- security forces near Aautpalli ters Rajiv Bhawan on Monday village under Basaguda police combine squad of morning to mark the death station area, a local police offi- Commando Battalion anniversary of the first prime min- cial said. ister. Acting on a specific input for Resolute Action While delivering the keynote about a meeting of villagers (CoBRA)- an elite address at the symposium Baghel was convened by Naxals in crack unit of the said “It was Nehru who laid the Lingagiri, Korsaguda and foundation of modern India. He Indian National Committee for Noted thinker and writer “Solidarity of the country Talking about present scenario Aautpalli village in Basaguda, CRPF, and local had a foresight and an effective Space Research, (which later Purushottam Agrawal throwing could only be attained if all the sec- and role of the Congress in nation the combine squad of police had launched philosophy, which is well depicted became Indian Space Research light on Nehru’s personality said he tions of the society are united. building, Agrawal said “Congress Commando Battalion for in ‘Discovery of India’ penned by Organization). was ahead of his time and that’s When the society is divided, we is not only fighting a political bat- Resolute Action (CoBRA)- an an operation there him.” It was the vision of Nehru why he could contemplate about a can’t think of progress,” he added. tle but is also engaged in an ideo- elite crack unit of the CRPF, Based on the book, a 53- which led the country towards new era that was to be dawned. Naming a critic of Nehru, logical battle.” and local police had launched switches were recovered from a episode historical drama ‘Bharat becoming a global power,” Baghel It was his foresightedness that Rahul Sankritayan, Agrawal said Home Minister Tamradhwaj an operation there, he said. bag one of them was carrying, Ek Khoj’ was made for the said. became foundation of atomic ener- “Nehruji was never afraid of his Sahu, newly elected Member of On sensing the presence of he added. Doordarshan by Shyam Benegal. Referring to Nehru, he said he gy in India, he said. critics but had appreciated them Parliament Deepak Baij, MLAs security personnel, the two While Hunga was active as “Nehru had a modern was the architect of the "first-ever Criticizing the present day’s time to time for showing him right Satyanarayan Sharma and ultras tried to escape but they janmilitia member, Kosa was approach and was against ortho- national consciousness and politics, Agrawal said leaders of path”. Dhanendra Sahu and a large were apprehended after a short working as Dandakaranya doxy. It was due to his foresighted- national unity". He further added contemporary time were involved Agrawal also remembered number of Congress workers chase, he added. Adivasi Kisan Majdoor ness that he had created institu- that “Nehru took this conscious- in divisive politics and were against Nehru and Gandhi for their contri- were also present on this occasion Four IEDs, couple of deto- Sangthan (DAKMS- a frontal tions like the All India Institute of ness forward and made it an every- taking all the sections together in bution towards women empower- along with distinguished nators, electric wire and wing of the Maoists), he said. Medical Sciences (AIMMS), IITs, day experience for Indians”. the path of progress. ment and gender equality. intellectuals. Swans introduced to revive Marine Drive biodiversity STAFF REPORTER n ponds located within the into the pond. The birds were RAIPUR RMC limits. to be kept for a day in a coop The water in the pond for acclimatisation before round 20 pens (female has been cleaned scientifical- being released into the water. Aswan) and 26 cobs ( male ly using green technology in A special bamboo hut swan) were released in the collaborations with the has been constructed as their Marine Drive (Telibandha Bharat Heavy Electricals nest and resting place in the Pond) on Monday by Raipur Limited (BHEL) and the pond. They would be moni- Municipal Corporation National Environmental tored 24x7 for which three (RMC) and Raipur Smart Engineering Research caretakers have been City Limited (RSCL) to Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, appointed. They would be revive the water body and to he added. providing food and water to maintain its biodiversity. The initiative succeeded the swans. Besides, the birds Shiv Anant Tayal, Raipur in making the sewage treat- will feed on weeds grown in Municipal Corporation ment plant functional since the pond. Creepers and vari- Commissioner and CEO and December 2018, he said. eties of flower plants will be Managing Director, Raipur beautification and revival of Green Tribunal, different He further pointed out planted in an around the Smart City Limited said as the ponds, following the steps have been undertaken that as part of the scheme pond as part of the beautifi- part of the landscaping, directive of the National for reviving bio-diversity of swans are being introduced cation programme. #$ %$ &'(&)*+   # '   )37 )  

& $+)' Vestager, whose Alliance of 8   1 (" )  % Liberals and Democrats  Q)  ++,- + iberals and Greens say they (ALDE) wants her to head the ! !"  % 37 Lhave broken the two centrist new commission.    "    blocs’ grip on power in the ALDE is projected to have ,, ) #/ ) European Parliament based on around 100 seats, making it Paris: If French far-right leader Vatican City: Pope Francis a projected shift in the electoral third in the assembly behind Marine Le Pen gets her wish, Warsaw: Poland’s governing 38.47 per cent and 22 seats for warned Monday against a rise fortunes of the four. some 180 seats for the EPP and her National Rally party, vic- right-wing Law and Justice the liberal European Coalition, of intolerance and racism as far- Liberals and Greens are 152 for the Socialists and torious in the European party (PiS) won European elec- according to official results. right nationalists and euroscep- now pushing harder to snag the Democrats. Parliament election, will force tions, complete official results The progressive Spring tic parties made historic gains head of the European But ALDE and the Greens a dissolution of France’s own showed on Monday, with its party, led by openly gay former in European elections. Commission, the 28-nation also hope to work with the EPP parliament and lure opponents leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski urg- MP and mayor Robert Biedron, “The signs of meanness we EU executive, and shape key and the Socialists to check big to her cause, enlarging her ing a wider victory in the took 6.06 per cent for three see around us heighten our laws, such as on climate change gains by Eurosceptics, pop- base. But there’s one major autumn general ballot. seats while the far-right fear of ‘the other’, the and taxation. ulist and right-wing parties roadblock: French President The PiS took 45.38 per cent Confederation group failed to unknown, the marginalised, The centre-right EPP who could have around 150 Emmanuel Macron. AP of the vote to win 27 of Poland’s cross the five-per cent thresh- the foreigner,” he said in a mes- (European People’s Party) still seats. Though power is set to be 51 seats in the European old required to enter the sage for the World Day of has the most seats, followed by fragmented, the mainstream, ' *)    )      -       ) mining market competition. Parliament compared with European Parliament. AFP Migrants and Refugees. AFP the centre-left Socialists, but the pro-European Union groups       -     &    ' Vestager hailed signals pair no longer control a major- still control the lion’s share of from both the Socialists and the politician said that meant a ity, according to partial and the 751-seat assembly. she served as the anti-trust broken the EPP and Socialist Greens to forge a new kind of “different composition of lead- projected results. Vestager alluded to her commissioner and gained a monopoly the way she stopped coalition “of those who want to ership” of the main institutions, “The monopoly of power is own credentials for the top job reputation for toughness. US hi-tech firms and other take actions progressively to long dominated by the EPP and QRR broken,” said Margrethe on the Commission, where She said EU voters have multinationals from under- change things.” The Danish the Socialists.     8%)  $   ), ,   ,,,,  &0 .' . /(% / *$'  7'( Paris: French police have custody. & ):6+' :6/).0 Labour Party.  8 , 8  "*  1* % arrested a suspect following a Police had launched a large “I’m Labour through and %(" O"   blast in the city of Lyon that manhunt after a device explod- oters in Sunderland in through but you can’t trust  !   ""  9.@9 lenge Trump in next year’s wounded 13 people last week, ed Friday on a busy pedestri- Vnortheast England voiced Labour or Conservatives any  ! (* presidential election. North Interior Minister Christophe an street in the central city. hope on Monday that the more now. They’re just back- !  resident Donald Trump Korea’s Kim Jong Un recently Castaner said Monday. Regional authorities said the 13 Brexit Party’s strong showing in stabbing each other,” he said -  "!  Psaid Monday he is not “per- criticized Biden as having a low Castaner announced the wounded suffered mostly European elections would trig- - a comment on the months of  "* " !" sonally” bothered by recent IQ, and Trump told the world development on Twitter. A minor injuries. ger a quick break with the EU, bickering in the British par-  ! - short-range missile tests that he agreed with the authoritar- statement later from Paris pros- President Emmanuel expressing anger and disbelief liament over Brexit. North Korea conducted this ian leader’s assessment. ecutors, who handle all terror- Macron called the explosion an at Britain’s two main parties. The Brexit Party has said )%*'..)) month, breaking with Japanese The visit was designed to ism-related cases, said a 24- “attack” but no group has The polls delivered major it will seek a better deal with !&((()'  Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, highlight the US-Japan alliance year-old was arrested in claimed responsibility for the losses for both the ruling Brussels than the one negoti- . ,  !"!  who is hosting the president on and showcase the warm rela- Lyon and has been placed in explosion yet. AP Conservatives — who have ated by outgoing Prime ! (!B four-day state visit full of tions between the leaders. twice delayed Britain’s sched- Minister Theresa May but will  "! "   O" pageantry. Trump said he and Abe uled departure from the EU — embrace no-deal if it does not " "  (" Standing beside Trump at short-range missiles pose a deliberated over economic     1)  and the main opposition get one. Several contenders to " ( "    a news conference after hours threat to Japan’s security. issues, including trade and Labour, which has remained replace May have the same  " (!  * of talks, Abe disagreed with the Trump was invited to Japan Iran, during hours of talks at deeply ambiguous over Brexit. position. Sunderland played a ""!   !- US president, saying the mis- to be the first world leader to the Akasaka Palace, but North   ) In the North East region, starring role in Britain’s seismic "! " !  ( sile tests violated UN Security meet with its new emperor. Korea’s recent firing of short- the Brexit Party won 38.7 per decision to leave the European " (  Council resolutions and were Despite being far from range missiles emerged as an  . < :6) remained shut in major cities cent of the vote in last week’s Union in 2016. " "   O"" “of great regret.” Washington, he didn’t miss area of disagreement. while traffic was thin due to the election — its highest result in The city’s 61-per cent vote 8   -  Abe, who has forged a the chance to lob another When asked if he was everal Maoist activists were strike called by the Netra the country. in favour of Brexit during the    <  strong friendship with Trump broadside against former Vice bothered by the missile tests, Sarrested in Nepal as a gener- Bikram Chand (Biplav)-led “The sooner we get out the referendum signalled early on " (  ! and agrees with him on many President Joe Biden, one of the Trump said: “No, I’m not. I am al strike called by an outlawed Communist Party of Nepalto better,” said Stephen James, a where the nation was heading    $$( issues, is concerned because the Democrats seeking to chal- personally not.” communist group on Monday protest against the killing of its 55-year-old council worker in on the night of June 23 and cel- disrupted normal life in the cadre during an encounter a the former shipbuilding city, a ebrations at the count were country, a day after a series of couple of months ago. traditional stronghold for the beamed worldwide. explosions rocked the capital Just a day ahead of the Kathmandu, killing at least four nationwide strike, a series of people. Educational institutions bombs exploded at different . and business establishments parts of the capital city, killing & >+) '

