RNI NO.: DELENG/2005/15351 millenniumpost.in REGD. NO.: DL(S)-01/3420/2015-17

PUBLISHED FROM DELHI & KOLKATA VOL. 12, ISSUE 355 | Monday, 25 December 2017 | New Delhi | Pages 16 | Rs 3.00 NO HALF TRUTHS HIGH PROFILE NATURE TAKE URGENT PARENTS SHOULD MAGENTA LINE OF CASE NOT A GROUND REMEDIAL STEPS TO NOT BE GENDER SET FOR GRAND FOR CONVICTION: CONTAIN NPAS: PAR BIASED: PRIYANKA LAUNCH PG3 COURT PG7 PANEL TO GOVT PG12 CHOPRA PG16 Quick News44 SWEARING-IN LIKELY ON DECEMBER 27 Dhinakaran stuns Modi likely to attend BJP picks soft-spoken Jai AIADMK, wins RK WEF Davos Summit Nagar Assembly bypoll Ram Thakur as Himachal CM MPOST BUREAU SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE CHENNAI: In a jolt to the rul- ing AIADMK, sidelined leader SHIMLA: Five-time MLA Jai Ram T T V Dhinakaran on Sunday Thakur will be the 14th chief min- won the prestigious RK Nagar ister of Himachal Pradesh and is Assembly bypoll by a thump- likely to be sworn-in on Decem- ing margin of over 40,000 NEW DELHI/GENEVA: Prime Minister Nar- ber 27 at a star-studded ceremony votes. ted the ‘two leaves’ sym- endra Modi is likely to make his debut at the attended by Prime Minister Naren- Dhinakaran, nephew of bol to the factions led by K World Economic Forum’s annual jamboree of dra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah jailed leader V K Sasikala, Palaniswami and his deputy the global elite in the snow-laden Swiss resort among others. defeated his nearest rival O Panneerselvam. town of Davos next month, where he is also The 52-year-old Thakur leader E Madhusudhanan of the The two factions had expected to address a special plenary session. stole the thunder from stalwarts in AIADMK by 40,707 votes, offi- merged in August this year While the final list of participants would be the race to the top job and will be cials announced as the count- after deposing Dhinakaran released next month itself for the five-day Davos the first leader from the politically- ing of votes ended. Polling for and Sasikala, who is serving Annual Meeting of Geneva-based WEF begin- significant Mandi region to helm the seat was held on Decem- a four-year jail term in a Ben- ning January 22, 2018, sources familiar with the the hill state. ber 21. galuru prison in a corruption programme said Indian presence will be really Union minister Narendra Singh The bypoll in the Assembly case. As soon as he registered big this time with over 100 CEOs including Tomar, who along with Defence constituency was necessitated a healthy lead against his Mukesh Ambani, Chanda Kochhar and Uday minister Nirmala Sitharaman was Senior BJP leaders congratulating Jai Ram Thakur after he was chosen Himachal CM on Sunday PTI following the death of J Jaya- AIADMK rival E Madusud- Kotak, as also Bollywood superstar Shahrukh appointed as a central observer by lalithaa in December last. The hanan, Dhinakaran, contesting Khan and top filmmaker Karan Johar expected the BJP, announced that Thakur ernment headed by Dhumal, was from Shimla, Kangra and Sirmour. strength is that he is perceived as a late Tamil Nadu chief minister as an independent, visited the to participate. was chosen to be the next chief elected the leader of the BJP legis- Mandi has 10 Assembly seats, leader who has managed to strad- was elected from the RK Nagar memorials of party stalwarts– Modi is expected to be accompanied by some minister as thousands of party lature party on Sunday. second only to Kangra’s 15. dle the party’s warring factions in seat in north Chennai. the late M G Ramachandran union ministers and top government officials, workers began celebrating. The decision was taken at a In this election, the BJP put up the state. Dhinakaran bettered the (party founder) and Jayala- while a large India Inc delegation led by apex The Seraj MLA, a thoroughbred meeting of BJP MLAs. a stellar show in Mandi, winning 9 A lack of consensus among the record of Jayalalithaa, who lithaa–at the Marina Beach industry chamber CII will also be present at the RSS man, emerged as the frontrun- His name was proposed by of the district’s ten seats. newly elected MLAs had resulted in had won by a margin of 39,545 and paid floral tributes. meet, whose theme will be ‘Creating a Shared ner for the top post after the shock senior leaders Suresh Bhardwaj and Seen mostly as a low-profile the two central observers – Union votes in the 2016 Assembly He also prostrated at Jaya- Future in a Fractured World’. P12 defeat of the BJP’s chief ministerial Mahender Singh and seconded by man, Thakur is from a farming ministers Sitharaman and Tomar – polls. lalithaa’s mausoleum. face Prem Kumar Dhumal in the others. family of Mandi. returning to Delhi from Shimla on While Dhinakaran polled Dhinakaran said the 2017 Assembly polls, the results of “It is expected that Thakur will He did his post-graduation Saturday to hold fresh consultation 89,013 votes, Madhusudhanan Palaniswami government 37 feared dead in Philippine which were announced last week. take oath as the state’s next CM on from Panjab University in Chan- with the BJP central leadership. got 48,306 votes. DMK’s N would “end in three months”. A former chief minister, December 27 at a ceremony where digarh and decided to join politics Earlier, the two-member team Maruthu Ganesh came a dis- He later returned to Chen- mall blaze: vice mayor Dhumal was still in the race for the Prime Minister Modi, BJP chief when he was in his 20s. of central observers, which was in tant third with 24,651, in the nai and was given a rousing chief minister’s post till Saturday Amit Shah and a galaxy of top lead- Thakur contested on a BJP the state on December 21 and 22, process losing the deposit, as reception at the airport by DAVAO: Thirty-seven people were likely killed night when he opted out. Union ers would be present,” a source said. ticket in the 1993 Assembly polls. had taken feedback from members also 57 others, including the his supporters, even as scores in a fire that engulfed a shopping mall in the minister J P Nadda was another Thakur will be the first chief He lost but went on to win in 1998 of the state BJP’s core committee, BJP nominee. of well-wishers thronged his southern Philippine city of Davao, the local vice top contender. minister from Mandi, the second from the now delimited constitu- MPs and some MLAs. Dhinakaran contested as Adyar residence. mayor said on Sunday. The Bureau of Fire Pro- Thakur, a former state unit largest district of the state. Him- ency of Chachiot (Seraj) and every The BJP ousted the Congress an independent on the pres- Jubilant supporters cele- tection ground commander at the scene said the chief and rural development and achal’s chief ministers and political Assembly election after that. from power by winning 44 out of sure cooker symbol after the brated by distributing sweets chances of the 37 surviving were “zero”, Paolo Panchayati Raj minister in a gov- leaders mostly belong to or hailed A soft-spoken man, Thakur’s the 68 seats in the Assembly polls. Election Commission allot- and bursting crackers. Duterte, the vice mayor, who is also the presi- dent’s son, wrote in a Facebook post. P10 TO ENSURE THAT DUE GOVERNMENT REVENUE IS NOT USURPED TMC wrests Sabang from Cong Had to raise the I-T to get defaulters address OUR CORRESPONDENT (BJP) aspirant Antara Bhat- 18,060 votes. tacharyya was in the third spot The by-poll was necessi- KOLKATA: West Bengal’s with 37,476 votes. However, tated due to sitting Congress bar against Vettel ruling Trinamool Congress the party gained a substantial legislator Manas Bhunia’s res- LEWIS HAMILTON from banking, civic authorities on Sunday won the Sabang number of votes in this by-poll ignation after he crossed over OUR CORRESPONDENT Assembly constituency by- as against about 5,000 votes to the Trinamool. He is now poll, by a massive margin of a Rajya Sabha member of his In today’s 64,192 votes. BENGAL BY-POLL new party. NEW DELHI: The central govern- Trinamool candidate Gita Trinamool candidate Gita paper ment has amended rules and autho- Rani Bhunia got 1,06,179 secured by the saffron party in Rani is Manas Bhunia’s wife. rised the taxman to use banking, votes while her nearest rival 2016 Assembly elections. The winning margin of Gita ... insurance and municipal corpora- Rita Mondal of the Left Front- The Congress, which won Rani in this by-poll surpassed CITY tion’s database to obtain address of backed Communist Party the seat in last year’s assem- Bhunia’s victory margin of over a ‘hiding’ or an ‘untraceable’ income of India-Marxist (CPI-M) bly polls, fared poorly, with its 49,000 votes as a Left-backed PROBE BEGINS AGAINST GGN MEDANTA 4 tax defaulter for the issuance of secured 41,987 votes. nominee Chiranjib Bhowmick Congress candidate in the 2016 notices or summonses to them and Bharatiya Janata Party in the fourth position securing Assembly polls. NATION extract due taxes. PAKISTAN VIOLATES CEASEFIRE AGAIN 6 Till now, tax authorities could only issue notice to a defaulting or EDIT erring taxpayer as per the address been carried out by the CBDT (Cen- provided by them in their PAN Till now, tax tral Board of Direct Taxes), the pol- THE GAME OF SCAMS 8 (Permanent Account Number), the authorities could icy-making body for the Income Tax INTERNATIONAL ITR (income tax return) or any tax- Department. related communication. only issue notice The amendment was necessary JADHAV’S FAMILY TO VISIT PAK TODAY 10 This address database was not to a defaulting or as the I-T Department, in a number helping I-T authorities as they of cases where taxes worth crores BUSINESS say the assessee either genuinely erring taxpayer as of rupees are stuck, was either not changed their address and did not per address provided able to “trace” the assessee as they NATURAL GAS MAY COME UNDER GST 13 notify them or cleverly went into have changed their address and not SPORT hiding to evade due taxes. by them in PAN, the notified tax authorities or had sim- A senior tax official said an ITR or any tax-related ply gone hiding or absconding with REAL MADRID HAVE NOT LOST THE LA LIGA 15 amendment in I-T rules was an intent to evade tax, the official recently notified after obtaining communication said. sanction from the Union Finance Now, he said, with this new FOR ADVERTISING Ministry and it allows the taxman government” and that available in empowerment, the taxman has got kindly contact at 9810195709 to receive and use the address of an the database of the “local authority”, multiple options to find an “untrace- or assessee available with the “bank- the officer quoting the amendment able” or hiding assessee. [email protected] ing company or cooperative bank, notification of December 20. So, if someone has changed an India post, insurance company, the The database of the government address from what was provided in returns of agricultural income and means all databases where a tax- the PAN or ITR, the taxman would FOR SUBSCRIPTION the statement of financial transac- payer is registered, like a driving still reach them. kindly contact at 8800854665 tions (SFT).” license or voter ID, and the local The aim is to ensure that due or This also includes the address authority means the municipal body government revenue is not usurped [email protected] of the assessee (individual or com- or a similar department. and defaulters are caught, penalised pany) present in the “records of the The tweaking in the rules has and prosecuted, he said. WITH PTI INPUTS THE DECEMBER 6 ANNOUNCEMENT BY US PREZ TRUMP UNLEASHED DEMONSTRATIONS Jerusalem tensions cast shadow over Holy Land Christmas

BETHLEHEM: Palestin- Twelve Palestinians have administrator of the Latin ian scouts played drums and been killed since Trump’s dec- Patriarch of Jerusalem, arrived bagpipes as Christmas cele- laration, including a 19-year- in Bethlehem afternoon and brations began in Bethlehem old who died of his wounds on shook hands with local per- on Sunday, but many tourists Sunday nine days after he was sonalities on his way to the stayed away with tensions still shot during a Gaza protest. Church of the Nativity. simmering following Wash- Nahil Banura, a Chris- Pizzaballa said last week ington’s recognition of Jeru- tian woman from Beit Sahur, that “dozens” of foreign vis- salem as Israel’s capital. a town near Bethlehem, said itors had cancelled their The December 6 Trump’s decision had made Christmas trips after Trump’s announcement by US Presi- the run-up to Christmas announcement. dent Donald Trump unleashed “miserable”. But Israel’s tourism minis- demonstrations and clashes, “People are only going out try has said Christmas prepa- including in Bethlehem in the to vent,” said the 67-year- old, rations had not been affected, Israeli-occupied West Bank whose granddaughter wore a and it expects a 20 per cent where Christians will mark Santa Claus hat and clutched increase in the number of the birth of Jesus in a mid- a pink balloon. Christian pilgrims this year night mass. Perhaps as few, as 50,000 compared with 2016. On Bethlehem’s Manger They took pictures as a The square usually throngs Palestinian Christians make An Israeli police spokes- Square, hundreds of Palestin- marching band made its way with tourists on Christmas up just around two per cent man said that extra units ians and tourists gathered in through the square towards Eve, but clashes between Pal- of the predominantly Muslim would be deployed in Jeru- the cold near a huge nativ- the Church of the Nativity, estinian protesters and the population of the West Bank salem and at the crossings to ity scene and Christmas tree built over the spot where tra- Israeli army in the past weeks and east Jerusalem. Bethlehem to ease the travel to watch the annual scout dition says Mary gave birth have kept people away this Archbishop Pierbat- and access for the “thousands parade. to Jesus. year. tista Pizzaballa, an apostolic of tourists and visitors”. AGENCIES 2 mp around town MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017

WHEN: December 23 – 25 DAYINDAYOUT WHERE: Lord of the Drinks CP and Hauz Khas TIMING: 9 pm onwards What’s on Around Town 100 YEARS OF DHANRAJ BHAGAT Treat yourself to CELEBRATE NEW YEAR IN NEW On the ocassion of 100th birth anni- YORK STYLE versary of eminent sculptor Padmashri As the clock bids adieu to the last year, Dhanraj Bhagat, an exhibition is going a glamorous celebration awaits you as to open where more than 400 works of Jaypee Siddharth recreates the magic Dhanraj Bhagat’s works will be dis- of the world’s most popular party des- played on the theme of ‘Journey from tination – Times Square. From themed the Physical to the Spiritual’. This exhibi- venues to cozy lounges and Gala Dinner tion intends to acquaint visitors with Christmas with unlimited snacks and free flowing Bhagat’s work from the NGMA collec- beverages -there’s just no way better to tion and artist collection that has hitherto ring in the New Year. largely remained unseen. WHEN: December 31 – January 1 WHEN: December 20 – February 20, WHERE: Jaypee Siddharth 2018 WHERE: National Gallery of TIMINGS: Lunch: 1 pm onwards|Dinner: Modern Art TIMINGS: 11 am – 6:30 pm 8 pm onwards delicacies BRINGING JOY TO THE PLANET EVIL SANTA BASH Celebrate the Yuletide spirit and the OUR CORRESPONDENT Lord of the Drinks is celebrating Christ- cheer of the New Year with a specially mas the dark way. Giving you all the crafted holiday extravaganza,replete right reason to the public to do things with glittering lights and flavours, that Since Christmas is finally here, you must be looking for some delicious Christmas differently with a dark black ambiance, will truly make it a December to re- recipes to treat your family. But instead of ordering something from outside this time, go a black Christmas tree, black embel- member. Enjoy an array of multi cuisine lishments around the house, Lord of the dishes from around the world on Decem- with these recipes where some well known chefs guide you to prepare a perfect combo Drinks will be the craziest destination ber25 WHEN: December 25 in the Connaught Place and Hauz Khas WHERE: Shangri-La’s - Eros Hotel consisting of apricot rum balls, appetizing pumpkin, lentil and cranberry soup as well vicinity. TIMINGS: 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm as cranberry smoothie for a sweet ending to your meal. CORRIGENDUM has come to raise our voice...’, Bratya Basu has been erroneously described as TRY THE MOUTH-WATERING SOUP AND SMOOTHIE SUGGESTED BY CHEF VICKY RATNANI In our edition dated December 24, 2017 Bratya Bhargonath. The