srael’s energy minister said on Monday his Icountry had agreed to enter US-mediated talks with Lebanon on maritime borders that would have an impact on offshore oil and gas explo- ration. Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said in a statement after meeting US State Department official David Satterfield that Israel agreed to move forward with the talks. Lebanese officials said last week that Satterfield, the acting assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs, had informed them that Israel agreed to the negotiations. Israel had not com- mented at the time. Last year, Lebanon signed its first contract to drill for oil and gas in its waters, including for a block disputed by its southern neighbour Israel, with which it has fought several wars.          )  & : : : +5,9

adagascar held parliamentary elections on MMonday in what is being seen as the lat- est round of a bitter feud between President Andry Rajoelina and his longstanding rival Marc Ravalomanana. Beaten to the top job in December, Ravalomanana has been pushing hard in support of candidates of his TIM (“I Love Madagascar”) party, determined to secure a vic- tory in his rivalry with President Rajoelina. The two men have dominated politics since the early 2000s, sometimes cooperating but mostly fighting for advantage and high office. “These elections will define our future for the next five years,” said Rajoelina after voting in the capital Antananarivo. “The candidates who will be elected MPs have the duty not only to pass laws, but also to represent the aspirations of the people.” Ravalomanana also voted in the capital, and he raised allegations of fraud in the presidential election last December. “People are less enthusiastic to vote because of the fraud that has already been noted in pre- vious elections,” he said. #$ %$ &'(&)*+        (-=!   D6%    " -=!  = $3 -08:$!!0.1 -  9 / 0 QR         !O"  (" " "  -<     (      /    " !"   "! "! " "    '     !                            *   "           !" S !   (0          (          !1    1                    "    rime Minister Narendra Modi is    /'        S   accused of making the 2019 gen-    !"    "       eral election a presidential race cen- tred on his formidable personali-                      ty and powerful oratory, thus           0    Pensuring the landslide victory of the        ' (  2    (BJP) 303; NDA 353. However, his principal challenger, Congress   !"     0       chief Rahul Gandhi, made the contest   '             monarchical with his family-driven rhetoric "!"    " *   S   0 and entitlement brigade — scions of politi- cal families close to the Nehru-Gandhis, who      (            owe their eminence to proximity. Rahul    P(     Q !  Gandhi’s closest colleague is sister, Priyanka       +     5   6   Vadra, and his political advisors and men- tors (Digvijay Singh, Sam Pitroda) are also  1-           (  inherited. !"            The Congress was hobbled by this bag-  S  "         gage. In an age of soaring aspirations and quest for equality, it was clueless how to     "        appeal to rural or urban voters, women, ignored by analysts. Fine-tuned to call the post-post alliance elections, the BJP must field      ( S   "  youth, farmers, traders, entrepreneurs and and implemented with greater before the pre-poll pact. They leaders with an electoral base                professionals among others. Decision-mak- vigour in 2019, it is being cast aspersions on the integrity and shun paratroopers who ing within the party has shrunk to closed maligned as the rise of “majori- of the Electronic Voting ruined the party in 2015.       % P  Q "   door meetings with unknown membership tarianism.” Western newspapers Machines (EVM) even after Modi has promised cooper-       52       and little regular communication with the and their Indian echo chambers dodging a previous challenge by ation to the new Governments (   !"    "        rank and file. In contrast, BJP president Amit are warning of danger to minor- the Election Commission to of Odisha, Sikkim, Andhra Shah kept the party on its toes round the year ity groups. Yet none of these < $>%O publicly demonstrate that the Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh;             ( and gave tasks to every booth worker. eminences ever criticised minor- machines could be hacked. they will naturally reciprocate in   "    "        The result of the lustreless campaign is ity religious leaders, who asked )' @5: Sadly, former President Pranab Parliament. For India as a whole,    " +      evident in the collapse of the political blue- their flocks not to vote for the <585:&< Mukherjee joined this chorus some urgent priorities include     "     !"   blooded: Rahul Gandhi (Amethi), Sheila BJP, thus tampering with the free and blotted his copybook. updating the National Register Dikshit, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Milind Deora, will of voters and perverting the '9+ ' The truth is that EVMs of Citizens, passing the   " " ( S        Jitin Prasad, Salman Khurshid, Ajay Maken, democratic system.  %'  ; @ cannot be tampered without Citizenship Amendment Bill to " (      '        Kumari Shailja, Priya Dutt, Meira Kumar, Simply put, Modi has physically handling each protect Hindus fleeing persecu-  "   "             Vaibhav Gehlot, Manvendra Singh, RPN removed the minority veto in the 8+9 < machine (which is impossible). tion or instability in the neigh- Singh, Ashok Chavan, Bhupendra Hooda polity, a Nehruvian aberration :<+),5 : Each machine is an independent bourhood, giving equal rights to   -! 0      !" S      and son Deependra Hooda and Kirti Azad. that denied equality to the myr- recording device with no inter- Hindu refugees languishing in      2  S      Indeed, hereditary politicians fared badly iad groups comprising the non- % + 65& 98 net connection and cannot be Jammu and Kashmir and scrap-  "   !"               across State-based political parties, virtual- monolithic Hindu community. hacked via internet/Wi-Fi. The ping the discriminatory Right to ly a guillotine by ballot box. Henceforth, minorities, like oth- 68 )' )'5 VVPAT trail found no discrep- Education Act or applying its    (       "  The more disturbing news for Congress ers, must vote as individuals on ,9$ :.%') ancies. Anyway, Chandrababu provisions equally.             !"      is that it has been reduced to a fringe party, the issues of the day – national- %+5:.'5:&98 Naidu vanished after the TDP’s Above all, Modi must give   (     % ( )  " with a decent presence only in Punjab and ism, terrorism, farmer distress, rout; Trinamool Congress chief priority to the economy by Kerala. It drew a blank in Arunachal budget and employment among  985'' Mamata Banerjee was chas- securing investments and   !" )  1 % ") 7)1%)8     Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, others. The ancien régime, tened. At its working committee increasing the pace of infrastruc- +    )1%)      52(  Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and which pressured citizens to “vote <'9+ ' meeting, the Congress agreed ture development. Agriculture         !" 2 (      Kashmir, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, your caste/community”, while .5@9; +6 not to question the EVMs. needs a rethink outside the dis- Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, lampooning them for doing so, In Jammu and Kashmir, credited paradigm of costly fer- !"     "        #  Uttarakhand, Daman Diu, Dadra Nagar has made way for “vote your 9+5:')5, the National Conference won tilisers, pesticides and depleted               Haveli, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar nation/issue”. This caused the ,9+ Anantnag (Hasnain Masoodi), water tables. The growing health   !"     P    Q  Islands and Chandigarh. A comeback would rout of the Samajwadi Party Baramulla (Akbar Lone) and consciousness in society will take a miracle. Meanwhile, the BJP vote share despite its pact with the Bahujan % +55% 59:- Srinagar (Farooq Abdullah) and make organic farming feasible '     "      2     rose to over 50 per cent in several States. Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh. <%+9 the BJP won Jammu (Jugal and remunerative.          The Left collapsed with the Congress, The Congress won only Sonia Kishore), Udhampur (Jitendra Modi’s victory marks a tec- "     (      "!"  given its deep symbiotic relationship. The Gandhi’s seat, which means $& :5:EB Singh) and Ladakh (J.T. tonic shift in the history of the Leftist stranglehold over the media got Priyanka Vadra (who failed to $);  Namgyal). The People’s republic. Unlike Rahul Gandhi,  " 1 "    "     huge coverage for Kanhaiya Kumar (CPI, retain Amethi) may not win Rae Democratic Party’s rout is a who embodied elected monar-   (2 " 1     !"       Begusarai, Bihar), who was trounced. But Bareli if Sonia Gandhi vacates it. ' +&'@ message to the BJP to fulfill its chy and had little to offer the cit- "  ( !"         public fatigue with the Left’s shrill and neg- With hindsight, it seems 5&:9+6$@ promise to abolish Articles 370 izen, Modi wove city and chau-           " (   ative rhetoric caused its fall from 59 seats in amusing that Sonia Gandhi, and 35-A, which only needs a pal together in a grand narrative 2004, 26 in 2009, 10 in 2014 and five in 2019; Sharad Pawar and Telugu : '@ Presidential order and political of nationalism, national resur-     0         recovery is unlikely. Desam Party’s Chandrababu will. In Assembly elections later gence and regeneration. He may              Modi’s success lay in shifting the electoral Naidu were so oblivious of the this year, if a coalition is neces- have seemed presidential but the template away from the Nehruvian paradigm simmering Modi wave that they sary, the BJP must cut a deal spirit was republican. of default Muslim vote bank plus sprinkling proposed a grand Opposition equal to that crafted by the (The writer is Senior Fellow, of castes to fill the electoral kitty towards alliance in the event of BJP-NDA Congress when it gave the Chief Nehru Memorial Museum and !)%  %  more inclusive voter participation. The failing to win a clear majority Minister’s post to Omar Library; the views expressed are process began in 2014 but was largely and even wanted the President Abdullah. In Delhi Assembly personal) 0 123         S      )%"  !   5 &  * " ! 5 !!"   55         "---EB *EBF !EBG  "(*   " ! 11   (" "-    5" 5 ! "* !  (   .       "*" ! -   (-   

        !"!  *    !!&   8 *""      ! " !           EB  -  "-; " -   ( ! -   ("-               %3  4 9 3 : 0    !      K:  !  ! K&& K " .   K      "    # $                                   % Q  sor who occupies 10 Downing     street.          "      Bal Govind    &     Sir —There is no doubt that the "  "   ! *  !" !- "! Noida     '         (  Modi magic did wonders this L+O" (  M/ EF0- " 3N !! election. How else can one  " !      B?   "    "  !    )"( S  "   !     explain the fact that a terror- :6 1!$>%"" ! !!"-         '         accused won by a huge margin?    9" -  2  " ""** "*   S           Even though the Prime Minister " !$>%""  !   !  !   Sir — This refers to the editori- made his communal agenda   !""1 "" !   al, “What’s next for Britain" (May     (          plain, it did not affect the poll "!"   1   ""-( 27). British Prime Minister                  results. BJP chief Amit Shah’s "*  !   2! "(  !  Theresa May tried thrice to bro-          organisational skills, too, had % 1$2  2! %   " (   $(    ker a Brexit deal but could not their impact. People seem to  *   " ! !   - 8  * !     " " -5!!" "1 make it since the proposals were %!    +          believe that Narendra Modi is   ""  !!  " 1  " "   " time and again rejected by the            some kind of a messiah who can   !  !L    M   ! !!  -;  "" "!  (! Parliament. Parliamentarians    %       solve all their problems. A study  "! ! "    """       !!    *"!"  themselves are divided about the by the Centre for the Study of   (   !    ""*  ( !-$" "   !! - country’s EU exit. May had to quit O          Developing Societies found that ! " !"   "1   """"   "-5"! due to mounting pressure from         (  nearly one-third of the people  " "-  "   "" "- her party. Her stepping down has,         %    who voted for the BJP did so in +& !    "  1 901 however, put the country into support of Modi rather than the " !*! !  uncharted waters. Being a sea-     "    '     party or the local candidate. soned politician her quitting is '   !" %    In a bitter and divisive cam- quite unfortunate. She now leaves ( ( S  "       - paign, Modi effortlessly created caste and class. massive divide between the peo- Theresa May tried her best to sal- the job to her successor. Britain’s                  binaries — nationalists versus Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee ple across the society, no one vage the situation and handle new leader will have to contend anti-nationalists, the watchman Faridabad knows what lies ahead and what Brexit well but probably damage with an adamant Europe and dis- ' %            versus the entitled and the cor- should be done. Some support no was too big to be sorted out. illusioned, exhausted citizens.            rupt and so on — that eclipsed     deal at all, others still hope no Around 1.3 million British are liv- Let’s wait to see how Britain )"(         the other failures of his Brexit at all. The best option, ing in 27 European countries makes the EU exit with or with- Government. Of course, the however, is to go back to the EU while 3.8 millions EU citizens are out an agreement.             * bountiful coffers of the BJP — Sir—This refers to the edito- and seek better terms. If not, then living in Britain. Their interests NR Ramachandran                funded by secret donations — rial, “What’s next for Britain” it’s better to stay put as Britain in need to be taken into account. Chennai       .      helped his cause. This majority (May 27). By agreeing to leave the EU is a far better proposition for The nations’ interest must not be verdict proves that Modi has an European Union (EU), Britain the rest of the world. compromise. Hopefully better !   )+ .    appeal that cut across barriers of inflicted self-harm. With such a British Prime Minister sense will prevail with the succes-  9 :0 9;18 48 #$ %$ &'(&)*+  "" #     $ %  , ),  ), %   %  /   % )-//'/)-() // '*(/*$-//( '/ ,,-  *(% ))(- (( * / '(*  /()*= *;* * ()( / ) '(**( *3(*% * & $/(( 3% ' / =/ 6.        !" L($$ L    * " ""    * "" %%   *(-   " ("("