error is deeply a report on page-2 titled ‘The time regretted. PUMPKIN, LENTIL & CRANBERRY SOUP 3 to 5 minutes. And then add lentils, cranberries and grated pumpkin and sweat the mixture for 5 minutes. Top with the vegetable stock INGREDIENTS and cook until the lentils and pumpkin is cooked. Blend the soup and IGCCS FOUNDER FELICITATED WITH FICCI’S E-CAFE AWARD Olive oil 1.5 teaspoons, Onions garnish with a few dried cranberries, fresh lime leaves. chopped 1 medium size, Cin- namon stick 1 each, Cardamom CRANBERRY SMOOTHIE green 2 pieces, Cumin seeds ½ INGREDIENTS tsp, Black peppercorns 3 to 4, Dried U S Cranberries 3 tablespoons , Garlic ginger paste 1 table- Red apples chopped-1 medium spoon, Green chilli split 1 each, sized, Banana ripe - 1 medium, Curry leaves 4 to 5, Lime leaves Custard Apple - 1 medium, Ice 2 to 3, Red pumpkin chopped 1.5 cubes, Lemon juice - 1 tbsp, cups, U S cranberries fresh frozen 2 tablespoons, Red lentils soaked Honey- 2 tablespoons, Walnuts ½ cup, Vegetable stock 1 litre, Salt and pepper to taste. or Almonds - 4 to 5 each. HOW TO MAKE HOW TO MAKE Heat the olive oil, add the cinnamon, cardamom, cumin seeds and Blend all the ingredients and black peppercorns. Saute for 30 seconds to release aromas. Add the enjoy. ginger garlic paste, split green chilies. Add the onions and cook for ON THE OCCASION of Entrepreneur café’s 3rd Annual Global Convention, Prasoon Sharma, Founder, India Global Centre for China studies (IGCCS) received FICCI’s eCafe award for out- standing contribution in Indo-China Cooperation. The award ceremony took place at MIT Art CHEF PRAJIT P KUMAR, WHO WORKS AT THE ASHOK, NEW DELHI SHARE Design and Technology University, Loni, Pune. Prasoon Sharma, person behind Indo-China joint incubation centre in Andhra Pradesh, successfully convinced various key stakeholders, RECIPES FOR SNOWBALLS AND TRUFFLE BALLS including Minister of State for Science and Technology, for the cooperation between two coun- tries. Speaking on the occasion Prasoon Sharma said, “we are planning to start India and China SNOWBALLS / APRICOT RUM BALLS innovation centre in upcoming days followed by setting up the India–Korea innovation centre. With the help and support of MIT, we can surely go forward.” INGREDIENTS “Our idea of creating Asian silicon valley by connecting Bangalore and Shenzhen, as well as Vanilla Sponge 100 grams, Apricot jam 20 gm, Tutti fruity 20 gm, Desicat- synergizing India’s ‘digital India’ and China’s ‘internet plus’ were highlighted in BRICS. This was ed coconut 20 gm, Cashewnuts 20 gm, Rum 15 ml, Apricot candy (optional) one of the prominent reasons behind this award,” he added. 20 gm, White butter (Unsalted) 100 gm, Icing sugar 50 gm. HOW TO MAKE In a bowl mix together crushed sponge, apricot jam, tutti fruity, desiccated co- conut, Cashew nuts and rum. Now, divide the mixture into equal sized balls. Coat the balls with Exhibition to emphasize the butter cream icing and serve cold. FOR BUTTER CREAM: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until it is smooth for about 1 minute. Add the icing sugar to the bowl and beat until combined. idea of ‘Duality and Balance’ Increase the speed to high and beat the frosting for an additional 2 minutes. ROSE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE BALLS INGREDIENTS cosmic objects, in a state of White chocolate – chopped into very small fine equilibrium ensure our existence on earth. It is using pieces 200 grams, Unsalted butter-softened 2 circular shapes in each of the Tablespoons, Heavy cream 30 ml, Bread Loaf artwork that she has attempted 300 grams, Rose Petal Jam 3 Tablespoon, Dried to bring out the significance of rose petals 50 grams, Powdered sugar 50 the Sun as a source of energy grams, Almond flakes 25 grams. and balance in our lives. The HOW TO MAKE circles also symbioses the cyclical nature of our lives, and In a bowl finely crumble the bread, add powdered sugar, gulkand, of our thoughts. There is a cer- chopped white chocolate and butter. Mix well and make 1 inch balls tain rhythm to our everyday out of the mixture. Over a double boiler melt remaining chopped thoughts, if closely observed. white chocolate, stirring casually until smooth and completely melted. The paintings in this suite Do not heat above 1050 F. In a small sauce pan simmer heavy of work range from a colour cream. Remove from heat, add melted white chocolate and palette of soothing blues and greens, to robust reds and stir until the chocolate is combined with heavy cream. Dip the textured yellows. In some bread balls in the white chocolate mixture and roll it over instances, the canvases are rose petals and almond flakes. Refrigerate until firm. Serve textured and bring out the Chilled. OUR CORRESPONDENT forms in high relief. It fore- grounds the sphere as its DUALITY EXISTS every- central protagonist. It is the where around us, and the ultimate expression of unity, artists have always been completeness, and integrity. subtly conscious of this The artist evokes, spheres and Make-up tips, skin care regime duality of things; for exam- triangles that are gently evoc- ple day and night, truth ative of this cosmos, calling and false, success and fail- upon their presence in a mys- ure, mirth and melancholy. tical and subtle fashion. Taking the theme into con- “It is a hope for the spec- for perfect Christmas party look sideration, artist Alka Bhrus- tator to get a chance to pause hundi is coming up with her and feel the rhythm in their A black Audi q5, ook the best at your friend’s Christ- dation with a foundation brush or a profes- ing drop light on eye lid and blend with solo exhibition- ‘Santulan-the mas party with the right kind of sional make-up sponge. Wait till it settles. blender brush. balance’. top of the line model in make-up after the right skincare Take two shades of all in one face base - 4Apply a bronze colour eye stick on The more she thought about excellent condition regime. Don’t forget to use a para- one lighter and darker. The lighter one for the eye lids. this duality of life, the more Lben free face wash and a skin toner before the T- zone and the darker one on C - zone 4Use shimmer wave for brow bone the concept of Balance piqued putting on an instant matte primer and a to get the perfect sculpted look. highlighting lighter shade. as an interest. For sale matte clay foundation, suggest experts. 4Contour your cheeks with the shade 4Using black gel The exhibition, which will Car DesCription: of your liking with the blusher brush on pen eye liner fill start from December 26 will Experts have listed a regime: hollow of the cheek. To make your contour the waterline last till January 1, 2018 at the Price: 13,00,000 Make: Audi 4Begin the day with a glass of water more intense use a bronzing powder on it. and blend the Lalit Kala Akademi. Model: Q5 Transmission Type: Automatic 4 Year: 2010 No. of Owners: First followed by washing their face with a With the help of a fan brush gently apply eye shadow in Talking about the theme Fuel: Petrol Colors: Black paraben free face wash. shimmer wave on the temples of your face. the lower lash for her exhibition, Alka KM Driven: 95000 Registration Place: Delhi 4Moisturising the skin is an 4For longer stay and to enhance the line to get said, “Our lives, just like our extremely important step in the daily vibrancy of eye shadow use a matte eye the smokey thoughts are constantly swing- ContaCt: skin regime. base prior to the eye shadow. Con- effect. Finish ing to and fro, between the Mob.: 9910009815 Mob.: 9971925885 4Using a natural sunscreen that ceal the under eyes and lid well the eyes by dualities. The desirable life thoughts and their lives at suits your skin type is the last but the with concealer appro- using a mas- is that of balance; between large; to be able to bring about most nourishing step for daily skin care. priate colour. Use a cara. IANS work and leisure, happiness a balance between the calm The sunscreen must be put right after drop of shade and sadness, and so on. Thus, and chaos of thoughts,” she the moisturiser and 30 minutes prior to adjust- I had the wish to bring out mentioned further. stepping out of the house, so that the skin the abstract idea of balance The 38 works on display can absorb the elements of the sunscreen. through my art work.” are also available for sale with 4Use an an instant matte primer to Also, our entire universe an approximate price that make a perfect base for your make up. works on a system of balance. ranges between Rs. 10,000 and 4Conceal the imperfections with a The Sun, planets and other 2,00,000. concealer then dab on a matte clay foun- Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that infromation given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for any damage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only Printed & Published by Jaiyendra Kumar Sharma on behalf of Front Row Media Pvt. Ltd. and printed at The Indian Express Pvt. Ltd., A-8, Sector-7, Noida-201 301 (U.P.) and published from First Floor, Pratap Bhawan, 5 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110 002. Editor: Durbar Ganguly, Executive Editor: Arya Rudra. Email: [email protected], Tel. No. 011-47777500 3 MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017 mp city

MAX HOSPITAL CASE Magenta Line set for grand launch Police waiting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to flag off first train from Botanical Garden Metro station today OUR CORRESPONDENT dard gauge corridors – Violet dard gauge line is 4 ft 8.5 in DMC’s reply, probe Line (Kashmiri Gate-Escorts (1435 mm). These broad-sized NEW DELHI: In a first, broad- Mujesar) and Green Line (Kirti coaches (3.2 m) can smoothly sized coaches will ply on the Nagar-Mundka), another ply on the newly-laid standard standard gauge track of the senior official said. “This new tracks,” the official said. may be delayed Magenta Line of the Delhi Magenta Line would thus DMRC authorities said that Metro, the Kalkaji Mandir- become the first standard 10 trains would operate on the Botanical Garden section, gauge-based corridor to have new line, while two would be which is set for a mega launch broad-sized coaches plying on kept on reserve, one each at on Christmas. it,” he said. Kalkaji Mandir and Botanical Prime Minister Naren- Yellow Line (Samyapur Garden stations. “The coaches dra Modi on Sunday said the Badli-Huda City Centre) and running on this line have elec- newly-built Magenta Line of Blue Line (Dwarka-Noida/ tronic information display, the Delhi Metro is an exam- Vaishali) are among the broad power charging capacity with- ple of modernising urban gauge lines on which wide out adaptor, and seats in differ- transport and making travel coaches ply. The new line ent colour shades, DMRC said. between Delhi and Noida faster has platform screen doors “The trains on this line and convenient. (PSDs) on all nine stations will have six cars, four of them DMC has issued notice to nine doctors and two nurses at the hospital “This new line is yet another that will become operational would be driving cars. Earlier, example of how we are mod- DMRC said that 10 trains would operate on the new line, while two would be kept on reserve PIC/MPOST from Monday and open for we used to have 50 per cent of OUR CORRESPONDENT probe,” he said. ernising urban transportation. commuters by 5pm, besides the cars as driving, and now The officer said that the I will also travel on the Metro The first train will be rail network would be broad- the capacity of coaches running a high-tech signalling system in this line it would be 67 per NEW DELHI: The investiga- baby was 22-weeks-old and tomorrow (Monday). This year, flagged off from Botanical Gar- sized only. “Coaches measuring on a standard gauge,” a senior that will allow the Delhi Metro cent,” the senior official said. tion by Delhi Police probe into premature. According to med- I have had the opportunity to den Metro station. Meanwhile, 3.2 meters in width will be in DMRC official said. Rail Corporation to run trains He said driving cars are the case of the twin babies, one ical guidelines, babies born inaugurate and travel in the senior DMRC officials said all operation on the new Magenta Presently, carriages, mea- with enhanced frequency. “The those carriages, which, are of whom was wrongly declared before 22 weeks or around Kochi as well as Hyderabad coaches to be introduced under Line. This would also allow suring 2.9 meters in width, size of a broad gauge line is 5 power-driven, i.e., connected dead by the Max Hospital in that time usually do not sur- Metros,” Modi tweeted. Phase-III of the Delhi Metro 30-40 more passengers than are in use on existing stan- ft 6 in (1676 mm) and a stan- to overhead power supply. Shalimar Bagh, may be delayed vive and were not considered since it is waiting for the Delhi as deliveries. Medical Council’s (DMC) reply There are medical guide- on the matter. lines, but the fact that the baby ED files charge-sheet Centre asks Delhi govt to expedite The DMC has already was declared dead despite issued a notice to nine doctors being alive, was being probed, and two nurses of the hospi- he said. against Yadav Singh, projects under AMRUT scheme tal on December 20 for alleged The officer said that they medical negligence in con- were awaiting the council’s OUR CORRESPONDENT Minister Arvind Kerjriwal, have been awarded so far. With have been awarded so far, nection with the case and has report in the matter and fur- Union Minister Hardeep respect to projects worth Rs Puri said. Similarly, he said in sought a response from them ther investigation will be based attaches his properties NEW DELHI: The Central Singh Puri said the Housing 397 crore, even detailed proj- case of SAAP-II, approved on in 15 days. on the report. government has asked the and Urban Affairs Ministry ects reports (DPRs) have not December 21, 2016, against Currently, the case is being The case pertains to a baby OUR CORRESPONDENT pany, the statement said. Delhi government to expedite has approved all State Annual been prepared/approved. Thus the proposal of Rs 251 core, probed by Delhi Police’s Crime boy being wrongly declared Assets worth Rs 19.92 implementation of the projects Action Plans (SAAP), totalling so far, projects for Rs 659 crore no projects have been awarded Branch. dead after his birth on Novem- NEW DELHI: The Enforce- crore were attached in this approved under the Centre’s around Rs 802.31 crore, sub- have not been awarded. This so far. A senior police officer, privy ber 30 by the upscale private ment Directorate has attached second case of disproportion- AMRUT scheme and complete mitted by the Delhi govern- would mean that 82 per cent Puri said all projects under to the probe, said that since the hospital. The other twin, a girl, properties worth Rs 25.8 crore ate assets and it was found them by 2020. ment in three rounds under of the total SAAP size has not the AMRUT scheme have to be case was of medical negligence, was still-born. The infant boy belonging to Yadav Singh, a during the investigation that Launched in June 2015, the the AMRUT. been addressed as yet,” Puri completed by March 2020 so they had to rely on expert’s died a week later at a nursing former chief engineer of Noida Singh’s wife Kusum Lata along Atal Mission for Rejuvenation The Ministry has released said in the letter. that the Delhi government can opinion. home in Pitampura. and Greater Noida, and filed a with her sister-in-law, Vidhya and Urban Transformation the first installment of 20 per In SAAP-I, which was claim full central assistance. “Our officers have inter- The case sparked a public charge-sheet against him in an Devi, allegedly formed a trust (AMRUT) aims at ensuring cent of the committed central approved on March 15, 2016, Delay in commencement may acted with the doctors and outcry and the family has been alleged money laundering case named PGP Trust to project robust sewage networks, water assistance amounting to Rs the Delhi government had pro- result in incomplete projects, nurses of the hospital. We have protesting in front of the hos- at a special court here. proceeds of crime as untainted, supply and other infrastruc- 160.46 crore, he said. posed projects worth Rs 217 depriving Delhi of approved also spoken to the child’s fam- pital, soon after an appellate The chargesheet has been it said. tures to improve the quality of “Against the total SAAP crore in water and sewerage central assistance and also its ily but there are some technical authority stayed the order