21 & 324R1 9:;         52 9<:: =::::   "  *(         <:9;      <:9>9?1          <;                   %            1( "  @( %        1           "         "    "   (     (                  1 # 1   #  " 21        (   ) 1    " + 6       must admit to being gobsmacked when the        "   % 9 election results gathered momentum and the                     inevitable stared me in the face. @ +$        Disappointment would be a severe under-       A+        statement, I was completely devastated. The Inumbers seemed unreal, fictitious, as the BJP     (            counter clocked above 300 while that of the +      (         Congress party plateaued around 50. A historic B<:C   <:9? B=<   <:9;%    mandate, screamed one channel; an unprecedent-       CD0      ed landslide, suggested another. For once, their egre-    2  #  7 2 #8 gious hyperbole was not misplaced. Prime Minister          (   Narendra Modi had made a triumphant return, and (     "(  2 # in fact, bettered his previous performance of 2014       E@!%    of 282 seats. I say Modi’s victory and not that of       =F '   =: the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or the National      >D   % Democratic Alliance (NDA) that he represents <% +@;5'' because essentially general elections 2019 became < ,9      (         like a US presidential contest, where a personali-  2 # (             ty-centric pitch overwhelmed compelling issues +5:,:< <:<:             that most thought would be the determining fac- %9'55 '          tors affecting voter sentiment. That was not to be. 659)+* tion battle had now become a competi- that intimidated Islamabad. Ghar Me election, and of the reshaping of India.   There are reports that many voters did not even ;<5' tive one. And Modi was feeling the Ghus Ghus Ke Maroonga (I will enter The Congress party will have to        %E S    know the name of the Lok Sabha candidate they N5 55:&5 cracks. The farming community was fac- each and every home and kill them all) aggressively defend the Indian     "2( 2(      were voting for; just the lotus symbol on the EVM :9+ 9) ing diminishing incomes due to falling was his thundering pomposity that Constitution, which is being systemati-            machine was sufficient motivation. Not unexpect- <) : ': procurement and lower prices while sought to resurrect his attenuated 56” cally annihilated by ridiculing its quin-   ($    FD     edly, Congress was facing the predictable onslaught )++:'@ Modi dilly-dallied on Minimum Support machismo. People whistled and clapped tessential credo. It is an ideological war          /     of acerbic scrutiny marinated with dollops of unre- %+89+ 5:&  Prices. The agrarian crisis is an alarm- like they once did watching Amitabh where BJP’s enterprise clever- strained sarcasm; is the party now facing an irre- ing reality and a pandemic problem. Bachchan bash up goons in ly disguised through cultural nationalism       +.+2%527+ . "+ 2  '9; Deewaar. versible terminal decline? Did NYAY (the India’s storied demographic dividend has The new global authoritarian leader is getting fresh tailwinds. First, the BJP % 5 28      2 # +.+ Minimum Income Guarantee scheme) fail to per- %+96)5,5@9: become an onerous liability, as we are is now an elected autocrat who presides trivialised communal harmony by creat- 2%52            colate down to the last mile? Was the campaign 9):98 confronted with an epic catastrophe on over an illiberal democracy. For him the ing the term pseudo-secular, and now the    2 #         strategy flawed ? Was the Congress party unable $)+ )+ 5 job creation. The macro-economic fun- most marketable weapon is fear; Indian liberal is called an Urban Naxal.                 to answer Modi’s rhetorical fusillade of the Grand <9'+9'5: damentals are a manifestation of an econ- Islamophobia is popular political curren- The Saffron Project is to gradually infil-           "  Old Party being soft on terror? Some partially saf- 5 omy in virtual stagnation. cy. An enemy at the border is usually trate institutions and convert impression-                 fronised TV anchors could barely conceal their 9+& :5 59: ' Demonetisation, which was nothing enough. Modi found one at home too. able Indians through religious chauvin-   %      2(  schadenfreude when mocking the Congress pres- +))+- but an atrocious hocus-pocus econom- His speech at Wardha, Maharashtra, lam- ism. The Congress faces an arduous chal- 2(      ident Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. For many of us, 5:+: ' ics and the clumsy execution of Goods basted Rahul Gandhi for contesting lenge given BJP’s propaganda machine,           it was a dark dismal nightmare. We have seen it 659+& :5 59: and Services Tax (GST) had plundered from Wayanad in Kerala because it was social media troll army and the  %            before in 2014. But this one hurt a lot more. 595:&< the informal economy, pauperising mil- a Hindu-minority parliamentary con- WhatsApp fake news manufacturing The BJP has indulged in asymmetrical warfare lions in its wake. India’s GDP appears stituency. This was scare-mongering, and capabilities. The party is up against a 7<:9F9>8     ." with a bountiful treasury, chaperoned by a capti- % +@6 +-55 manipulated and government data when an “othering” of the fellow Indian. A nasty adversary that has altered the rules '            vated mainstream media and backed by rent-seek- 5 9 . unpalatable to Modi ( like the job num- Prime Minister takes an oath on India’s of the game. Playing within the BJP’s  )        ing corporate behemoths who are opportunistic $9'6%+ & 5 bers) have been unceremoniously Constitution to embody its consecrated comfort zone will be like trying to              accessories with big ticket deals to formalise. The +5.*$ dumped. The latest figures on the auto- principles in his impartial political con- defeat Rafael Nadal on red clay at the  ('7<:9;8  traditional template of political contestations ):%+65 $' mobile industry sales show a conspicu- duct; Modi cast them aside, making his French Open. There is only one option;             stood completely upended by the time the victor :6%+ 5 ous downward trend and the manufac- preferred religious choice publicly force your opponent to a surface where               '' was formally announced. So where does the %9'55 ' turing sector appears to be in rigor-mor- known. It was dog-whistle politics. As the the ball skids faster and the grass is green.             E  Congress party go from not aggregating even 100 %' 55@- tis. The stressed assets in the banking sec- votes closed in on May 23, it was clear The Congress party will have to rein-   "          Lok Sabha seats in two consecutive elections, while <+599 tor are kissing some dark clouds. Sum Modi's stratagem worked. And how. vent the political discourse, while simul-  2 # "        up against a formidable monstrosity that has made )<  .- and substance, a rejuvenated and resolute In 2014, there were large billboards taneously maximising its enormous winning elections its raison d’etre? To understand Rahul Gandhi and a faltering economy in Marine Drive, Mumbai that had human talent currently performing at low          that, first we need to know what really happened. 55 $ ' had Modi outwitted, foxed. Then Modi vaingloriously promoted as a productivity on account of bureaucrat-                Modi and BJP president Amit Shah had clear- <  )$ Pulwama happened. Hindu Hriday Samrat. This time the BJP ic cholesterol in its organisational struc-              ly recognised the clear and present danger follow- ;9:- For a man who sold the “develop- chose another Hindutva icon, Sadhvi ture. Internal disorganisation is costing   1        ing the Congress party wins in the State elections ment” spiel in 2014, Modi calculatedly Pragya Singh Thakur. The political mes- the party dear, as was expressed by the                   of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan dumped his flaky past promises which saging behind the questionable choice Congress president himself. There is "  "   1    in December 2018. This electoral adversity followed have been nothing but embarrassing sna- was unambiguous; even a terror-accused tremendous energy that needs to be lib-             the sledgehammer blow in Karnataka when the fus such as 2 crore jobs per annum, the allegedly responsible for a bomb blast that erated for the great struggle ahead. It is '            Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) formed the govern- obliteration of black money, doubling of killed six persons in Malegaon and time to take bold pragmatic risks, be            ment, by checkmating the BJP’s Chanakya. farm incomes and creation of monochro- injured several from the minority com- unpredictable and practise political plas-         1  Rahul Gandhi was seeing stratospheric traction on matic smart cities, among a few. Post the munity was kosher. Modi was legitimis- ticity. There is too much at stake. It is a social media, and his relentless assault on Modi on terror attack at Pulwama and the Balakot ing an orchestrated violent attack, even battle that must be won.  "         the Rafale corruption scandal, had created a pop- counter-strike, Modi had found his 2019 proposing to give the controversial can- Rahul Gandhi correctly said that the              ular leitmotif of Chowkidar Chor Hai. Frequent trumpcard; muscular nationalism. This didate a haloed seat in the Parliament. It 2019 election was a battle for India’s soul.       &       interactions with different sections of people became for him what the Kargil war was was an abject low even by BJP’s polaris- That soul is today splintered into        "      without a pre-arranged script, impromptu press for former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee. The ing standards. But there it was. For smithereens. But the soul is indestruc-         "     conferences and a refreshingly honest politician, heart-stopping capture of Wing Thakur, Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin tible. And it will find its voice again.      who talked compassionate politics, had the toxic Commander Abhinandan and his sub- Nathuram Godse was a patriot. Thakur’s (The author is a national spokesper-            BJP nonplussed. Despite a prodigiously jaundiced sequent release by Pakistan were seized electoral victory from Bhopal on May 23 son of the Indian National Congress       media that was sand-bagging Modi, the percep- by Modi as his own superman prowess is perhaps the defining moment of this party. The views are his own.) $  '                                           !   "

around the Indus are known to have of Haryana and Rajasthan that evi- ogous to the ancient Mihran Hakra of water in the area, which may have been pillaged by contractors for brick dence would be attempted to be col- System. The other cities of the changed course due to an earthquake. ballast to build a portion of the Lahore lected to ascertain whether the civil- Saraswati era were Kapishthala That the Sutlej was earlier joined railway in the later half of the nine- isation around the Saraswati was an (Kaithal), Sonaprastha or Sonepat and to the Ghaggar-Saraswati system is '99. <%+: teenth century. extension of the Indus valley or vice Paniyaprastha or Panipat. also borne out from a legend in the Archaeological evidence shows versa. Reports of the appearance of Mahabharata, where it is mentioned  " " that Indus was highly prone to floods The mythical Saraswati River, sweet water in certain dry areas of that Vashistha threw himself into the   (* " """ 33 and frequent changes of course. As the which is now extinct, has found Kutch after the earthquake also led to Sutlej to commit suicide. The "   *" sister river to the Indus, the Mihran wide mention in the Puranas and a revival of interest in the archaeolo- Saraswati might have been a myth for   ! ! iver valleys over the centuries also carried large volumes of water ancient Indian history. The Skanda gy of the Indus Valley and the impact some but satellite imagery clearly  !" ! have cradled and nurtured along a course parallel and eastwards Purana mentions that the Kanyakubja of tectonic movements on the river shows that such a river system did Rsome famous civilisations. For of Indus. But over the millennia, the Mahadesh of Bhoja, comprising 36 systems. It is widely believed that the exist in line with the present day  (!* obvious reasons, this pattern has Mihran has ceased to exist, so also the lakh villages, extended up to Saraswati river system may have Ghaggar, and had a very wide basin " " "  continued and even today most of the towns on its banks. In later studies, Kurukshetra and Saraswati. In the become dry on account of one such right up to the Rann of Kutch. " " !" large cities continue to flourish on the the Mihran came to be identified with Rigveda, a river course has been men- upheaval. There is sufficient data to Another interesting feature of the "J   * river banks. Excavations and discov- Hakra as well as the Saraswati (also tioned, which now corresponds to the show that the original course of the ancient history of this area is the spec- eries undertaken by Sir Mortimor extinct). Saraswati and Ghaggar. The Saraswati only to appear again at Barakhera. At Sutlej was to follow a southward flow ulation on the possible linkage  !  1; ""J Wheeler during the earlier decades of Recent (May 2019) excavations has been mentioned as a mighty river Urnai, near Pehova, (ancient from Ropar (Punjab) towards the between the Harappan civilisation    " the last century unravelled the secrets reported from Ganweriwala indicate from the pre-Vedic times. By the time Prithudaka), it is joined by the Ghaggar, the two coming together and the Gangetic plain. Is it that the "!    of the Indus Valley civilisation hith- the town to have been located on the the Manusmriti and the Mahabharata Markanda stream. At Sirsa (ancient near Shatrana in Sangrur district and river Saraswati could provide the  " 2!-" erto lying buried under centuries of banks of old river Hakra, often cited came to be written, it had already Sairishka), it is joined by Drishavadi then flowing towards Kutch. The missing link? Only forthcoming "! ( "1 history. as the mythical Saraswati. There has developed its present character. Manu or Chitang. sharp bend and a directional change research would be able to decipher We may have known about the been a renewed interest in the recent calls the place where it disappears as The area between the Saraswati at Ropar, which is extremely unusu- this centuries-old secret whether     Indus Valley civilisation much earli- years in river Saraswati, as the depart- Vinasana. The Mahabharata states and Drishadvati is known to be the al considering the flat terrain, may Saraswati was originally joined by !   " er had the original discoveries by ment of culture has initiated a project that after disappearing, the river sacred land of Brahmavarta, the appear to have been possible on Sutlej or by river Yamuna, both these  "   ""! Charles Mason, a noted archaeologist for research on satellite imagery to reappeared at three places. It disap- home of the Vedic rishis. After disap- account of a tectonic uplift. This may rivers having changed course cen-    " in the 1820s, been given more serious ascertain and chart out the entire pears in sands near the village of pearing, the dry bed reappears south have led to the ultimate drying up of turies ago.  ""- consideration. It may come as a sur- route of this ancient river. It would be Chalaur and reappears at Bhavanipur. of Rohri and runs parallel to the Indus the Ghaggar-Saraswati system as (The writer is a former prise but some of the Harappan sites in the general area of the present states At Ballchapart, it again disappears, into the Arabian Sea, which is anal- Sutlej was the only perennial source Commissioner of Police, Delhi) /! 0  ( ) #$ %$ &'(&)*+

!!   %  #45%%3 * &       O   P  !+P ) 