by filed by the Directorate of During investigation it was life of people in urban areas. size of Rs 802.31 crore, proj- sector. However, only two proj- citizens of the benefits from the points that we need clarity on the Delhi government to cancel Enforcement under PMLA found that donations by cheque In a recent letter to Chief ects worth Rs 143 crore only ects, costing Rs 142.11 crore projects, he added. before we proceed ahead in the the licence of the facility. against Singh in the alleged were deposited in the account money laundering case follow- of PGP trust and equivalent ing a disproportionate assets amount in cash was returned case filed against him, an ED in lieu of donations received, Detailed survey of water bodies in Delhi for their revival statement said. the ED claimed. The prosecution complaint After investigation, proper- OUR CORRESPONDENT A senior department offi- “All the executive engineers workers this monsoon. follows attachments of his ties of PGP trust were attached cial said the move was intended A senior official of the Irrigation and have been asked to execute A day after taking over as properties worth Rs 5.9 crore which include Rs 4.6 crore NEW DELHI: The Delhi gov- to know exact topography and Flood Control Department said the the work of topographic and the chairperson of the Delhi under the PMLA in the dispro- deposited in the Indian Over- ernment has decided to con- hydrography of water bodies, hydrographic survey of water Jal Board (DJB) from Rajen- portionate assets case. seas Bank, Noida, two proper- duct detailed topographic and river and drains and also the move was intended to know exact bodies, drains, rivers and all dra Pal Gautam, Chief Minister Singh is being investigated ties at Mathura, two properties hydrographic surveys of all construction activities in their topography and hydrography of water other construction activities Arvind Kejriwal said decentral- for two cases under the PMLA in Jahangirpur Jewar, Gautam- water bodies, drains and riv- vicinity. through these four empanelled ised sewage treatment plants and in the first case his “illegal budha Nagar, UP and one office ers in the national Capital for “After the survey, a com- bodies, river and drains firms,” he added. that are smaller than the usual and collusive” work allotment premises in Delhi. their revival. prehensive plan will be made After taking the charge of STPs would be set up across resulted into “undue advan- All the properties are in the The Irrigation and Flood to revive water bodies across then Water Minister Kapil Irrigation and Flood Con- the Water department this year, the capital. tage” of Rs 19.92 crore to M/s N name of PGP Charitable Trust Control Department of the the national Capital,” the offi- Mishra to prepare a blueprint trol Department have been Kejriwal wanted to speed up From this work, the govern- K G Infrastructure Ltd, M/s JSP of Yadav Singh in which his Delhi government has engaged cial said. to revive the water bodies. asked to take the help of four the work on addressing sewage ment started work to develop- Constructions Pvt Ltd and M/s wife Kusum Lata was one of four firms to assist its officials Last year, Chief Minister According to the official, empanelled firms to conduct and water problems in the city ment of water supplies in the Tirupati Construction Com- the trustees, the statement said. in the exercise. Arvind Kejriwal had asked executive engineers of the this survey. in the wake of deaths of sewage Capital. Ensure strict action against ashram, AAP women’s wing meets LG, safety of rescued girls: Kejriwal urges LG demands arrest of godman Dixit OUR CORRESPONDENT Pandey alleged that Dixit NGO Foundation for Social OUR CORRESPONDENT majors from the Ashram, why of raids conducted on Adhy- had been running the ashram Empowerment in the Delhi is Delhi Police busy defending atmik Vishwa Vidyalaya in NEW DELHI: Women mem- with the connivance of police. High Court, stating that several NEW DELHI: Chief Minis- the Ashram!” Rohini on Thursday last week bers of Aam Aadmi Party “Girls were illegally con- girls and women were allegedly ter Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday Meanwhile, the city police where women and girls were (AAP) on Saturday met Lieu- fined and exploited in the name being illegally confined there. urged city’s Lieutenant Gover- also through Twitter replied to kept confined in the ashram of tenant Governor Anil Baijal to of spirituality. All these things Subsequently, the high nor for the safety of girls who DCW chairperson they stated Virender Dev Dixit. demand the immediate arrest were happening under the nose court had set up a committee, were rescued from the ashram that “Factually incorrect that DCW Chief Swati Jai Hind of self-styled ‘godman and of police,” she said. comprising lawyers and DCW of self-styled godman Virender Delhi Police has given any clean stated, “Baba is operating spiritual leader’ Virender Dev The AAP leader said their chief Swati Maliwal, to inspect Dev Dixit. chit. Action taken as per law on under complete secrecy and Dixit, whose ashrams report- delegation met Baijal and urged the premises of the institute Meanwhile, chairperson complaints of the ashram and these ashrams seem to be the edly kept minor girls confined. him to direct Delhi Police to and had also directed the CBI of the Delhi Commission for earlier also matter came under den of illegal activities. CBI The delegation included arrest Dixit and rescue women to probe the matter. Women (DCW) Swati Jai Hind On his Twitter handle, the Chief Minister urged LG to take strict action purview of courts. Now sub should urgently close down AAP women’s wing president and girls confined in such The AAP leaders had earlier said that the CBI should also against any police who acts in a malafide way judice in Hon’ble High Court these ashrams and arrest the Richa Pandey Mishra and places in other parts of the slammed Delhi police regard- investigate the role of Delhi and Delhi Police is abiding by Baba. All girls should be res- Mangol Puri MLA Rakhi Birla. national Capital. ing the inaction in the case. Police in allowing such ash- man acts malafide, strict action son stated, “Delhi Police giv- all court directions.” cued. Further, CBI should also Last Thursday, a team com- DCW, along with a police AAP leader Sanjay Singh rams to flourish in the city. should be taken against him.” ing clean chit 2 the Ashram On Saturday, the Commis- investigate the role of police prising Delhi Commission for contingent, raided two of said that children and women On Twitter, the Chief Min- The DCW chief, on her is shameful. CBI should also sion, along with a police con- and notes in the matter. “I am Women members and Delhi Dixit’s centres in Rohini and in the Capital were not safe in ister stated, “I urge Hon’ble LG Twitter handle, also attacked investigate the role of Delhi tingent, raided an ashram run glad that rescue operations Police personnel raided Dixit’s Dwarka, and rescued over 40 the presence of Delhi Police, as to personally intervene and Delhi Police claiming that it is Police in allowing such ash- by a spiritual head in Dwarka are also being undertaken in Adhyatmik Vishwavidyalaya in girls who were allegedly con- illegal institutions like Adhy- ensure strict action against shameful that Delhi Police gave rams to flourish. When UP and rescued five girls who were other parts of the country. This Rohini, where women and girls fined there. atmik Viswavidyalaya are still ashram and ensure the safety the clean chit to the ashram. Police can conduct raids on allegedly confined there. Baba should be put behind bars were found to have been con- The matter had come to running, which shows that of rescued girls. If any police- In her tweet, the chairper- their own and take out even This comes in the wake urgently,” said DCW chief. fined like “animals in a cage”. light after a PIL was filed the police is not active. Water supply Crime Branch nabs Senior scribe Arun Shourie likely Woman held to be hit in interstate sex racketeer for carrying several areas to be nominated to Rajya Sabha pistol inside OUR CORRESPONDENT OUR CORRESPONDENT prestigious Ramon Magsaysay holds a 66-seat majority in issues such as Goods and Ser- across Delhi NEW DELHI: The Cyber Cell Award, has served in the Upper the 70-member Delhi Assem- vices Tax (GST) and Demon- Metro station of Delhi Police Crime Branch NEW DELHI: Speculation ir House twice in the past – once bly, is all set to win all three etisation and to counter “BJP’s NEW DELHI: Delhi Jal Board arrested an interstate pimp on rife that senior journalist Arun from 1998-2004 and then again seats, when legislators elect the brand of economics”. NEW DELHI: A woman pas- (DJB) services at various parts Saturday. The accused has been Shourie would likely be one of in 2004-2010. lawmakers in the states they For other faces, the party senger was apprehended for of Delhi would be affected on identified as Geeta Arora alias the Rajya Sabha candidates to During his first stint, he represent. is also looking for grassroots allegedly carrying a country- Tuesday, as annual flushing Sonu Punjaban be nominated by Delhi’s ruling held the charge of two very cru- The party, sources earlier workers. The party has changed made pistol, with eight live of underground reservoir and Police said the accused has Aam Aadmi Party. cial ministries in the Cabinet of had said, has decided to nom- its outlook towards the Oppo- rounds and suspicious amount booster pumping station would been involved in five cases pre- The party is likely to send Atal Bihari Vajpayee. inate ‘outsider ground-level sition and is looking at the of cash of around Rs 91,230 and take place. viously which include cases of two non-political faces and one However, Shourie has, in workers’, who have done some “grassroots-level workers”. 100 USD, and gold jewellery Accused Sonu Punjaban Sector D3/D4 Vasant Kunj, ITP Act, MCOCA Act, Mur- PIC/MPOST from AAP to the Upper House recent times, become very concrete work in their respec- “We are looking at ground in her bag, while entering at Moti Bagh, 328 LIG Houses der, POCSO Act. ment regarding immoral traf- of Parliament. critical of the Bharatiya Janata tive fields. level activists and workers who GTB Nagar Metro Station on Nasirpur, Bindapur, C2/B The case was registered ficking, sale, rape and torture Among the list of leaders Party-led Central government’s Speculation regarding have impacted and brought real Sunday. Block Janakpuri, D2A Nang- based on the statement of a for prostitution by pimps at within the party are names economic policies. Shourie’s nomination came change to the downtrodden,” a According to a Central alrai-I, New Rajinder Nagar, minor girl, who alleged that many places in Delhi, UP, Hary- such as Sanjay Singh, Ashish Elections to three Rajya after a faction of the party lead- party source said. Industrial Security Force offi- Nehru Camp JJC Haiderpur, she had been trafficked and tor- ana, Sonu Punjaban has been Khaitan and Ashutosh. Sabha seats from Delhi would ers wanted to bring credible The lookout for the par- cial, “The incident was reported A-3 Sector-B Rohini, A-3 Sec- tured for prostitution. arrested by Crime branch. The However, AAP national be held on January 16, the Elec- journalists to the forefront. ty’s representative to the Rajya at around 4.35 pm at GTB tor-8 Rohini, H-Block Sawan Police said eelier the victim accused was arrested under rel- spokesperson Saurabh Bha- tion Commission of India had Shourie is one of those Sabha seats comes when there Nagar Metro Station during the Park, Mansarover Park, Kanti went missing due to fear of life evant sections of IPC. radwaj on Sunday said, “The said on Friday. journalists who has a credible are multiple senior lead- screening of the bag at X-ray Nagar, Old Seelampur, Shan- from pimps sold her repeat- Not only in Delhi, the name of Arun Shourie is just The terms of the incumbent image and is well known for ers who could potentially be machine.” kar Nagar and adjoining areas, edly including Sonu Punjaban accused was also accused in a speculation and we have not members —Dr Karan Singh, his parliamentary knowledge, nominated. The official at the X-ray Surajmal Vihar, Vishwas Nagar, (Geeta Arora). other states. During the inves- confirmed any name in this Janardhan Dwivedi and Parvez which could be helpful for the However, a senior party machine notice the image of Kasturba Nagar, Yozna Vihar, The minor girl was traced tigation, police found that the matter. We will announce all Hashmi, all representing the AAP to raise various issues in leader said, “The problem with pistol and cash inside a bag, Shrestha Vihar, Jwala Nagar, and rescued by cops, after Arora involved in a case reg- the three names together in the Congress — will end on Janu- the Parliament. nominating one and not the later the bag was physically are the places where shortage which she narrated her ordeal. istered in Bahadurgarh police next week.” ary 27. The reason for such a move other can lead to more tension checked in presence of the pas- will be seen, said DJB. MPOST On the basis of her state- station. Shourie, a winner of the The ruling AAP, which by the party is said to focus on within the party.” senger.” MPOST 4 city mp MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017 Medanta medical negligence: Duo killed by four friends after tiff in Ggn, two arrested

PIYUSH OHRIE also been seized. Ggn health dept starts probe “The whole incident was GURUGRAM: A minor tiff reported on December 20 among six best friends, report- when all the six friends were Seven-year-old Shaurya Parmar from Rajasthan was admitted to the hospital on edly caused due to alcohol con- drinking with each other. In sumption, in the city led to the intoxicated state, sud- October 29 for dengue shock syndrome; he passed away on November 22 gruesome killing of two of the denly and argument occurred best friends. between the groups and the PIYUSH OHRIE will follow the due procedures tis but there have been other The incident, which abused were hurled at each to examine whether there were private hospitals in the city took place on December 20, other,” said Inspector Ravinder GURUGRAM: The Guru- any lapses in the treatment of where recently shocking inci- emerged on Saturday only after Kumar, spokesperson Guru- gram Health department on Shaurya,” said Dr BK Rajoura, dents of negligence and apathy the mother of one of the vic- gram police. Sunday initiated an investiga- chief medical officer, district took place. tims, filed a police complaint Accused Rohith and Vinay PIC/MPOST “It took an ugly turn after an tion against Medanta Hospital health department. On November 22, 12-year- here on Sunday. expletive on one’s caste resulted here after it has been accused In their defence, the man- old Prateek who was admit- Reports say that two people The gory incident came to in the victim first being beaten of medical negligence with agement at Medanata has ted in Park hospital died under - Rahul and Ramesh, in their light after a complaint was filed black and blue by sticks and which a seven-year-old den- stated that best form of treat- mysterious circumstances. 