 > 5%)+   %  clemency from the British   ""&   "! point agenda of insulting hero- Godse on January 30, 1948, less Government in 1910-11. ( "   ic characters and eulogising than a year after India gained ormer Rajasthan education In a series of tweets on "! !  -$"! only one family. In response, independence from Britain. Fminister Vasudev Devnani Monday, Devnani said the State  O" ! "* Rajasthan Education Minister The revision of textbooks on Monday flayed the State Government should take inspi- !   "!"   Govind Singh Dotasara said the not only drew flak from the     Congress Government for ration from former Prime +!, (6! changes were made by the Opposition but also from a affixing “son of Portugal” to Minister Indira Gandhi who  (   !! " experts committee. couple of leaders in the ruling RSS ideologue Vinayak had described Savarkar $>%&   “What can I say? A com- Congress. * > 5%)+ Damodar’s description in Class as the “byword for daring and mittee of experts have written The panel had recom- X social science textbooks. patriotism.” it based on authenticity and mended the removal of a pic- ays after the National Recently, the Congress The former Prime Minister 5   "* their recommendations. I can ture suggesting self-immolation DDemocratic Alliance Government constituted a text- had called Savarkar “a classical  !  only say that whatever has under Sati or Jauhar from a (NDA) scripted a resounding book revision committee in the revolutionary and countless :* ("" N, O ( O"  been written in the textbooks Class VIII English textbook. victory in the Lok Sabha elec- school education department. people drew inspiration from   ! ( ! (" !  have been written based on the It was replaced with that of a tions, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Based on the committee’s find- him”, Devnani said. !" !""L"   "", ( recommendations of educa- hill fort. Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan ings, the department revised a “Former Prime Minister % M "(  6!  (  tionists,” Dotasara told PTI. “We need to understand Bhagwat said that “Ram ka short biography of RSS ideo- Indira Gandhi recognised and   $ " L!""""  M In other changes, the com- the practice of Jauhar. Without kaam karna hai, Ram ka kaam logue Vinayak Damodar hailed the legacy of great free- &   GB1 & ! mittee removed the prefix understanding the sensitive ho kar hi rahega (Ram’s work Savarkar introduced by the dom fighter Veer Savarkar. ‘Veer’ from Savakar’s name in issue, any leader, be it from the needs to be done and Ram’s previous BJP Government. The then Government had personal account to Savarkar The former State Minister the textbooks and it now refers Congress or the BJP, should work will be done).” for the construction of Ram Now, in the textbooks it is issued a commemorative stamp Trust and ordered the Films said calling the freedom fight- to him as Vinayak Damodar refrain from making a state- Bhagwat made the com- temple in Ayodha, and had mentioned Savarkar had on Veer Savarkar in 1970. Division to produce a docu- er “son of Portugal” is an insult. Savarkar who “plotted assassi- ment,” said State Transport ments during his visit to asked the Narendra Modi-led described himself as “son of “Indira Gandhi had donat- mentary on his life,” Devnani He alleged the Congress nation” of Mahatma Gandhi, Minister Pratap Singh Udaipur on Sunday for a government to hasten the Portugal” when seeking ed a sum of Rs 11,000 from her tweeted. Government had the single- who was killed by Nathuram Khachariyawas. “mandir pran pratishtha” pro- process of temple construction. gramme in Pratap Gaurav The Ram Temple has been on Kendra, where he was accom- the BJP manifesto since 2014. +, &- . panied by spiritual leader Morari Bapu. 6 )   )$7 ( /+"  The programme was first addressed by Morari Bapu. " . 0-  Speaking on the occasion, he said, “Since centuries this coun- 6 %( ,  try has been chanting the name of lord Ram. Today the coun- 0 Guwahati: Incumbent Pema try is passing through such cir- Khandu will be sworn in as cumstances that we need to 0  & :&9. take care of their health and Arunachal Pradesh Chief think of doing Ram’s work Lucknow: Rashtriya Swayam- that of their parents and fam- Minister on Wednesday after the too. It makes me happy to see sewak Sangh (RSS) chief ewly-appointed Sikkim ily members, he said. State BJP won the recent Ram’s name written on the Mohan Bhagwat’s support for a NChief Minister PS Golay The Chief Minister also Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. youth’s hands.” grand Ram temple in Ayodhya on Monday announced a five- announced his Ministers and The BJP legislature party in Soon after his address, has evoked a sharp reaction day working week for State MLAs, including himself, will Arunachal Pradesh has elected Bhagwat said, “We should from the Muslim clergy. Government employees. use Scorpio vehicles instead of Khandu as their leader during a remember the message given Maulana Khalid Rashid After taking charge of the Fortuner SUVs which were meeting on Monday. Later, by Morari Bapu. Ram’s work Firangi Mahali, Imam of office at Tashiling state secre- being used by the elected rep- Khandu accompanied by legis- needs to be done and Ram’s Eidgah and a well known Sunni tariat, he also held a meeting resentatives earlier. lator and former Deputy Chief work will be done. Ram resides cleric, said. “It is not right to with top Government officials. “For the time being we Minister Chowna Mein and in our hearts. We all need to be make such statements when the Talking to reporters after have no option but to use state BJP chief and MP Tapir active and move ahead to ful- matter is in the Supreme Court. interacting with senior officials, Fortuner SUVs, but we will use Gao called on State Governor fil our goals.” The mediation process is also Golay said there will be Scorpio vehicles once they are Brig BD Mishra at Raj Bhavan Bhagwat was on a four-day on under the court supervision. five-day working week made available to us,” Golay in Itanagar and staked claim to trip to Udaipur since Friday to “Muslims are waiting for a for the Government employees said. The SKM supremo had form the next Government. attend the RSS-run ‘Sangh decision and the Hindu leaders in Sikkim. earlier accused the SDF gov- Khandu informed the Shiksha Seva II’ training camp. should also exercise patience. “We have fulfilled one of ernment headed by his prede- Governor about the meeting Soon after landing in Such statements will only serve our election promises to reduce cessor PK Chamling for “mis- consisting of 41 elected members Udaipur airport on Friday, to create controversy and panic.” the working week for using public money”. of Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Bhagwat told the media, “Aa Shia cleric Maulana Yasoob Government employees from Golay said the money Assembly from the BJP and gaayi hai sarkar wapas (The Abbas said that since matter is six days earlier to five days,” he saved on using less expensive said 40 members have unani- government is back).” sub-judice, leaders of both com- said. The Government employ- vehicles like Scorpio will be mously elected him as their Even before the Lok Sabha munities should refrain from             ! ++  ( + ) 0!(1    !  $    ees will get an additional day as used for betterment of the leader in seventh Legislative elections, the RSS had pitched making statements. IANS        ! ++      2 2)%  * !  %   +%    $ holiday which they will use to people of Sikkim. Assembly of the State. IANS /  )85 + ))  +)) ,) Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh other Bangladeshis and make station on Sunday. “During “During interrogation, they 79 Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) has fake documents (used for iden- interrogation, it was revealed said they had unsuccessfully arrested six Bangladeshi citi- tity) such as Aadhaar cards and that all of them were residents tried to go to Pakistan by zens for allegedly preparing ration cards. Based on these of Bangladesh, who were living crossing the barbed-wire fence. fake passports using false doc- fake documents, they used to in India on the basis of fake doc- Their Pakistan-based accom- uments, an official said on even get their passports made,” uments. A case has been regis- plices had told them to sneak Monday. Asim Arun, Additional tered against them and they into Pakistan with the help of 45 The accused were arrested Director General of Police, UP have been arrested,” Arun said. an electric tester to find out from Agra. “The UP ATS was ATS, said in a statement. He added the data whether current was flowing getting information that some He added the six retrieved from the accused through the fence. Four testers Bangladeshis, living illegally Bangladeshi nationals were revealed that they had also vis- were seized from their posses- in Uttar Pradesh, used to call picked up from the Agra railway ited Punjab and Rajasthan. sion,” the officer said. PTI

( +       3# (%    #     %                        &%    $

!)   )       -#  )  ( +  2 #(%      )      $

* > ) situation, army’s bomb dis- posal squad launched its oper-  4!   --$% ecurity forces averted a ation following SOP and after Smishap on Monday by time- hour long exercise, the said sus- ly detecting a suspected impro- pected IED material was vised explosive device (IED) destroyed on the spot thereby  )   near Kallar chowk along averting any possible mishap”, Jammu-Poonch highway in police spokesman added. frontier Rajouri district. Traffic on the busy road was *)% Sabha when election is due on According to spokesman of restored to clear the rush of July 2019. Vaiko is expected to the J&K Police, “a road opening stranded vehicles. % * make life difficult for the rul- party (ROP) of the Army first Senior superintendent of ing dispensation at the Centre. detected the suspected IED police, Rajouri, Yougal Manhas  ;  He had already assured the lying near Kallar Chowk along- said that timely action by the people that he would make the side the highway that connects alert jawans of army ROP avert-  !%% Centre agree to exempt Tamil Rajouri district with Jammu”. ed any untoward incident. Nadu from the National Police spokesman said, He also clarified that during . '/ ))* Eligibility and Entrance Test “during close examination, a initial investigation of the mat- <:: 5 (NEET) , the qualifying exam- bottle filled with liquid mater- ter, it has come to fore that no ination for dmission to under ial and a polybag filled with banned explosive material was hough the Narendra Modi- graduate and post graduate some solid material was found. present in the suspicious object Tled NDA Government at courses in the country’s med- The ROP immediately flashed found along highway in Rajouri. the Centre has a comfortable ical colleges. an alert and traffic was halted on “It seems that some mis- majority in the Lok Sabha, the Vaiko has already “fired” both sides of the road to prevent creant placed a suspicious object Tamil Nadu brigade led by the warning shots by asking the any untoward incident”. in a disintegrated form to give DMK is all set to make life dif- Prime Minister to ensure the “After senior army and it the shape of an IED to create ficult for the ruling party. safety f the minority commu- police officers, took stock of the social disorder”, he added. The Secular Progressive nities in the country. He con- Alliance (SPA) led by the DMK demned the BJP and Modi for has 37 members and it is expect- the attack on a couple belong- ed to win the rescinded Vellore ing to the minority communi- Lok Sabha as and when it is ty at Bhopal allegedly by cow held making the rally to 38. vigilantes. Adding headache to “We were able to sustain the the Modi government would be anti-Modi campaign throughout Thol Thirumavalavan, the the last few years abd in every VCK leader who scraped nook and corner of the State,” through from Chidambaram said RS Bharati, Rajya Sabha constituency by a margin of member as well as the organis- 3,219 votes, the smallest mar- ing secretary of the DMK. gin in Tamil Nadu. The immediate target of the The southern bench is a DMK is winning the Local myriad combination of youth Body elections in Tamil Nadu as and experience. MK Kanimozhi, and when they are held . “This former DNK chief will be precursor to the assem- Karunanidhi’s daughter by his bly election to be held in 2021 third wife, Dayanidhi Maran, which we are sure to sweep,” Karunanidhi’s grand nephew, A said a senior party leader. Hence Raja, the 2G spectrum fame for- the DMK and its allies would mer Union Minister, Tamizhachi keep the heat going on against Thangapandian who was the Modi government in both Karuinanidhi’s beloved disciple Houses of Parliament. and Kalanidhi Veersamy, son of The DMK has promised to former DMK minister Arcot nominate Vaiko, the MDMK Veerasamy are the leading lights leader as a member of Rajya in the DMK array.  ( 1 #$ %$ &'(&)*+

#$%  %3  %  9R  $:& ')+) Tumkur. BJP leaders have pre- were unhappy with the State the BJP for some time, even 8&  R  dicted the collapse of the Government. threatening to resign, along ormer Prime Minister and Congress-JD(S) coalition in The Deve Gowda-Rao with a few other lawmakers. FJD(S) supremo HD Deve Karnataka and an increase in meeting comes amid coalition The Congress has con-  % : Gowda had a discussion with the saffron party’s tally in the worries and discontent within vened a meeting of its legisla- Karnataka Congress chief Assembly after the Lok Sabha the Congress, with its MLA ture party on Wednesday to he simmering discontent in Dinesh Gundu Rao on poll results, claiming Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has discuss the political develop- TRJD has come to the fore Monday, following the com- that 20-odd Congress MLAs been rubbing shoulders with ments in the southern State. following its rout in Lok Sabha bine’s rout in the just-conclud- election with a senior party leg- ed Lok Sabha election. islator Maheshwar Prasad After the meeting that last-  '  !  % Yadav on Monday asking ed for over an hour, Rao told Tejashwi Yadav to resign from reporters that Deve Gowda had Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Centre and not for ‘toppling’ on Saturday, he sought to know the post of Leader of asked him to come home to dis- Chief Minister Siddaramaiah the State Government. which article in the Constitution Opposition taking moral cuss various issues. He, howev- The Congress and the Janata on Monday asserted that the “Yeddyurappa has been gave the BJP the right to topple responsibility of the drubbing. er, refused to divulge what tran- Dal (Secular) only managed to JDS-Congress Government saying for the past one year the a State Government. Alleging that parivarwad +22(- (   45 , (0"6- " spired between the former win one seat each of the 28 in was a ‘strong’ one and ridiculed Government will fall. He will Siddaramiah said the out- (family politics) has cost the 0 "((-+ (, "(7% -+"-  " '  7 Prime Minister and him. Karnataka, while the BJP won 25 State BJP president BS continue to say the same for come of the Lok Sabha elec- party most, Maheshwar, RJD % 5 , 2- (""+,/0 "((.+0 “I cannot disclose what seats. The other seat was bagged Yeddyurappa for repeatedly the next four years. I am con- tions, in which the BJP won 25 MLA from Gaighat Assembly %. 55 . "( 0(70 ,+(-+ ( discussion we had because he by BJP-backed Independent claiming that the coalition fident the Government is seats, was for continuation of constituency in Muzaffarpur / + 95-"+, " (5.5+ has said something outright candidate Sumalatha will collapse. strong,” Siddaramaiah said. the NDA Government at the district, claimed the party about the two parties. We will Ambareesh, who defeated Deve In a series of tweets, he Referring to Prime Minister Centre and not for toppling the will break if his demand is not have to take certain decisions Gowda’s grandson Nikhil also said the people’s mandate Narenda Modi bowing to the Government in the State and fulfilled. someone else as LOP) is not back in the 2015 Assembly after discussing with the senior Kumaraswamy in Mandya. was for continuation of the Constitution after being elect- make Yeddyurappa Chief As a party MLA, I would fulfilled, then the legislature polls, if the RJD would not have leaders in our party,” Rao said. Deve Gowda too lost from BJP-led Government at the ed leader of the BJP-led NDA Minister again. PTI request Tejaswhi Yadav to party will break as party’s sev- stitched an alliance with resign from the post of LOP eral legislators are with Kumar’s JD(U). taking moral responsibility of me, Maheshwar Prasad It was because of Kumar 8   the Lok Sabha poll debacle and Yadav claimed. that the RJD came to power in 0 appoint any other senior party Asked whether he has the 2015 in the State, he said, 7 >  %   $%  leader hailing from a caste support of two-third of RJD adding but the party supremo / other than Yadav to the post of legislature party to avoid dis- again chose to anoint his both * ').:9; Model Code of Conduct came cussed threadbare in the meet- LOP, failing which the party qualification under anti- defec- sons as Deputy CM and into force for 78 days. ing,” the official said. 4  will have to face crushing defeat tion law, he answered in affir- Minister in Nitish Kumar-led fter almost a month-and- Sources say the Cabinet The Cabinet is also likely to  <5 in 2020 Assembly elections, he mative saying that he has the Grand Alliance Government Ahalf, the much awaited may finalise the transfer poli- congratulate Prime Minister Thiruvananthapuram: told reporters. support of large numbers of ignoring senior party leaders. Cabinet meeting of the Yogi cy whose nitty-gritty awaits Narendra Modi for the Congress president Rahul hree suspects have been The RJD is the second party MLAs as no one wants to When Nitish Kumar part- Adityanath Government will be Cabinet nod. resounding success in the Lok Gandhi would visit Wayanad in Tarrested in connection with party of the five members board the sinking ship...But ed his ways, RJD chief again held on Tuesday in which the Generally, the deadline for Sabha election. the first week of June to thank the killing of a BJP worker in mahagathbandhan to face the please, dont ask me the names foisted his son Tejashwi and state government is expected to transfer ends on May 31 but Three Cabinet ministers the electorate for his record Amethi two days ago, police heat of resounding defeat in the and numbers at the moment. wife Rabri Devi as LOP in finalise the transfer policy this year the deadline is sure to — Rita Bahuguna Joshi breaking win from this Lok said on Monday. hands of NDA in Bihar. Asked whether he would lower and upper house respec- and take decisions on increase. (Tourism), Satyadeo Pachauri Sabha seat in Kerala, said a Director General of Police Except for one seat of attend the two-day RJD meet- tively. I had opposed the party pending issues. The Cabinet will decide the (Khadi and Gramodyog) and Congress leader on Monday. (DGP) OP Singh said there was Kisanganj won by the ing scheduled to be held on chiefs move to make Rabri A Government official told modalities as generally only 10 SPS Baghel (Animal Leader of Opposition a local-level political rivalry Congress, the BJP, JD(U) and May 28 and 29 to discuss the Devi as the CM in 1997 and The Pioneer here on Monday per cent of the staff are trans- Husbandry) are also likely to Ramesh Chennithala said this between the deceased, LJP combine bagged 39 poll debacle, the rebel MLA had suggested him to appoint that the Cabinet meeting ferred and the policy also con- attend the Cabinet meeting, after the Congress-led United Surendra Singh, 50, and the out of a total 40 Lok Sabha seats said he would not participate in any other senior leader of the would be held at 11 am and was tains many riders. their last in UP. Democratic Front (UDF) met father of one of the accused. in Bihar. the meeting till his demand party as CM but he ignored my likely to continue for an hour The spokesman said the They have been elected to for the first time after register- “We have arrested three Earlier, Upendra (Tejashwi resignation) is met. opinion. There was a time or so. government may also take the Lok Sabha and would be ing a resounding victory in the persons. After the incident was Kushwaha led RLSPs three leg- Maheshwar, who has been when the party was reduced to Many decisions, which decision on wheat purchase taking oath as members of the Lok Sabha polls, winning all reported, as many as seven islators — two MLAs and one seen in close company of Bihar 22 MLAs and four MPs. But were pending because of the and set guidelines for the con- 17th Lok Sabha. but one of the 20 seats people were taken into custody MLC — merged with the CM Nitish Kumar in the recent people in recently held gener- Model Code of Conduct being struction of Purvanchal and Rita Bahuguna Joshi has in the State. and they were thoroughly JD(U) on Sunday following past, said Lalu Prasads affection al elections have thoroughly in force, were expected to be Bundelkhand expressways. been elected to the A source in the know of quizzed,” Singh told reporters the massive drubbings at the for his family cost the party rejected the RJD for carrying taken up on Tuesday, he said. “There are around a dozen Lok Sabha from Allahabad, things said Rahul Gandhi’s here. “Among the seven people, hustings. most and the party (RJD) out ‘parivarwad’ politics, the The last Cabinet meeting issues which need Cabinet Pachauri from Kanpur and visit could be either on there were three who were If my demand (to appoint would not have staged a come- MLA added. was held on March 8 before the approval and these will be dis- Baghel from Agra. Saturday or Monday. linked with the incident.” Rahul won with the high- Amethi Superintendent of est ever margin of victory in Police Rajesh Kumar said those $%   4  any Lok Sabha election with arrested have been identified as 4,31,770 votes. Ramchandra, Dharmanath and  %  He defeated his nearest Naseem, while two persons rival PP Suneer of the were absconding. Communist Party of India who Singh, a close aide of  secured 2,74,597 votes while newly-elected Amethi MP Congress president received , was shot when he  > ) 7,06,367 votes. was sleeping in his house at “This huge victory has Baraulia village, 25 km from high-level meeting to review placed more responsibility on the district headquarters, on Athe arrangements being put us and we assure the people that Saturday night. The former in place for the upcoming this victory will not get into village head was referred to a Amarnath yatra in south their heads. They will always Lucknow hospital, but suc- Kashmir Himalayas was held work for people of the State,” cumbed to injuries during here on Monday, an official said. said Chennithala. IANS treatment. The annual 46-day pil- grimage to the 3,880 metre high holy cave shrine is sched- uled to begin from the twin routes of Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal districts on July 1. Principal Secretary Home Shaleen Kabra chaired the meeting which was attended by Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Sanjeev Verma, IGP MK Sinha, IG Traffic Alok Kumar, IG CRPF AV Chauhan and other senior civil and police officers, the official said. The Divisional Commissioner gave a detailed presentation on the arrange- ments being put in place by dif- ferent departments to ensure smooth conduct of the yatra, the official said. The commis- sioner also apprised those pre- sent in the meeting about the number of SRTC busses being made available, halting points set up in Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur and Ramban districts, langar (com- munity kitchen) points enroute, shelter sheds, accommodation for pilgrims and other related arrangements, the official added. PTI          $ %     