20s, were bludgeoned to death by Rahul’s mother on Decem- then being hacked to death. In gue patient died last month. ment was provided to Shaurya. The family of the deceased by their other four friends after ber 22 of his son not having order to make bodies unrecog- Report says that, Bhupen- Moreover, the cost of treat- alleged that he died due to neg- a late night party on the night come to the house for more nisable the culprits then tried dra Parmar, the father of the ment was also discussed with ligence on the part of doctors of December 20. than two days. to mutilate the body and burn deceased child, now filed a for- parents at every step, the hos- and management. Presently, The horror didn’t end Investigation by the law them. As they were unsuccess- mal complaint against the pri- pital authorities claimed. the chief medical officer is there. After killing them both, enforcement officials eventu- ful in doing so fully, they tried vate hospital at the city police However, with no improve- the hospital handed the, a bill They added that they will investigating the matter. their bodies were hacked into ally led to the shocking discov- to bury it in the vacant plot,” the station. It may be noted that the ment in the condition of their of Rs 15.88 lakh. lend their cooperation to the Another horrific incident pieces and then burnt with pet- ery of half-burnt bodies of two official further added. hospital had charged a whop- son, the family who belongs to Bearing resemblance to the agencies on any investigation was also reported at Shiva hos- rol before being buried at an people who were later iden- The incident has once ping Rs 15 lakhs for the treat- Dholpur in Rajasthan, decided incident at Fortis where Hary- in the matter. pital where two staff members empty land. tified as Rahul and his friend again brought to light of grow- ment of the kid. to shift him to Dr Ram Mano- ana government has taken a After action on Fortis Hos- had molested a minor patient The Gurugram police have Ramesh. ing murderous rage among the Shaurya Parmar, who was har Lohia Hospital in Delhi. firm action against the man- pital in Gurugram, people who who was admitted in the ICU arrested two people namely On the night of Decem- youngsters in the city. suffering from dengue shock After receiving a long treat- agement, the aggrieved father have been victims to the mal- of the hospital. Rohith and Vinay into the inci- ber 23, the Gurugram police All six youngsters were not syndrome, was admitted in the ment, Shaurya breathed his now hopes that justice will be practices of other private hos- Even as two culprits were dent while the other two who arrested two people who con- only unemployed but also used hospital on October 29 and last on November 22. Already delivered to him. pitals in Gurugram now want arrested, the family is holding have been identified as Gau- fessed of their crime. to commit petty crimes so that received treatment till Novem- grieving their son’s demise, the “We have received a com- action on the management of a protest to demand the closure tam and Sanju are presently The sharp instruments used they can accrue money for the ber 20. family’s troubles worsened after plaint against Medanta and we other hospitals. Not only For- of the hospital. absconding. for committing the crime have drinks and drugs. Car mows down Four arrested for robbing Hooligans thrash elderly man man in Outer jeweller of Rs 9 lakh in Rohini with baseball bat in Gurugram Ring Road, OUR CORRESPONDENT OUR CORRESPONDENT The brazen incident had driver nabbed occurred in Gurugram Model NEW DELHI: A robbery case of Rs 9 lakh was GURUGRAM: Brazen lawless- town area, after a tiff between OUR CORRESPONDENT solved by Rohini District police after they have ness in Gurugram was again the contractor and youngsters arrested four members of Gogi gang from Budh- displayed after a senior citizen over parking. NEW DELHI: A 38-year-old pur drain area on Sunday. was beaten with baseball bat by In October this year, Sunil man was killed on Saturday Police said they also recovered an amount of unidentified youths. The inci- Dabas, who has been conferred evening, after being hit by a car Rs 6.05 lakhs from the accused. dent was reported from Shivaji with highest sporting honours on the Outer Ring Road near The accused were identified as Deepak (29) Nagar area. like Dronacharya and Padam- Mukundpur Chowk. Deepak (30), Narender (22) and Sanjay (24). The victim has been iden- shree awards, narrowly escaped Police identified the victim Along with money, police also recovered three tified as Lakshmi Narayan of being run over by a SUV. as Sanjeev Singh, who worked sophisticated automatic pistols, 13 live cartridges Chawla. Police said the youth Angry over no action being as a labourer in the city. and two motorcycles used in the crime. had reportedly asked money taken by the police into the The accused driver Ashok The four accused in police custody on Sunday PIC/MPOST Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) from Chawla, who is in his Victim Lakshmi Narayan Chawla in hospital PIC/MPOST matter the decorated sports- Kumar has been arrested, Rajneesh Gupta said on December 17 at about gunshot in the air and snatched the bags from 60s, whom he refused. Enraged woman also threatened to police sources added. 9 pm, complainant Ankit Verma (a jeweler) was the scooty. Both of them ran away from the spot over refusal, the youth thrashed complaint has been registered not found to be fit for record- return her awards. The offending driver had coming back to his home from his shop. on their motorcycle. Chawla and hit him with the at the Shivaji Nagar police sta- ing his statement. These people too were bra- tried to flee the spot after the Verma was having two bags in his scooty “The team made wide search operation about base ball bat in his head. tion and police have begun Open display of hooli- zen enough of committing the mishap, but was chased and containing Rs 9.9 lakh, documents, and keys of the booty and assailants in the area of Sonepat, The victim is presently in investigation. ganism was also reported last crime in her house. She had apprehended by passersby, who the shop. He was intercepted by accused persons. Baghpat, and Shamli and on December 20. The the stable state and is recuper- A police official, however, month, when a dozen youth raised objections on the illegal beat him black and blue, before DCP said one accused threatened him after accused were arrested from Budhpur drain,” ating in a private hospital. disclosed that they haven’t had ransacked the residence of a construction occurring at the setting his car on fire, said the showing him the pistol and other accused fired said the DCP. Meanwhile, the formal a word with the victim as he is contractor. civil lines area. police. According to police, the accident took place around 8.30 pm on Saturday. High-ranking cops Tight police cover assigned to Delhi’s churches “The victim was trying to cross the road near Mukund- ABHAY SINGH The helping hand for Delhi dar, security guard and police pur Chok, when Kumar, who Police is being the shopkeepers, mitras for prevention of crime. was coming from Burari and undertake patrolling NEW DELHI: The Delhi vendors and the security guard The police have made heading towards Mukundpur Police has made elaborate who have been helping police special arrangements for big at a high speed, hit Singh,” a security arrangements includ- to maintain security arrange- churches where large gather- police official told reporters on ing the deployment of adequate ments in their areas. “Everyday ings are expected. Sunday. across Capital security personnel at all the vendors with their carts vis- Meanwhile, a large number “The victim was flung in the churches in the national capi- its small lanes and other areas of security personnel were seen air and received severe injuries. OUR CORRESPONDENT tal for Christmas. . They have all information deploying around the Sacred Kumar, however, did not stop The ‘general gasht’ In a view of heightened about the activities going out Heart Cathedral, one of the and kept on driving,” the offi- NEW DELHI: ‘General gasht’, security, Delhi Police also held there, we have told them that largest churches in Delhi. In cial added. took place for Delhi Police have made special arrangements for big churches where or patrolling, took place for meetings with their eyes and if they found anything suspi- South Delhi more than 18 cor- However, two men on a around three hours on Saturday around three hours ears street vendors, shopkeep- large gatherings are expected PIC/MPOST cious informed the police,” said ridors which connect impor- motorcycle who were passing night in the national Capital, on Saturday night ers and told them to inform security arrangements for the force has been tasked for the a senior police official. PRO tant temples, roads, restaurants, by the area saw the entire inci- as part of which high-ranking in Delhi, in which police if they found some- Christmas celebration in all purpose,” said the PRO. Madhur Verma said they have churches have the extra deploy- dent and chased Kumar. officials of Delhi Police, includ- thing suspicious around their the districts of Delhi and also The officer said all the senior launched community polic- ment of the forces to avert any A few metres ahead of the ing the Commissioner, were on even the Police locality. they have launched a drive to officials of their districts will be ing scheme ‘Prahari’ to pre- type of incidents. More than accident spot, they overtook night patrol. Commissioner was Deputy Commissioner of check drunk driving. “All the keeping a tab on the security vent crime and maintain law 80 pickets will be there during him and locals passing through In South Delhi area, negli- Police and PRO (Delhi Police) churches across the national arrangements and the regular and order in the city. ‘Prahari’ festival times and heavy patrol- the area helped the duo nab gence was observed on the part on night patrol Madhur Verma stated that Capital have been provided patrolling in motorcycle will be is an initiative to involve vari- ling is there on more than 70 Kumar. The accused was then of policemen during patrolling, they have made heightened with security cover. The entire there nearby churches. ous stakeholders like –chowki- motorcycles thrashed by the public. after which 12 police person- During gasht, police also nel were sent to District Lines. arrested several persons in Meanwhile, city police was south Delhi area. also able to make more than 20 During a special picket Gurugram DC gives back reins No Christmas joy for arrests during the patrolling. checking at Mother Diary Tigri Deputy Commissioner of picket at 10 pm, a police team Police (South) Romil Baaniya apprehended a motorcyclist, stated that on Saturday during identified as Sanjay (22). of school to Ryan management homeless who sleep General gasht some deficien- He was found in possession cies were found in motorcycle of one country-made Katta OUR CORRESPONDENT surveillance of the steps taken and students, poor mainte- gram are now making it man- patrolling on some corridors with one live cartridge. On by the school, so that parents nance of verification records, datory for teachers to fill code and roads. checking details of the bike it GURUGRAM: Three months who send their children to the absence of CCTV cameras at of conduct forms. on Delhi’s streets “The responsible police per- was found stolen from an area of being at the helm of its affairs, school are satisfied with the many spots and lack of bound- A major declaration in this sonnel, who were tasked for of Sangam Vihar. the Deputy Commissioner new management. ary wall after a distance of 200 form is that the school staff will ABHAY SINGH rative items. patrolling on those corridors, Another arrest was made (DC) of Gurugram handed The Ryan Group had come metres were among the secu- not indulge in any form of sex- Vendors near the Sacred have been asked to explain the during general gasht in the over reins of Ryan International under fire after various flaws rity lapses found by the DC at ual activity with school chil- NEW DELHI: As the mercury Heart Cathedral claim cops lapses and have sent to district course of checking at BRT School in Bhondsi back to the were found at the school. the school. dren. Sources said these forms steadily keeps dropping before don’t allow them to sell items lines,” said the DCP. Road, around 1.45 am, where school’s management. The DC observed that if Senior public officials also will be updated every year, so Christmas in Delhi, vendors in front of the church. He further said the 12 a man, identified as Haniwell, The official handing over the management had taken pointed that the school func- that the accountability of teach- selling festive products who “We have not been allowed police personnel belonged to was apprehended with a knife. took place on Friday, along concrete steps to rectify the tioned with expired fire extin- ing staff can be fixed. often sleep near churces, are to sell our things near the the police stations of Saket, Another accused Sonu was with the rider that the school situation, the investigation of guishing systems and had not There are several other having a tough time. church and on Christmas Eve. Malviya Nagar, Hauz Khas, nabbed with a country-made management must rectify its Pradyuman Thakur’s murder built ramps for its students. measures which would soon Yashwant has been sleep- If we are not able to sell more, Greater Kailash and Ambed- pistol, stolen motorcycle and shortcoming within 15 days. would not have been muddled. Since Pradyuman’s murder, be implemented to enhance ing with his family on the street it will be a great loss,” says Ajay. kar Nagar. live cartridges from Saket. There will also be periodic A common toilet for staff most private schools in Guru- security of the students. near Sacred Heart Cathedral Meanwhile, Deputy Com- for over three days. missioner of Police (New Public Notice When asked how they are Delhi) Braj Kishore Singh Preet International Recruiting surviving the cold nights, the claims that these people are Agency New Delhi holding Maintenance of Biodiversity Park in shambles family says it is very tough to not vendors. sleep at night as they have no “They are all unauthorised Registration Certificate B-0397 PIYUSH OHRIE /Del/Part/300/5/8389/2009 shared of broken footpaths, the last resorts of maintenance quilts or blankets. people who don’t have license under EMI Gration act 1983 and seats at the park. of greenery in the city high- “I cant go home. I have from NDMC (New Delhi for export of Man Power have GURUGRAM: For a city A perfect opportunity light that lack of development brought Christmas product Municipal Council) and create closed Business from where viewing greenery is now of enhancing the park into a of park will be final act of land for over Rs 50,000 in the last problems for the people who 05/05/2014. becoming more of a luxury, the famous tourist spot has further mafia taking over the city. three days and sales are low. I visit the church,” said Singh. In the event there is any claim 600 acres Biodiversity Park was taken a jolt with various forms “We all know about the sit- stay here with my family in the NGO Centre For Holistic Against us same may be a unique initiative of public- of entertainment zones and uation of Aravallis in the city night in, hoping people will buy Development) which works for referred within 30 days of pub- private participation that is just restaurants that were initially and in the state. Before 2008 my stuff,” says Yashwant. the safety of homeless people, lication of this notice. copies of zero kilometres from Delhi. planned having not come up. this 600 acre area was a barren A few steps away, 62-year- stated that most vendors are complaint may also be sent to More than 14 multina- The project that was seen to land of Aravallis till the corpo- old Vidya has been sleeping in homeless and during Christ- proterctor general of emigrants tional companies had funded be the beginning of a success- rate in the city came along and the cold since December 21. mas, and earn some money by ministry of External affairs, the project. ful public private partnership funded the project of plant- “Sometimes, a few kind selling these products and feed Akbar Bhawan, Satya Marg, However, seven years after in the city is now on the verge ing exotic species of trees in people give us warm clothes their families. Chanakya puri, New Delhi. its first conceptualisation the of collapse. the area. which I and my grandson “It is cold and their life Sd/- maintenance is now falling Certain councillors of the “What could have been a wear,” says Vidya, adding that becomes tough during Christ- Preet International Since 2010, there have been no plantations initiated by Municipal apart. Corporation of Gurugram at the Biodiversity Park MCG have expressed the views perfect opportunity to enhance she was able to sell a few prod- mas. This year, more than 2,000 Recruting Agency Since 2010, there have of the public agency taking greenery has been wasted due ucts in the last few days. dead bodies have been found LB-31, Prakash Deep been no plantations initi- and the responsibility has While there have been com- over the park. to public apathy. This must be Street vendors like Vidya in Delhi, most of whom are Building, 7, Tolstoy ated by Municipal Corpo- been entrusted upon a private plaints of the falling greenery, Meanwhile, the residents prevented,” said Ritu Narang, a sell Santa Claus caps and homeless,” said Sunil Aledia of Marg, New Delhi-110001 ration of Gurugram (MCG) organisation. there have also been grievances who view the park as one of city resident. beards, lights and other deco- the NGO. 5 MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017 mp nation Rabri Devi urges Modi, Shah hail BJP’s party workers to Sushil Modi lashes out at maintain calm & Lalu and his supporters keep spirits high OUR CORRESPONDENT feat in assembly bypolls OUR CORRESPONDENT PATNA: Bihar Deputy Chief OUR CORRESPONDENT PATNA: A day after RJD Minister Sushil Kumar Modi supremo Lalu Prasad was con- on Sunday lashed out at Lalu NEW DELHI: Prime Minister victed by a special CBI court Prasad and his supporters for narendra Modi and BJP chief in a fodder scam case, his wife alleging that the Rashtriya Amit Shah and on Sunday cited and former Bihar chief minis- Janata Dal (RJD) chief was BJP’s win in assembly bypolls to ter Rabri Devi on Sunday urged being targeted as he belonged claim that its good governance party workers to maintain calm to a backward caste. agenda has prevailed over the and keep their spirits high. A special CBI court in Ran- opposition’s anti- development Talking to reporters at her chi had yesterday convicted politics. With the Congress not residence here, Rabri expressed Prasad and 15 others in a fod- winning any of the five seats concern over the health of her der scam case, 21 years after it was one of the petitioners, on at RJD vice-president Shiva- in the bypolls, Shah took a dig husband, who is in his 70s and had surfaced, while acquitting whose PIL the Patna High nand Tiwary, without taking at it, saying that he hoped the has undergone a heart surgery. six others, including former Court had, in 1996, ordered his name, and said, “A socialist party will not claim a moral “We have to honour the Bihar chief minister Jagannath a CBI inquiry into the fodder leader, who gave up his vow of victory. court’s judgement. Our work- Mishra. “Upon being held scam cases, tweeted, “Won- sanyas (retirement) to support “My gratitude to the people ers across Bihar and in other guilty in a case of illegal with- der what type of leadership is the politics of benami property, of Sikandra for once again sup- parts of the country should stay drawal of Rs 89.4 lakh from the provided by people who bra- now feels that he had commit- porting BJP. Our commitment calm and not get disheartened,” treasury, Lalu Prasad has gone zenly indulge in self-praise and ted a sin 21 years ago by asso- to serving India’s villages and she said. “They should remem- to jail, for corruption, for the amass illegal wealth.” ciating himself with the PIL taking them to new heights of ber ‘bhagwan ke ghar der hai seventh time. Yet, he is com- In another tweet, he said, against Lalu Prasad.” progress is unwavering,” Modi andher nahin’ (there is delay paring himself to leaders like “Among the 16 persons con- Tiwary was a co-peti- tweeted. in divine dispensation, but not Nelson Mandela and Martin victed, eight (50 per cent) tioner in the PIL filed in the After putting up a strong seats from the Congress. in Likabali and Pakke Kesang Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and injustice),” she said. Luther King,” Modi tweeted. belonged to the upper castes. high court. Upon his expulsion fight in Gujarat, where the In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP in Arunachal Pradesh show the West Bengal. People do not “Yesterday we were confi- He was hinting at a tweet Among the eight who were from Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) BJP won its sixth consecutive retained the Sikandra Assem- strong appreciation of Prime want to accept the corruption dent that he (Lalu) would be set by the RJD supremo, shortly acquitted, four (50 per cent) just before the 2014 Lok Sabha Assembly election, the Con- bly seat in a bypoll in Kanpur Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Act and misgovernance of Con- free. Some news channels also after his conviction yesterday, were Dalits or from the back- polls, Tiwary had announced gress had claimed moral vic- Dehat district. The result in East policy”, Shah said. gress,” Shah said. flashed news to that effect, only wherein he had said, “Had peo- ward classes. RJD supporters his retirement from active pol- tory last week. Shah, in a series Sikandra underlines the sup- The BJP will continue to He also took heart from to retract a few seconds later. ple like Nelson Mandela, Mar- are refusing to look at the facts itics. However, he joined the of tweets, said that his party’s port of farmers and villages serve the northeast and ensure the rise in BJP’s vote share in Now we have to put up with tin Luther King, Baba Saheb and accusing the judiciary of RJD recently and was made the winning spree has continued to the BJP, Shah said, claim- that the fruits of development Sabang in West Bengal, where whatever has happened. Ambedkar failed in their being casteist.” party’s national general secre- after the victory in the Gujarat ing that the BSP’s “tacit sup- reach every citizen, he said. the party’s candidate came “I just hope that he stays efforts, history would have Soon after the conviction tary. The deputy chief minister and Himachal Pradesh polls as port” to the SP did not help the “I hope Congress leaders third. Shah claimed that the healthy and takes his medicines treated them as villains. They of Prasad yesterday, many RJD was hinting at Tiwary’s state- it won three of the five by- elec- opposition. won’t claim a ‘moral victory’ BJP is fast emerging as an alter- on time. He is a heart patient still are villains for the biased, supporters had questioned the ment that he felt he had “com- tions. In Arunachal Pradesh, “BJP’s good governance even on Sunday. After being native to the “anti-people” Tri- who has undergone a major racist and casteist minds. No acquittal of Mishra and alleged mitted a sin” by filing the PIL, where the BJP is in power, the agenda prevailed over anti- rejected by Gujarat and Him- namool Congress (TMC) and surgery and we have apprised one should expect any differ- that the judgment smacked of “which paved the way for Nit- party wrested the Pakke-Kes- development politics of the achal, they have been rejected the Left front, which he alleged the court of his medical condi- ent treatment.” an “upper-caste bias”. ish Kumar to come to power sang and Likabali Assembly opposition,” he said. The win by people in Arunachal has “ruined” West Bengal. tion,” Rabri said. The senior BJP leader, who Modi also took potshots in the state”. Government asks judiciary, States to monitor MHA releases `9.21 cr for security of Parliament OUR CORRESPONDENT ing system, vehicle scanning good strength outside the com- disbursal of maintenance money to women system and explosive detectors, plex and nearly Rs 100 crore NEW DELHI: The home min- a home ministry official said. spent on installation of hi-tech istry has released Rs 9.21 crore Parliament was the target gadgets like boom barriers and OUR CORRESPONDENT cabinet colleague and Woman district judge and Superinten- for comprehensive mainte- of a terror attack on December tyre busters. and Child Development Min- dent of Police, work seamlessly nance of the integrated secu- 13, 2001, when five armed ter- The CRPF, the Delhi Police NEW DELHI: The Centre has ister Maneka Gandhi. to provide justice to women,” rity system at the Parliament rorists carrying forged passes and Parliament’s own security expressed concern over dif- “All the stakeholders, the read the letter. Estate, an official said. drove into the complex in a staff are currently deployed to ficulties faced by women in Government of India, the judi- The law minister also urged The amount, released vehicle. guard the complex. accessing money awarded to ciary, legal services authorities the judiciary to advise district recently, will be spent on The terrorists, all of whom gardener also died in the The entire Parliament them as maintenance by courts, and state governments need to courts to monitor timely dis- annual maintenance of the were linked to the Jaish-e- encounter. house complex is enclosed by urging the judiciary and state various high courts, Law Min- take collective responsibility bursal of maintenance and security apparatus at the Par- Mohammed, were engaged The attack resulted in a an ornamental red sandstone governments to monitor dis- ister Ravi Shankar Prasad said for ensuring that institutional speedy execution of warrants liament complex, including by the security personnel and major security upgrade in the wall or iron grills with iron bursal of funds in such cases. the issue of “procedural delays” mechanisms, such as the pro- awarded by the court in collab- CCTV cameras, access control, killed. Parliament building, with cen- gates that can be closed when In a letter to chief justices of has also been flagged by his posed committee comprising oration with state police forces. personal and baggage screen- Eight personnel and a tral forces being deployed in the occasion demands. AIMPLB urges withdrawal Railways mulls extra charges during NOTA gets more My suspension warning to votes than BJP non-corrupt officers, says of Bill on triple talaq fests, discounts for odd-hour travels candidate in RK ANANYA SENGUPTA Nagar bypoll suspended Kerala DGP NEW DELHI: Premium OUR CORRESPONDENT charges during festivals such OUR CORRESPONDENT as Diwali, Durga Puja and THIRUVANANTHA- discounts for travelling odd- CHENNAI: This is one record PURAM: DGP Jacob Thomas, hours, choosing a less popular the BJP candidate who con- the senior-most IPS officer in route or train or one having tested the RK Nagar bypoll Kerala who was recently sus- no pantry services, are some will not be proud of, as NOTA pended for criticising the state of the proposals the Rail- got more votes than he man- government, on Sunday said way Board is considering on aged to get. the action was in “retaliation” OUR CORRESPONDENT of women and Shariah (Islamic dynamic-pricing. While the main battle was of his anti-corruption stand law). Apart from this, it is also During a meeting with confined to the giants--TTV and a “warning” to all pub- LUCKNOW: The triple talaq an an attempt to interfere with senior officials last week, Rail- Dhinakaran and AIADMK lic servants who stood against “My suspension is a warn- bill is against the provisions of the Muslim personal law. If way Minister Piyush Goyal as veteran E Madhusudhanan, corruption. ing to all potential public the Constitution and violates this bill becomes a law, then well as the board underlined in an interesting aside, NOTA Besides the suspension, servants who act against cor- the rights of women, the All women will face a host of dif- the need for flexible dynamic- for premium charges (10-20 They have also recom- pipped the saffron party’s Karu Thomas was also served with ruption.The message to them India Muslim Personal Law ficulties,” said Maulana Khalil- pricing in order to offer com- per cent additional) for peak mended premium charges Nagarajan. two memos this month by the (from the government) is very Board (AIMPLB) said on Sun- ur-Rehman Sajjad Nomani, the petitive fares vis-a-vis airlines. days and festival seasons. for overnight trains, trains As many as 2,373 voters CPI(M)-led LDF government, clear...you should tide with cor- day, demanding its withdrawal. spokesperson of the AIMPLB. Three railway zones--the Since there is higher pas- with pantry cars, for allowing from the constituency did not citing service rule violations in ruption,” Jacob Thomas said. Describing it as a “conspir- “The proposed bill is Eastern, the Western and the senger volume on weekends confirmed booking through want to vote for anyone and two books penned by him. “Those who are in power acy”, the AIMPLB also accused against the basic principles of West Central--have prepared and during festivals such as e-auction a week in advance on pressed the EVM button for One among them is his can retaliate against officers in the government of snatching the Constitution. It is highly presentations, suggesting ways Diwali, Durga Puja, Chhath popular trains. None of the Above (NOTA), bare-all autobiography ‘Sra- various ways. Suspension is one the right of divorce from men. objectionable that the Cen- to introduce dynamic-pricing. and Christmas, these periods Differential pricing for pre- leaving Nagarajan with a mea- vukalkkoppam Neenthumpol’ of such means. But I will con- The chairman of the board, tre did not consult the AIM- The zones have suggested could be earmarked for addi- ferred berths like inside lower gre 1,417 votes. (Swimming Along With tinue to blow the whistle on Maulana Rabe Hasani Nadwi, PLB, any Muslim organisation that passengers be offered dis- tional charges, the presenta- ones, cabins near doors on This was his second elec- Sharks). corruption,” he said. will request Prime Minister or any stakeholder before pre- counts on trains reaching des- tions suggest. Passengers could either side and an upgradation toral failure in as many years. The top cop had triggered Chief Minister Pinarayi Narendra Modi to withhold paring the draft of the bill,” he tination at inconvenient times, also be asked to pay extra for fee of Rs 20 per berth have also Nagarajan, a regular face in a row by initiating a probe Vijayan had last week issued or withdraw the proposed bill alleged. for example between 0000- choosing high speed trains over been suggested. Tamil TV channels who puts against high-profile persons, directions for suspension of the that criminalises the practice The Muslim Women Pro- 0400 and 1300-1700 hours. others on the same route. Officials in the Railway forth his party’s views on vari- including ministers, politicians officer as the head of the Insti- of instant divorce, an official tection of Rights on Marriage They have also suggested The additional amount Ministry said a final blueprint ous issues, had unsuccessfully and bureaucrats during his ten- tute of Management (IMG) in spokesperson of the Muslim Bill, prepared by an inter-min- that 10-30 per cent discount be could be charged on per hour for introducing dynamic-pric- contested the 2016 Assembly ure as vigilance chief. Government under relevant body said. isterial group headed by home offered for first leg as well as the basis depending on the time ing through premiums and polls from Mylapore constitu- He said he would continue sections of the All India Ser- “The board is of the view minister Rajnath Singh, will be last leg vacant berth. a passenger saved while trav- discounts will be finalised by ency in this city. to raise his voice against cor- vice Rules as some of his recent that the triple talaq bill is introduced by the government The different zones have elling in the faster train, the December 31. PTI AIADMK had then won ruption but rejected rumours remarks had shown the state against the Constitution, rights in Parliament next week. also proposed the railways go zones have suggested. the seat. that he would enter politics. government in poor light. Centre asks States to tighten Case filed against Two-fold jump in NRIs In 7 years, surface flow irrigation security during X-Mas, New Year BJP MLA for inflammatory registering as voters OUR CORRESPONDENT schemes down by 9000: Census speeches OUR CORRESPONDENT registered in. NEW DELHI: The Centre This means that they first OUR CORRESPONDENT has asked all states to tighten HYDERABAD: The Hyder- NEW DELHI: The number of have to register themselves as security and take all possible abad police have registered NRIs registering themselves as voters and then take a long NEW DELHI: The number of steps to ensure peace ahead of a case against T Raja Singh ‘overseas electors’ has seen a flight to India be present on surface flow minor irrigation Christmas and new year cele- Lodh, a Telangana BJP MLA, two-fold jump in the last three election day. schemes dropped by nearly brations, an official said. so that any attempt to disturb for allegedly making inflam- years, latest government and As on May 2012, there were 9,000 in seven years since In an advisory sent coun- peace could be foiled, the offi- matory speeches. EC data show. The figure, how- 1,003,7761 NRIs, according to 2006-07, resulting in growing try-wide, the Home ministry cial said. A complaint was lodged ever, is far too less when com- the report of the multi-agency dependence on groundwater said a large gathering of people Yesterday, Home Minister at the Golconda police station pared to the number of Indians ‘committee for exploring fea- for agricultural purposes, a are expected in public places Rajnath Singh had said an advi- against Raja Singh, who rep- living abroad and entitled to sibility of alternative options government