Ahmedabad: Ahead of Rathyatra in Ahmedabad, Special Operations Group (SOG) on Monday detained 47 Bangladeshi nationals from various parts of the city for ille- gal stay, police said. The Ahmedabad SOG had formed five different teams to carry out a search operation, as per an official statement. Patrolling was conducted in different areas of the city dur- ing which as many as 47 Bangladeshis were detained from areas including Chandola lake in Ishanpur, Danilimda, Chirag Park Society, Naroda Patiya, Juna Wadaj etc, and brought to SOG police station, it said. They were detained as they were found to be staying ille- gally in the city without any valid documents. PTI #$ %$ &'(&)*+ , +:

 )   ."+"" + 0 R   3. & B  ?@A2     ) & )  9%788 )  :;6'<5 5 !5     ) $ 5 nvestors’ wealth has gone up by 3.86 lakh crore in  9.@9 nil Ambani’s Reliance Itwo days of market rise where the Sensex has gained   O " AGroup will sell its FM radio 872 points after the decisive mandate for the BJP in the resident business by divesting its entire general election. "13   PDonald stake in BIG FM Radio to   ( % # 35#6%       35#6P  The 30-share BSE key index has gained 871.9 points Trump says Jagran Prakashan-owned Music )  789:29;%    )      9<=     in two days. The Sensex Monday closed 248.57 points the US isn’t Broadcast Ltd (MBL) for an esti-    )  2     99:8 )  789:29;%  9898 higher at 39,683.29. B-FP ready to mated value of 1,200 crore, an )  789<29:> 35#6    98=          ) Led by the rally in the equity market, the market make a trade official statement Monday said. 98; ? )  789:29;% ;;@A )  789<29:>$    )  capitalisation (m-cap) of BSE-listed companies rose by  ) $ 5 deal with Reliance Capital and    *  AA=   @: )  789:29;% @%9<9 )  789<29: 3,86,220.41 crore to 1,54,11,395.90 crore on the BSE. China, but Reliance Land (a part of Reliance At the close of trade on Thursday, the market val- eakness in consumer spending and he’s leaving Capital Group) will divest their uation of BSE-listed firms was 1,50,25,175.49 crore. Wsoftening commodity prices have led open the entire equity stake in Reliance The Sensex had hit its all-time high of 40,124.96 dur- India Inc to deliver a six-quarter low rev- possibility Broadcast Network Ltd (RBNL) ing the trade on May 23, the day election results were enue growth of 10.7 per cent for January- that the two to Music Broadcast Ltd (MBL). announced. March period, a report said Monday. nations The move would help in Hemang Jani, Head (Advisory), Sharekhan by From profitability perspective, oper- could strike reducing the loan burden of the BNP Paribas said, “Indian markets end the day on a pos- ating margins also narrowed 0.78 per an agree- Reliance group firms, it added. itive note. The markets continue their upward trend sup- cent to 16.8 per cent during the period, ment some- “This transaction is part of ported by FII (foreign institutional investor) buying in but were up 0.93 per cent on lower com- day. Chinese counterpart, Xi our overall strategy to reduce the past two consecutive trading days. The current gov- modity prices and price hikes, rating Speaking in Tokyo Jinping, next month at a G-20 exposure in non-core busi- ernment wining the general elections by a two-thirds agency Icra said in the report. Monday, Trump said of China, meeting in Japan. nesses and will reduce our of majority will clam the political environment in the The agency analysed the results of “they would like to make a deal. Trump said he knows that debt by an estimated 1,200 country.” 304 listed entities while arriving at the We’re not ready to make a deal.” his advisers think that North crore,” the statement Reliance $ ) P ))      ) - )  0-1   He said slowdown in global growth, US-China trade aggregate. He added, “We’re taking in Korea violated UN Security Capital CFO Amit Bapna said       ) ')   0'1 B    #>   3 *% war along with rise in oil prices pose an immediate threat It said for the consumer companies, tens of millions of dollars of tar- Council resolutions when it in a statement. 0  1 C #> !    03 !) 1  )     *  to domestic markets the revenue growth declined to 2.3 per iffs and that number could go fired off short-range missiles RBNL operates under the   )    C )   01> #    % # )  “However, post the elections, we now expect the cent for March quarter, 2018-19, down up very, very substantially, very earlier this month. But Trump brand name BIG FM Radio net- K    6)  *    )     )   market to revert to fundamental issues such as earnings from 9.8 per cent in the preceding easily.” said he sees it differently — and work with 58 stations across the 01  % M ) F         )   growth,” Jani added. quarter, while the same for companies in Still, Trump predicted a that it doesn’t matter anyway. country. MBL will initially              >N From the 30-share pack, 17 scrips gained led by Tata the commodity-linked sectors was 12.4 “very good deal with China Trump said perhaps North acquire a 24 per cent equity stake Steel, YES Bank, NTPC, Larsen and Toubro, Axis Bank per cent as compared to 31 per cent. sometime into the future Korean leader Kim Jong Un of RBNL by way of a preferen- and State Bank of India. The weakness in the consumer- because I don’t believe that was trying to get attention tial allotment for 202 crore. Among sectoral indices, the BSE capital goods, linked sectors was visible in the decline China can continue to pay with the tests. Thereafter, subject to the power, industrials, utilities, metal and realty indices ral- in wholesale dispatches of passenger these really hundreds of billions Trump spoke Monday in receipt of all regulatory lied up to 3.06 per cent. vehicles and two-wheelers and sequen- of dollars in tariffs.” Tokyo alongside Japanese approvals, MBL will acquire all In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index tial decline in same store sales growth of The world’s two largest Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, of the remaining equity stake gained 1.13 per cent and BSE Smallcap 1.77 per cent. quick service restaurants, retail chains economies are in a tense stand- who also believes North Korea’s held by Reliance Capital and On the BSE, 1,793 scrips advanced, while 785 and FMCG companies, its Vice President off over trade. Trump has said recent tests violated UN reso- Reliance Land in RBNL at a total declined and 188 remained unchanged. Shamsher Dewan said. he expected to meet with his lutions. enterprise value of 1,050 crore. & 5'  !"" '        )     5!#Q)9:  % 7*BE7   7      7879.  ) ,  , * :;6'<5 " ! P  :  $  4    % 3   )      % &"  (  !EP  ;<=>   H  % '       ' %    > H  5'/5 !0'!  !!" : &"  """ "  :;6'<5 that have adopted AI saw tan- oritise skilling and re-skilling of      )    %      )     &" %   ""3  gible improvements in the workers in the future and plan * :;6'<5 2       2     )   /% 07*BE7    % "*'3! doption of artificial intel- range of 8-22 per cent in areas to invest in the human capital      %   %   %     )  8  @ EB1G "2  <!   "/'<0 !'%& Aligence is expected to help like customer engagement, evenly or even more compared s a result of strategic ini-   !!"* "B   """ "  " double the rate of industrial margins and competitiveness. to investing in technology. Atiatives taken, Bharat P  *7   " GP* P !FP "- innovation, and may result in “By 2021, artificial intelli- “Economies and business- Heavy Electricals Limited " ( "   "  " ! over two times jump in gence (AI) will more than dou- es that have yet to embark on (BHEL) has registered quan-     " " !  "   :  employee productivity in India ble the rate of innovation at their AI journey run a real risk tum growth in its profitability R   " "- O" &"  ( " ! by 2021, a study by tech giant organisations (2.2 times) and of missing out on the compet- and entered several new busi-   "GPF *B " !  "   Microsoft said Monday. employee productivity (2.3 itive benefits that are enjoyed ness areas in fiscal 2018-19,   %   "  : &"  """ * The study, conducted by times) in India,” the study by leaders. Businesses must ending the year with significant PG*B   - '< !% " research firm IDC on behalf of titled ‘Future Ready Business: now embrace a new culture, traction in growth drivers. The 6   *  " "- Microsoft, said organisations Assessing Asia Pacific’s Growth where innovation and contin- continued commitment and Potential Through AI’ said. uous learning are core compo- efforts to deliver on its purpose ;2<<=3 However, only one-third of nents of the organisational cul- — to help in building a New the organisations (respondents) ture,” Microsoft India National BHEL, and a New India, have  :;6'<5 Nigam Ltd along with private in India said they have Technology Officer Rohini resulted in the company con- firms Tata Steel, Essar Steel, embarked on their AI journeys. Srivathsa told reporters here. tinuing on the path of ndia’s crude steel output JSW Steel, and Jindal Steel and The study found that India The Asia Pacific study was improved performance. Iremained almost flat at 8.662 Power produced 5.082 MT and business leaders and workers based on response from 1,605 During the year, the com- million tonne (MT) during the remaining 3.58 MT came hold positive viewpoints about the business leaders and 1,585 pany achieved a profit before April 2019, according to official from other producers, it added. AI’s impact on the future of jobs. workers, including 200 business tax (PBT) of 2,058 Crore, data. During April this year, the About 64 per cent of business leaders and 202 workers in compared to a PBT of 1,585 The domestic crude steel production of hot metal was 1.4 leaders and 63 per cent of work- India. Fifteen countries were Crore in the year before, regis- production stood at 8.653 MT per cent down at 5.825 MT, ers believe that AI will either help part of the report including tering a surge of 29.8%. Net during April 2018, according to against 5.907 MT in April to do their existing jobs better or Australia, China, Japan, Korea, profit (PAT) for the year stands a report by the Joint Plant 2018. reduce repetitive tasks. Malaysia, and Singapore at 1,215 Crore, against 807 Committee (JPC), which The output of pig iron When it comes to creating among others. Crore in the previous fiscal, a comes under the Ministry of grew 3.9 per cent to 0.537 MT or replacing jobs, 16 per cent of ICICI Lombard General 50.7% jump. Earning Per Share Steel. in April, compared with about business leaders believe that AI Insurance Company, which (EPS) for FY18-19 is 3.35 as “Crude steel production 0.517 MT in the same month will create new jobs, but 18 per used Microsoft’s AI expertise, against 2.20 in FY17-18, up by stood at 8.662 MT in April a year ago. cent also feel that the technol- showcased a new solution that 52.3%. The topline has also 2019, up by 0.1 per cent over The JPC is the only insti- ogy will replace workers. deploys AI to process vehicle grown by 5.4% to 29,349 April 2018,” the report said. tution in the country that col- The report said that about insurance claims and renew Crore, as against 27,850 Crore State-run Steel Authority of lects data on the domestic iron 85 per cent of businesses pri- policies more efficiently. in the previous year. India Ltd, Rashtriya Ispat and steel sector.     )       )