census has found. while celebrating Christmas sory has been issued to all the resents Goshamahal constitu- vote here. for voting by overseas electors’. According to recently and New year. The home min- states to ensure law and order ency here, on Saturday. The issue of voting by NRIs Quoting electoral roll data released fifth minor irrigation istry has asked all states to during Christmas celebrations He made “derogatory and in Indian elections is being of 2014, the committee said schemes census, “The number maintain utmost vigil to pre- and wished the nation on the hate” speeches against Muslims debated again with the govern- 11,846 people were registered of surface flow minor irriga- storing or by diverting it from water table, the study says. vent any untoward incident, the occasion. and promoted enmity between ment moving a bill in the Lok as ‘overseas electors’-- 11,140 tion schemes has declined from a river, stream or nala. While It has suggested that steps ministry official said. “Any festival, whether it is Hindus and Muslims, said Sabha to extend proxy voting of them men and only 706 6,01,000 in 2006-07 to 5,92,000 permanent diversions are con- should be taken to restore sur- The state administrations Christmas, Ramzan, Holi or the complaint, citing Lodh’s rights to them on the lines of women. in 2013-14.” structed for utilising the flow- face water sources in order have been advised to take Diwali, should be celebrated speeches between July 2015 to service voters. The bill says the The number of registered These schemes are located ing stream or river water in to continue to derive benefits appropriate measures to ensure without any problems. December 15, 2017 which are necessary provision of coming ‘overseas electors’ saw a two- in Maharashtra, Karnataka, some areas, temporary diver- from them and stop further peaceful celebrations, includ- “Strict action would be available on social media. to India to cast ballot caused fold jump this year. Accord- Madhya Pradesh, Andhra sions are also constructed som- depletion of water table. ing effective crowd control and taken if anyone tries to create Police registered a case “hardship” to overseas electors. ing to a Lok Sabha question Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil times that get washed away Tanks/ponds form the larg- maintenance of law and order. ruckus during the festivals,” he against Lodh under IPC sec- As of now, non-resident answered in writing by Minis- Nadu and Uttarakhand and during the rainy season. est share (41 per cent) of all the The ministry also asked the had said. Recently, some fringe tions 153A (promoting enmity Indians--essentially people ter of State for Law P P Chaud- irrigate about 4.89 million The decline in the number surface flow irrigation schemes, state governments to deploy elements had threatened some among people on the grounds living or working abroad who hary on December 15 in the hectare of land, the census has of surface irrigation schemes while 14 per cent and 10 per adequate forces in malls, reli- of the Christian community of religion, race, residence and have not given up their Indian ongoing Winter Session, a total found. has led to growing dependence cent of the schemes are res- gious places, markets, airports, members against celebrating language) and 295-A, said an citizenship--can cast their vote of 24,348 people are ‘overseas Under the scheme, rain- on groundwater schemes caus- ervoirs and temporary diver- railway stations, bus terminus Christmas. official. MPOST in the constituencies they are electors’. water is used for irrigation by ing depletion of underground sions, respectively. 6 nation mp MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017 MAHADAYI RIVER WATER ISSUE Teach Pakistan a lesson: Father of Pakistan violates ceasefire soldier killed in Parrikar, BJP playing cross-border firing along LoC in Poonch again JAMMU: Pakistani troops CHANDIGARH: A day after on Sunday resorted to unpro- Pakistani troops killed Sepoy voked firing along the Line of drama: Karnataka CM Pargat Singh, his father on Control in Poonch district of OUR CORRESPONDENT Sunday exhorted the Centre to Jammu and Kashmir, a day He was avenge the killing of his son and after a similar incident took the other Indian soldiers. lives of four Army personnel BENGALURU: Karnataka responding to a Pargat Singh was one of the in nearby Rajouri district. The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah question regarding four soldiers killed in a cease- Pakistani troops started firing on Friday accused his Goa Parrikar’s letter to fire violation along the Line of from heavy and light weapons counterpart Manohar Parri- Control (LoC) in Keri sector of from across the border, target- kar and State BJP chief BS Yed- Yeddyurappa on Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri ing forward posts and villages dyurappa of trying to play out the inter-state river district. “Our government must in Shahpur sector around 12.55 a ‘drama’ on the issue Maha- give a befitting reply to Paki- pm, a police official said. dayi river water issue, keeping water issue after stan. Why is our government He said the Indian troops Family members and relatives of Lance Naik Gurmail Singh, who was the coming assembly elections mediation by BJP not taking any action? They guarding the LoC retaliated killed in the cross border firing at India Pakistan border near Rajouri, in mind. national must teach them a lesson,” Par- effectively and that the fir- mourn at his residence in village Alkare near Amritsar on Sunday PTI “...Parrikar and Yeddy- ciple, Goa would not oppose from north Karnataka dis- gat’s father Rattan Singh said. ing between the two sides was urappa both tried to play out the “reasonable” and “justified” tricts, have camped near the Pargat Singh’s mother Sukh- going on when the last reports a drama for the sake of elec- quantum of water meant to be BJP state office here since yes- the Chief Minister s residence. winder Kaur was distraught, came. Soldiers killed in firing: Army tions (due in Karnataka early utilised for drinking while terday demanding immediate Pointing at Goa Congress so was his widow Ramanpreet However, there is no imme- next year), he told reporters pointing out that the matter is resolution to the issue from leaders opposing the release Kaur. “He telephoned me yes- diate report of any casualty in in Haveri. He was responding pending before the Mahadayi Yeddyurappa who had last of water, he said “go protest in terday but disconnected the call the skirmishes, the official said. says no mutilation of bodies to a question regarding Parri- Water Disputes Tribunal. month promised to get a writ- front of Chief Minister s resi- abruptly.. later on, this news The latest ceasefire violation kar’s letter to Yeddyurappa on The Karnataka government ten agreement in this regard by dence. I as former Chief Min- came,” an Ramanpreet Kaur comes a day after the Pakistani NEW DELHI: The Army on Sunday clarified that the bodies the inter-state river water issue which had expressed its readi- December 15. Commenting on ister and President of the party said. Rattan Singh said his son troops killed an Army Major of its personnel killed in firing by Pakistani troops along the after mediation by BJP national ness for talks at “any place and the protest, Siddaramaiah said have made my honest efforts.” wanted to join the Army from and three jawans and injured Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir were not muti- President Amit Shah. date” to work out an amica- Yeddyurappa is caught as he Karnataka is seeking release an early age. “Our entire fam- another in Keri sector of nearby lated and the injury marks were due to splinters and gunshots. Karnataka is seeking water ble settlement, however, took lied. He tried to play drama of 7.56 tmcft water by Goa ily is proud of his sacrifice,” he Rajouri district. An Army major and three soldiers were killed yesterday from the river for meeting exception to Parrikar not fol- with farmers on the issue, and from the river for the Kalasa- said. The soldier leaves behind Jammu and Kashmir wit- after Pakistani troops targeted the Army patrol at Brat Galla in drinking water requirements lowing “protocol by communi- has now got caught. Banduri Nala project, being a five-year-old son, whose pho- nessed a total of 881 ceasefire Keri sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district. in northern parts of the state cating his government s stand In Haveri, hitting back at undertaken to improve drink- tograph in Army-like fatigue violations this year, highest in “The injuries suffered are due to splinters and gunshots sus- where it has become an emo- to Yeddyurappa instead of his Siddaramaiah, Yeddyurappa ing water supply to the twin cit- adorns one of the room of the the past seven years, along the tained due to firing by the enemy on the patrol,” Army sources tive political issue. Parrikar, Karnataka counterpart. asked those protesting in front ies of Hubballi-Dharwad and house where the family lives LoC and the International Bor- said here. Responding to media reports, they said that there in a letter to Yeddyurappa on Meanwhile, a group of of BJP office to immediately districts of Belagavi and Gadag in Ramba village in Haryana’s der (IB), resulting in the death has been no mutilation of bodies. MPOST Thursday, had said, in prin- protesters, including women vacate and agitate in front of in the state’s northern region. Karnal district. MPOST of 34 persons. MPOST Mizoram govt defers Muzaffarnagar BJP retains Sikandra Assembly UP Minister: UPA NATION riots case: Court Govt put pressure BRIEFS talks with HPC(D) seat of Phoolan Devi fame HYDERABAD MAN DIES IN NZ, FAMILY quashes NBWs OUR CORRESPONDENT on CBI in 2G case APPEALS TO SWARAJ FOR HELP against four KANPUR: The BJP retained OUR CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD: The family of a 29-year-old man the Sikandra Assembly seat of from Hyderabad, who died in a road accident in bandit Phoolan Devi fame in a BALLIA: Uttar Pradesh Min- New Zealand, has requested External Affairs bypoll on Sunday by a margin ister of State (Independent Minister Sushma Swaraj to help bring his body of over 11,000 votes. charge) for water supply and back. Syed Abdul Raheem Fahad, who was study- According to the Uttar water resources Upendra Pradesh chief electoral offi- on Sunday after the SP and Tiwari on Sunday alleged that ing in Auckland, New Zealand, also worked as a cer’s office, BJP’s Ajit Singh Pal Congress candidates and their efforts were made to save the part-time taxi driver there, his family members said. secured 73,284 votes (44.86 per agents claimed that the seals of accused persons in the 2G A relative living in Australia informed them yesterday OUR CORRESPONDENT cent), while his nearest rival, the electronic voting machines scam during the Congress- morning that a drunk driver jumped a traffic signal Seema Sachan of the Sama- (EVMs) were broken. They led UPA regime. at a high speed and rammed into Fahad’s car, killing MUZAFFARNAGAR: A local jwadi Party (SP), bagged 61,423 alleged that the authorities had “It was during the regime the latter on the spot, the deceased’s cousin, Faizal, court has quashed non-bailable votes (37.60 per cent). deliberately tampered with the of the Congress-led UPA gov- warrants issued against Uttar The victory margin of the machines to ensure the BJP ernment that the 2G spec- told PTI. OUR CORRESPONDENT to be rechristened as ‘Sinlung Pradesh minister Suresh Rana, BJP candidate was 11,861 votes. nominee’s win. Superintendent trum scam took place. The 1 DEAD, SIX INJURED IN ACCIDENT Hills Council’, was among the BJP MLA Sangit Som and BJP Prabhakar Pandey of the of Police (SP) Ratan Kant Pan- then government of Prime AIZAWL: Resumption main points of the agreement. MP Bhartendu Singh in con- Congress secured 19,084 votes. dey, however, denied that there Minister Manmohan Singh DUE TO DENSE FOG of peace parleys between The SHDC was created nection with a 2013 Muzaffar- While the SP and Congress was any disturbance during the made efforts to save its own BADAUN: One person died while half-a-dozen Mizoram government and comprising areas adjoining nagar riots case. had contested the state Assem- counting of votes. minister and other accused,” people were seriously injured when a UP Roadways Manipur-based Hmar Peo- Manipur in accordance with The NBWs were issued on bly polls, held earlier this year, “The SP and Congress can- Tiwari told reporters here on ple’s Convention (Demo- the accord signed in 1994 November 15 following per- in an alliance, the two parties didates twice attempted to cre- Sunday. bus collided with a vehicle carrying cattle this morn- cratic), proposed to be held between the erstwhile under- mission from the state govern- had decided to go alone in the ate a nuisance, claiming that He alleged that the govern- ing due to heavy fog, police said. Due to heavy before Christmas has been ground HPC and the Mizoram ment to prosecute them. bypoll. The scene turned ugly the seals of the EVMs were ment of Prime Minister Man- fog, the visibility was considerably low in the area deferred, home department government. Additional Chief Judicial during the counting of votes broken. mohan Singh in order to save on Sunday, said Rajiv Kumar Sharma, in-charge of officials said. The HPC was demanding Magistrate Madhu Gupta on the accused, had put pressure Ujhani Police Station. The vehicle carrying cattle was The ‘framework agree- a separate autonomous dis- Saturday quashed non-bailable BJP wrests both seats from on the CBI. badly damaged in the accident, killing its driver on ment’ drafted during the last trict council under the sixth warrants against four persons- “In this case, the acquittal round of official level talks was schedule of the Constitution -Rana, Som, Singh and a man Congress in Arunachal bypolls of the accused was quite natu- the spot. The deceased was identified as Sattar, 27, still with the Chief Minister for the Hmar community con- identified as Chandra Pal. ral,” Tiwari said attacking the Sharma said, adding that the six injured were rushed to a nearby hospital. A case was registered in this Lal Thanhawla as a committee centrated in the north east- Their lawyer in a plea had ITANAGAR: UPA leadership. has been formed to look into ern part of the state adjoining contended they had already The BJP on Sunday wrested both Mounting an attack on the regard, he said. the political aspects of the pro- Manipur, before the accord been given bail under sec- the Pakke-Kessang and Likabali Assembly seats former SP government in the posed framework agreement, was signed. tion 153a of the IPC (promot- from the Congress in the by-elections to these state, he said the, “SP govern- SIX CRPF PERSONNEL INJURED IN the officials said. The HPC (D) was formed ing enmity between different constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh. With this, ment had shown discrimi- HIGHWAY ACCIDENT IN J&K The chief minister himself after the surrender of the HPC groups). Defence counsel Anil the 60-member state Assembly now has 49 MLAs nation towards Hindus in is heading the committee. cadres to the authorities, by Jindal requested the court that different government schemes. JAMMU: At least six CRPF personnel were injured The official level talks, some leaders who were not the warrents be quashed. from the saffron party, nine from the Peoples’ SP, which indulges in Muslim when their vehicle skidded off the road and fell into which began on August 10 satisfied with the terms of the The accused are facing Party of Arunachal (PPA), one Congress and one appeasement, is now claiming a gorge in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir, last year and ended on Octo- agreement and continued to charges under various sec- Independent legislator. B R Waghe of the BJP won to be pro- Hindu. This is com- police said on Sunday. The CRPF personnel were trav- ber 22 last, were to be elevated demand a separate autono- tions of the Indian Penal Code the Pakke-Kessang seat by a narrow margin of pletely misleading.” elling in a private cab from Kupwara district of north to a political level, after points mous district council under for violating prohibitory orders 475 votes, defeating his lone rival and former dep- On the issue of UPCOC of the framework agreement the Sixth schedule of the deterring public servants from Bill, 2017 being referred to a Kashmir to Jammu yesterday when its driver lost con- were discussed in detail and Constitution. discharging their duties and uty chief minister, Kameng Dolo of the Congress. select committee of UP Legis- trol over the vehicle on reaching Kheri, a police official a general agreement reached The outfit, which had wrongful restraint. While Waghe polled 3,517 votes, Dolo bagged lative Council, Tiwari blamed said. He said the vehicle fell into a gorge, resulting in between the two parties. revived the demand for auton- It is alleged that the accused 3,042, Joint Chief Electoral Officer D J Bhattacha- SP, BSP and Congress. injuries to six personnel who were evacuated to hos- Giving more political and omy since 1995, had recently participated in a maha- rjee said. In the Likabali seat, BJP’s Kardo Nyigyor “The Opposition parties pital by rescuers. Condition of one the injured jawans financial autonomy to the agreed to drop the demand panchayat and incited violence in UP are not interested in was stated to be serious and was admitted in Govern- Sinlung Hills Development paving the way for a solution through their speeches in the won by a slender margin of 305 votes, defeating improving the law and order,” Council (SHDC), proposed to the Hmar imbroglio. last week of August 2013. his nearest rival, Gumke Riba of the PPA. MPOST he said. ment Medical College here for specialised treatment, the official said. Patnaik wants officers to Army bids farewell PRESIDENT ARRIVES IN HYDERABAD fast-track green nod to soldiers slain in Day after killing of soldiers, FOR SOUTHERN SOJOURN HYDERABAD: President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen cross-border firing Cong slams govt’s Pak policy arrived here as part of the annual southern so- journ. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Governor E Patnaik has asked officials to fast-track the pro- OUR CORRESPONDENT OUR CORRESPONDENT cess of granting forest and environment clearanc- S L Narasimhan, Telangana Chief Minister K Chan- es for infrastructure development projects. Pat- drasekhar Rao, his cabinet colleagues and senior JAMMU: The Army on Sun- NEW DELHI: The Congress officials received the president and his wife Savita naik’s direction came close on the heels of Union day bid farewell to four sol- on Sunday attacked the Centre Kovind at Hakimpet Air Force Station. “The president, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari diers who were killed in over the killing of four Indian who arrived in the city on Sunday as part of the blaming the state government for the delay in the yesterday’s ceasefire violation soldiers along the LoC by Pak- in Rajouri district of Jammu istani troops, saying the inci- winter sojourn, will stay at the Rashtrapathi Nilayam implementation of several national highway proj- and Kashmir. dent raises questions over the located in Bollarum in Secunderabad till December ects and the construction of the second bridge over General Officer Com- government’s ability to protect 27,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (North Zone) river Brahmani near Rourkela. Gadkari had cited manding of White Knight the country’s borders. B Sumathi said. Kovind is scheduled to visit Andhra delay in forest clearance and land acquisition as Corps Lt Gen Saranjeet Singh Congress spokesperson Pradesh on Wednesday to inaugurate the Indian the major reasons for the delay. Addressing a con- laid wreaths at a military Manish Tewari said yester- send-off in Jammu which was day’s incident along the Line Economic Association (IEA) summit at the Acharya ference of divisional forest officers here yesterday, attended by senior Army offi- of Control (LoC) was an out- Nagarjuna University at 10.30 am. He will later the chief minister said, “These clearances should cers, police officers and other come of Prime Minister Nar- The government and the Congress visit the Andhra Pradesh government’s Transitional be fast tracked so that developmental initiatives ranks, a defence spokesperson endra Modi’s “flip-flops and are involved in a face- off over Headquarters (secretariat) at Velagapudi, where he are not delayed.” The chief minister also stressed said. somersaults” on Pakistan. prime minister Modi’s ‘conspiracy will inaugurate the AP Fibre Grid project. Kovind is the need for participation of people for increasing Deputy Chief Minister Nir- Pakistani troops opened also scheduled to inspect the Real-Time Governance mal Singh, Speaker of legisla- fire on an Indian Army patrol, with Pakistan’ remarks against his the green cover of the state through ‘Vana Surak- tive Assembly Kavinder Gupta killing a Major and three sol- predecessor Manmohan Singh Centre at the Andhra Pradesh secretariat. shya Samitis’ and Eco Development Committees. and some other ministers of diers in Keri sector of Jammu HARYANA GOVT’S PLAN TO DEVELOP Joint forest management should be strengthened the state also attended the cer- and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, for protection and conservation of forests and wild- emony and paid tributes to the yesterday. Tewari claimed that seems incapable of protecting is driven by “flip-flops, som- AVIATION HUB AT HISAR GETS BOOST slain soldiers, he said. there have been 900 attempts our borders,” the former union ersaults and adhocism” and CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government’s plan to life, he said. Patnaik asked the DFOs to implement Lt Gen Saranjeet Singh of incursion by Pakistan this minister told reporters. demanded that the prime min- afforestation programmes such as ‘Ama Jungle said the soldiers’ sacrifice year, out of which 780 cases Modi, during the Gujarat ister comes clear on his agenda develop an international aviation hub in Hisar got a Yojana’, Green Mahanadi Mission and activities would motivate the future have been reported along the assembly polls campaign, had behind his 2015 stopover in boost as the Union Ministry of Road Transport agreed involving massive plantation drives. For increasing generations. LoC and 120 along the Inter- suggested that Pakistan was Lahore or the Centre’s deci- to consider its proposal to construct a Controlled-Ac- the green cover, soil and moisture conservation “The nation will remain for- national Border (IB). trying to influence the Assem- sion to allow ISI personnel at cess Expressway between Hisar and Delhi, an official ever indebted for the supreme “There were 583 major bly polls in the state. the Pathankor terror attack site. measures should be taken up sincerely to mitigate statement said on Sunday. Haryana Chief Minister sacrifice and devotion to duty ceasefire violations in 2014 The government and the He said India’s neighbour- Manohar Lal Khattar held a meeting with Union Road drought-like situation, he said. The CM expressed of our heroes,” he said. (between June-December), Congress are involved in a hood policy was in tatters happiness over the increase in forest cover by A separate ceremony 400 in 2015, 450 in 2016 and face- off over prime minister under the BJP dispensation as Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in around 3.4 lakh hectares in the state during the was held in Udhampur 900 this year. The prime min- Modi’s ‘conspiracy with Paki- apart from the “frequent” Paki- New Delhi regarding this project, the release said. The Union minister assured the chief minister that a consul- last two decades. He said it is desirable to protect where GOC-in-C northern ister points fingers at others, stan’ remarks against his prede- stani shelling along the border command Lt Gen D Anbu laid accuses people who have occu- cessor Manmohan Singh. and incursions, the new Nep- tant would be appointed to work out the plan for the and manage wildlife habitat so as to reduce man- the wreaths, the spokesman pied top posts of committing Tewari said that the BJP alese government was overtly expressway shortly, it added. animal conflicts. MPOST said. treason but this government government’s Pakistan policy tilting towards China. 7 MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017 mp nation High profile nature of case not Spurt in Kashmiris joining militancy in 2017 a ground for conviction: Court SUMIR KAUL not report the matter to the law enforcing agencies due to fear. OUR CORRESPONDENT to walk free include -- former SRINAGAR: There has been Comparing the figures telecom secretary Siddharth a sharp spike in the number with previous years, 2017 has NEW DELHI: The CBI’s pro- Behura, Raja’s erstwhile pri- of young Kashmiris joining emerged as the year of highest jection of the 2G spectrum vate secretary R K Chandolia, militant groups this year, with recruitment of youth in various allocation matter as a case of Swan Telecom promoters Sha- the number crossing 100 for militant groups in last seven “high political corruption” did hid Usman Balwa and Vinod the first time since such data pore, according to the reports. years. Such data is available not impress the special court Goenka, Unitech Ltd MD started being collated in 2010, From central Kashmir, Sri- from 2010. which held that high-profile Sanjay Chandra and three top officials said here on Sunday. nagar district accounted for According to the data laid nature of a case cannot be used executives of Reliance Anil The figure, which stood at disappearance of five youths on the floor of Parliament in as a ground for holding people Dhirubhai Ambani Group -- 88 in 2016, has already reached while Budgam for four. March this year, there has been guilty without legal evidence. Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pip- 117 by the end of November The reports are based on a steady increase in the number Special CBI judge O P ara and Hari Nair. this year with south Kashmir technical and human intelli- of youth taking up arms in the Saini, who acquitted former Directors of Kusegaon emerging as one of the main gence besides interrogation Valley from 2014 onwards as telecom minister A Raja, DMK Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd hubs which provides cadres to reports of militants arrested compared to 2011, 2012, and MP Kanimozhi and others in Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, militant groups such as Hiz- during various counter-insur- 2013. In 2010, 54 youths joined the case, said the CBI cannot Kalaignar TV director Sharad bul Mujahideen and Lashker- gency operations in the Valley. militancy while in 2011, the absolve itself of the burden to Kumar and Bollywood pro- e- Taiba, reports of security The reports have put the number came down to 23 and prove its case by “piggy riding ducer Karim Morani were also agencies said. number of those joining the further dipped to 21 in 2012 on the so called high magni- acquitted in the case along with According to the reports, militants this year as high as and 16 in 2013. tude” of the case and the media three firms -- Swan Telecom the number of local youths 117, but Director General of In 2014, the number shot hype. “The trope of high mag- tion, said that it was unmoved case cannot be used as a ground oral or documentary, in the Pvt Ltd, Reliance Telecom Ltd who joined various militant Jammu and Kashmir Police S up to 53 and in 2015, it reached nitude of crime does not work by the nature of the case due to for holding people guilty with- case of high political corrup- and Unitech Wireless (Tamil groups this year include 12 P Vaid contends that the num- 66 before touching the highest at the final stage of the case. At “nil evidence”. out legal evidence. Lack of tion but accused cannot be held Nadu) Ltd. from Anantnag, 45 from Pul- bers are much lesser. mark of 88 in 2016, the data the final stage, legally admis- “However, in view of defi- commercial prudence in exe- guilty without legally admissi- The CBI had alleged in its wama and Awantipora, 24 from However, a senior security showed. sible evidence is required,” the cient, or I may say nil evidence cution of documents cannot ble evidence. charge sheet that there was a Shopian and 10 from Kulgam. officer said the figures of the The spurt in locals joining court said in its 1,552- page on record, I find myself unim- be used as a ruse to hold peo- Besides Raja and Kani- loss of Rs 30,984 crore to the The figures for North Kash- police only take into account militancy began after the kill- judgement. pressed and unmoved, what- ple guilty of corruption,” the mozhi, the court also acquit- exchequer in allocation of mir are -- four youths joined the cases registered in the ing of Hizbul Mujahideen ter- The court, while noting the ever may be nature of the case,” court said. ted 15 other accused, including licences for the 2G spectrum militant groups from Kup- police stations whereas the ror group’s poster boy Burhan CBI’s submission that it was a the judge said. It said that there could three companies. which were scrapped by the wara, six from Baramulla and actual figures are always on the Wani in an encounter in south case of high political corrup- “High profile nature of a hardly be any direct evidence, The other accused allowed top court on February 2, 2012. Sopore, and seven from Bandi- higher side as many parents do Kashmir on July 8 last year. PTI Policy bodies praise govt’s MP polls: Cong to start picking Bid to create chaos in Mehbooba’s event foiled OUR CORRESPONDENT stating that they were affiliated programme at Rajouri which 20 deputations, he said. clarification on probable nominees from Jan 15 with the PDP unit of Rajouri, included 42 deputations from “A video examined by the JAMMU: A bid to create chaos protested alleging that “prefer- Rajouri constituency, 34 dep- district administration has condom ads OUR CORRESPONDENT during a public outreach pro- ential treatment” was given to utations from Nowshera, 20 revealed that one Reyaz Ahmed gramme of Chief Minister another constituency and their from Darhal- Budhal constit- identifying himself as PA of NEW DELHI: Policy advocacy BHOPAL: Although there Mehbooba Mufti in Rajouri deputations were not allowed uency and 18 from Kalakote,” MLA Rajouri was found insti- bodies lauded the Information is still a year to go for the district of Jammu and Kash- to meet the chief minister. he said. gating a group of people at the and Broadcasting Ministry’s assembly elections in Madhya mir was foiled with the timely However, clarifying on The first deputation led by frisking gate and was shout- clarification that bar on airing Pradesh, the state unit of the identification of “miscreants”, the issue, the spokesman said PDP leader Haji Jamshed was ing against the administration of condom ads was only for Congress on Sunday said the authorities said on Sunday. timely identification of “mis- seated in the conference hall which led to a brief chaos,” the those with “sexually explicit party would start the exercise A total of 114 deputations creants” helped the authorities 20 minutes before the arrival spokesman said. content”, saying that bans and of identifying probable candi- met Mufti at the public griev- to foil a bid to create chaos in a of Chief Minister. “The said person was earlier restrictions were not signs of a dates from mid-January. ance redressal camp yesterday, “well planned” manner. As per the minutes of pro- seen in a video, instigating col- mature democracy. The party said the leader- a spokesman of the district “A total of 114 deputations ceedings, 12 deputations from lege students in a similar man- They said that instead of ship might give opportunity to ing,” he said. the young leaders. administration said. met the Chief Minister during Rajouri constituency met the ner. The matter is being looked restricting the debate to mat- fresh and young faces over the Asked about the demand “The leaders who were A group of 20-25 people, her day-long public outreach Chief Minister among the first into,” he said. ters like explicit contents, it older ones this time. of some party leaders that defeated in the last two-three should be widened to larger “We will start the candi- the candidates should be elections would be told to leave issues like protection and date selection process for the announced six months prior the seat for the young leaders 2017: Less accidents, more knowledge of HIV-AIDS. next year’s assembly elections to the election, Babaria said, “It and work for the party. The Poonam Muttreja, Exec- after January 15. The process depends on the vulnerability of names of such leaders would utive Director of Population of streamlining the organisa- the seats. The announcement be considered for the parlia- aftershocks for Railways Foundation of India (PFI), said tional