 :;6'<5

he Commerce Ministry has Tcome out with a compre- hensive draft of the export policy which includes product specific rules with a view to provide a ready reckoner for exporters. “Based on inputs received from various partner govern- ment agencies, it is proposed to bring out a comprehensive exports policy for all ITC (HS) tariff codes (including items which are ‘free’ for export and do not currently exist in the policy), covering conditions/restrictions imposed by partner govern- ment agencies on exports,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said. The draft policy aims at consolidating the export norms for each product as applicable at different Government agencies. ITC-HS Codes are Indian Trade Clarification based on Harmonized System of Coding. It was adopted by India for import-export operations. Every product has been accord- ed eight digit HS codes. The compendium will help an exporter know all the applicable norms pertaining to a particular product, helping him/her understand policy conditions for that item.          !"# :: NMDC to play big role for promoting sports education in Chhattisgarh schools NMDC Ltd, India’s largest iron will be implemented by NMDC ore producer and exporter in CSR Foundation (NCF). public sector, in association with The State Authorities have Chhattisgarh government and intimated their willingness to TENVIC Sports would implement partner with NMDC for a unique sports education implementation of the programme. programme in 30 Government The above sports education schools in Chhattisgarh i.e. 14 programme in 30 schools would schools in Mahasamund and cost about Rs.2.0 crore that would Kabirdham districts, 6 schools in be borne by NMDC. Rajnandgaon and 10 schools in Mr. N. Baijendra Kumar, IAS, Jagdalpur, headquarters of Bastar CMD, said, `` NMDC has region. pro-actively supported sports Chhattisgarh government has from among the 23 sports for the NMDC; Amitava Mukherjee, and games in the past and had identified 23 sports including above purpose. Director (Finance), NMDC and been instrumental in framing the cricket, table tennis, badminton, This initiative has been Anil Kumble, Chairman, Sports Policy of Steel PSUs which basket ball, football, etc. for launched in the presence of TENVIC Sports at Raipur on was approved by Government of physical development of children Gaurav Dwivedi, Principal February 16, 2019 by signing of a India. It is a moment of pride for studying between Class-III to Secretary to Chief Minister, Memorandum of Agreement NMDC to get associated with Class-X of schools in the State. Govt. of Chhattisgarh; Sandeep (MoA) by NMDC with Govt. of Chhattisgarh government for this The schools can choose any 04 Tula, Director (Personnel), Chhattisgarh and the initiatives noble cause,’’. Top award pours in for NMDC Mr. N Baijendra Kumar, Chairman-cum-Managing Director NMDC Ltd, receives S&P Global PLATTS Global Metals Award 2018 in London. NMDC Ltd, bagged the prestigious S&P Global PLATTS Global Metals Award 2018 in corporate social responsibility category held on May 17, 2018 in London. Mr. N Baijendra Kumar, Chairman-cum-Managing Director NMDC Ltd, received the coveted award. The shortlisted 12 nominations were of renowned companies across the world. This is the first time since inception of this award, an Indian company bagged an award in this category. NMDC bags global PLATTS award for second consecutive year National Mineral NMDC`s investment for emulation by all Central Development the cause of promotion of public sector enterprises Corporation (NMDC) education is the across the Country. Limited has bagged the `Education City` - an Mr. Sandeep Tula said prestigious S&P Global island of educational this Platts Award for CSR PLATTS Global Metals facilities from primary belongs to the team Award 2019 in Corporate schooling to graduation NMDC who relentlessly Social Responsibility in one of the most worked towards the cause category for the second backward and Left Wing of creating value for the consecutive year. Extremism affected areas society through CSR The company got the of the country. initiatives. award for the dedicated The stakeholder NMDC Ltd Chairman- initiatives undertaken in consultation mechanism cum-Managing Director the field of education, adopted by the NMDC to (CMD) Mr. N. Baijendra skill development and implement its CSR has Kumar congratulated the health for the been applauded by the NMDC team and said it emancipation of local NMDC Limited received companies across the Dept. of Public is a matter of pride for communities. the coveted award world, at a function on Enterprises, Govt. of India getting the coveted Platts Mr. Sandeep Tula, among the shortlisted 11 May 16 in London. and has been award for CSR, two years Director (Personnel), nominations of renowned The hallmark of the recommended by them for in a row.          !"# : NMDC staff hard work, team work lead to record production, sales During the fiscal 2018-19, NMDC’s iron ore projects have clocked their best in a single day, monthly and annual production and sales figures. Highest ever monthly dispatches – 37.95 LT in March 2019 against previous best of 37.20 LT (January 2017) Highest ever single day production of 1.91 LT (31.03.2019) against previous best of 1.63 LT (28.03.2019) Highest ever single day dispatches of 1.42 LT (16.03.2019) against previous best of 1.40 LT (04.03.2018) Highest ever exploratory drilling of 16071 mtrs in 2018-19 against previous best of 15065 mtrs in 2017-18 Second highest production of diamonds (38033 carats) after reopening of mines in 2009-10. The other key objectives of the NMDC are ) Expansion of existing mines ) To maintain environment protection. ) Operating new mines fully owned by NMDC or in Joint ) To conserve mineral resources through scientific mining. Venture ) To maintain high level of customer satisfaction. ) Give thrust to exploration and exploitation of iron ore and ) To improve the quality of life of people in general and socio other strategic & critical minerals. economic environment in and around the mines in particular. NMDC fast marching towards its vision & mission NMDC intends to emerge as a global environment friendly mining organisation and also as a quality steel producer with a positive thrust on social development. The basic mission of the NMDC Ltd is to maintain its leadership as the largest iron ore producer in India, while establishing itself as a quality steel producer and expanding business by acquiring and operating various iron ore, coal and other mineral assets in India and abroad, rendering optimum satisfaction to all its stake holders. The prime objectives of the NMDC Ltd are to expand the operations in the areas of mining and mineral processing to meet the growing demands from domestic and international markets. Achieve international standards in per capita productivity, value addition and cost effectiveness. NMDC is working on action plan to increase the iron ore production capacity to 67 MTPA by 2021-22. NMDC is all set to commission a three MTPA integrated steel plant at Nagarnar in poverty-hit but mineral rich Bastar region in Chhattisgarh.