structure in the state may be made two months, two mentary elections,” he said. the organisation would like to would also be completed by weeks or two hours prior to the Responding to a query, congratulate the ministry for the next month,” AICC general filing of nominations, because Babaria said the party would taking into consideration the secretary and party in-charge the opposition may also plan its focus on the election prepared- larger interest of the people and of Madhya Pradesh, Deepak strategies accordingly.” ness at the micro level in MP for its swift action. Babaria, told reporter here on Babaria also said that as after learning a lesson from the “This move will no doubt Sunday. Congress president Rahul Gan- Gujarat Assembly elections, in be a significant contribution to Madhya Pradesh assembly dhi has indicated and which which it lost to the BJP despite advance the reproductive goals elections are scheduled to be was also visible in the recently- putting up a good show. of the country. In line with PFI’s held in November-December held Gujarat elections, younger When asked about the recommendation, the ministry next year. faces would be given a pref- announcement of the party’s has rightly decided to grade “Initially, we will focus on erence in Madhya Pradesh as chief ministerial face for the advertisements according to 60-65 seats, where the party well. He also said that the party next assembly election, the the content and slot their tele- could not win in the past two would request the leaders, who AICC general secretary said cast accordingly,” she said. elections. We will tell the prob- had lost in the last two-three the party would take a call on In an advisory to all tele- able candidates to start prepar- elections, to vacate the seat for this at a suitable time. vision channels on Decem- ber 11, the I&B Ministry had ANANYA SENGUPTA 2017 and 107 in 2015-2016, asked them to restrict airing Chhattisgarh: 37 cows die in 2 MP govt told to according to figures provided of condom advertisements to NEW DELHI: Derailments by the railways. slots between 10 pm and 6 am appoint officers - both on and off tracks - Consequential train acci- as these “could be indecent/ weeks at shelter in Dhamtari marked 2017 for the Indian dents include train accidents inappropriate for viewing by in CMO to answer Railways. having serious repercussion children”. RAIPUR: At least 37 cows “A preliminary investiga- While the Narendra Modi in terms of loss of human life, In an official memoran- died over the last two weeks at tion suggests that most of the RTI queries government’s first railway min- human injury, loss to railway dum, the ministry had later a private cow shelter in Chhat- cows had been left there by ister Suresh Prabhu resigned property or interruption to rail said, “It is clarified that the tisgarh’s Dhamtari district, an local farmers after they became OUR CORRESPONDENT after back-to-back train acci- traffic. While there was only said advisory only pertains to official said on Sunday. very weak due to illness or inju- dents, officers too saw their one accident due to unmanned sexually explicit content being Thirty-seven cow carcasses ries,” the official said, ruling out BHOPAL: To ensure hassle- work privileges cut by the Rail- level crossing in the first eight used to market certain condom were found in a forest near starvation or lack of water as free access to governance- way Board - many of which months of 2017, there were brands which titillate the audi- the shelter located on the out- reasons for the deaths. How- related information to people, were first in the history of the three mishaps due to collisions ence from a PR perspective.” skirts of Rajadera village under ever, exact causes of the deaths the Madhya Pradesh Informa- national transporter. this year as compared to five “Advertisements that do not Magarlod development block would be known only after a tion Commission has directed As far as accidents were last year. sexually objectify women and yesterday, Dhamtari District thorough probe, Prasanna said. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s concerned, despite Prab- The worst accident this are aimed at informing citi- Collector CR Prasanna said. Sahu had leased three acres office to appoint PIOs to reply hu’s exit, the actual numbers year was the derailment of the zens regarding devices/prod- The deaths came to light of land from a local tribal man to RTI queries. showed an improvement from Kalinga Utkal Express near ucts/ medical interventions after villagers noted an unpleas- for the cow shelter. He set up The move follows a com- last year. Khatauli in Muzaffarnagar to ensure safe sex are not cov- ant smell coming from the for- the shelter a couple of months plaint by anti-corruption Derailments decreased - district of Uttar Pradesh that ered under the said advisory,” est and found rotting carcasses. ago, the collector said. activist Ajay Dubey to the from 78 in 2016-2017 to 37 snuffed out the lives of 23 peo- it added. Police arrested Manharan Sahu reportedly told the transparency watchdog that - in the first eight months of ple and left 156 injured. Over- “Now is also an important Sahu, native of Umarda in the authorities that animals, left RTI queries to the CMO and this year. all, this year, 48 people lost moment to consider the neces- district who ran the shelter, by farmers, were ailing or had the chief secretary’s office were During April 1 to Novem- their lives and 188 were injured sity for our governing bodies to last night based on a complaint injuries. They paid him Rs 600 being answered by the PIO ber 30, a total of 49 consequen- in train accidents as compared take measured and calibrated lodged by the village Sarpanch, or Rs 700 per cow to keep them of the general administration tial train accidents took place to 238 deaths and 607 injuries decisions,” said Muttreja. MPOST the collector said. at the shelter. MPOST department. in comparison to 104 in 2016- reported in 2016. PTI ‘Christmas tourist arrivals in Goa have dropped by 30%’

OUR CORRESPONDENT Director Menino D’Souza said. While D’Souza refused to PANAJI: Tourists usually quantify the number of tourists throng Goa during Christ- expected to visit Goa during mas but this year seem to have the next week, a senior depart- given the coastal state a miss, ment official said the tourism as both foreign and domestic industry trends indicate that tourist arrivals have dropped more than four lakh tourists 30 per cent, a local industry will usher in the New Year in association said on Sunday. the state. Goa is known for its night- While popular Electronic long parties which begin from Dance Music festivals Sunburn Christmas (December 25) and Supersonic have abstained and continue till December 31 the factors “like GST” have However, Goa tourism from Goa this season, TIM- mid-night. affected the high-end tourists department claims the tour- OUT72, a new event, is sched- “As far as Christmas is con- while many have refused to ists have just begun arriving uled to be held at Vagator in cerned, there has been drop in come because of the “high air- and the number would go up North Goa between Decem- foreign and domestic tourist fares” and “high cost of holi- during the coming week. ber 27-29. arrival by almost 30 per cent day” in the state. “The tourists have already The beach shack owners, compared to last year,” Savio Messiah said the situation begun arriving in the state. who recently went through Messiah, President, Travel and will hopefully improve dur- We expect more footfall a tough time due to Cyclone Tourism Association of Goa ing the New Year celebrations this week. You can see your- Ockhi, have got back on their (TTAG), said. with more people arriving in self how streets are abuzz with feet and are expecting a good Messiah claimed that the state. the guests,” the state’s Tourism business. 8 editorial mp MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017 EDITORIAL Curbing conflict this year The game of Tough policy on militants, separatists in Kashmir, and also a scams reach-out. Rajnish Singh recounts 2017 in retrospect he fate of politicians blanketed in scams and conspira- oncerted action against mil- cies has taken radically different turns, with the two itants and appointment of CBI special court verdicts that were announced last an interlocutor to carry for- week. While the more newsworthy 2G scam hear- ward the dialogue process Ting witnessed the acquittal of all involved, the more innocu- Cwere key aspects of Centre's policy on ous fodder scam that had all fingers pointing at Lalu Prasad Jammu and Kashmir in the past year Yadav met a more disdainful end, with Yadav along with15 as it sought to expose the narrative of others being convicted for unlawful laundering of money from the separatists through a crackdown the Deoghar treasury, amounting to Rs 89.27 lakh, during the on their flow of funds from the "neigh- period of 1991-1994, when he served as the Chief Minister of bouring country" to finance unrest in the state of undivided Bihar. Lalu has been accused of being the state. involved in six fodder scam related cases, of which he has so The government's The year also saw the Home Minis- far been convicted in two. The earlier conviction was met policy to restore try dealing with the issue of Rohingyas, out in the year 2013, for the laundering of money from the repeated ceasefire violations in Jammu Chaibasa treasury, amounting to Rs 37.5 crore. He had been peace and and Kashmir, and also Maoist violence addressed a sentence of five years of imprisonment on which normalcy in in some parts of the country. A total he had received a bail from the Supreme Court in December of 203 militants were killed in Jammu 2013. After the hearing of the second fodder scam related case, Kashmir focuses and Kashmir in till December 10 - the Lalu was immediately taken to the Birsa Munda jail in Ran- on five Cs -- highest in the past seven years -- as part chi as convict number 3351; the final sentence is scheduled to of Centre's "tough" strategy to root out be announced on January 3, 2018 after the CBI special court "compassion, militancy from the trouble-torn Valley. resumes its functioning post its winter break. Hoping against communication, Those killed included some top mili- tide that his scam story would replicate the ending that the tant commanders such as Lashkar-e-Tai- much-hyped 2G scam hearing witnessed, Lalu’s reaction to co-existence, ba's Bashir Ahmad Wani, Abu Dujana, his conviction was consequently less of acceptance and more confidence- and Junaid Mattoo, and Hizb-ul-Muja- of blame towards open propaganda. While there is no doubt hideen's Sabzar Ahmad Bhat. The secu- that Lalu has been involved in several cases of money launder- building, and rity forces had a hard time last year in ing, endless properties across the country, a fleet of cars and consistency". dealing with incidents of stone-pelting glamorous wedding celebrations for his children—he isn’t the The government following the killing of militant com- In an effort to address the sense of alienation and improve infrastructure in the Valley, monetary assistance has also been extended (Representational Image) only politician who has afforded such a living after beginning mander Burhan Wani. from zilch. The common perception in our country has always has also made The incidents of coordinated stone- in the sensitive border state, the Modi injuries to the civilians and disrupted human trafficking. been of politicians being regular corrupt scammers. The edu- efforts to wean pelting came down drastically this year government released funds under its Rs their lives. The terror attacks in Jammu In a major initiative, the Home Min- cated, unless belonging to a political heritage, do not join pol- and have been attributed to action by the 80,000 crore (over $12 billion) package and Kashmir included one on Amarnath istry approved a Rs 25,000-crore outlay itics because of this blemish that has been associated with the away youth from security forces against militant groups for the state announced in 2015. Home pilgrims on July 10 in which seven per- for upgrading the internal security appa- profession that should instead be deemed respectful in light the influence of as also probes by National Investigat- Minister Rajnath Singh made five visits sons were killed. ratus in states under an umbrella scheme of the service that it is expected to extend towards building ing Agency (NIA) into "terror funding". to Kashmir during the year and empha- Ambush by Maoists in Chhattis- on modernisation of police forces. our country. A propelling reason underlying India’s continued separatists by The arrests of separatist leaders and sised that the government was willing garh's Sukma district in April, in which The unease in the relationship with poverty and stalled pace of development has been the pocket- taking steps to others by NIA were preceded by efforts to talk to anyone in the state. 25 Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF) Pakistan also got reflected in the num- ing of unlawful revenue by politicians who should instead be to obtain information through improved In October, the government troopers were killed, reflected the con- ber of visas issued. Against 52,525 visas utilising that amount for the development of our country. Take boost investment intelligence. The government has also appointed Dineshwar Sharma, a for- tinued challenges faced by the Home issued to Pakistan nationals in 2016, Lalu’s case for instance, in the six scams he has been involved and employment made efforts to wean away youth from mer Intelligence Bureau chief, as its Ministry in containing violence by Left 34,445 were issued in 2017. However, in, the laundered money is valued to be over Rs 260 crore. It is the influence of separatists by taking special representative to "initiate and Wing extremists. the number of visas issued to Bangla- an astounding amount of money that could have been utilised in the state steps to boost investment and employ- carry forward a dialogue with elected The ministry also made efforts to deshi nationals increased to 12,89,332 to uplift the face of rural Bihar that continues to be plagued by ment in the state. representatives, various organisations provide succour to people in over 19 compared to 9,33,695 in 2016. rampant poverty, contiguity to endless diseases and inacces- As part of its ongoing probe in the and concerned individuals in the State incidents of natural disasters including The ministry also stepped up efforts sibility to resources. Lalu is only a little speck on this large sea terror-funding cases, NIA seized nearly of Jammu and Kashmir". Cyclone Ockhi. The Home Ministry to integrate various organs of the crim- of corruption that continues to unfurl across every corner of Rs 36.5 crore in demonetised currency One of Sharma's objectives appar- rejected demands for giving concessions inal justice system such as the police, our country. Coming back to the 2G scam, a total of Rs 1.76 in November. The government has said ently is to deal with and contain radi- to Rohingyas, who faced violence in courts, prisons, prosecution, forensic lakh crore was laundered in the implementation of one scheme. its policy to restore peace and normalcy calisation among the youth in the state. their settlements in Myanmar, and made laboratories, fingerprints and juvenile Though the CBI special court did not find any defaulters, the in Kashmir has focus on five Cs -- "com- Pakistan resorted to repeated ceasefire it clear that those who have come into homes with the Crime and Criminal CAG and the Supreme Court had said, without hesitation, that passion, communication, co-existence, violations and the Home Ministry gave India were illegal immigrants and need Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) an enormous loss to the national exchequer was witnessed as confidence-building and consistency". clear instructions to the Border Security to be deported back. Around 22,000 database. Intelligence estimates have put the 2G allocation was rolled out during the UPA-II regime. In a Prime Minister Narendra Modi Force (BSF) "not to count bullets and Rohingyas are estimated to be living in the number of Indians who had gone country that still hosts over 23 per cent people living below the reached out to the Valley in his August give befitting reply". various parts of India. to fight for the terror group Islamic poverty line, these amounts of money make a greater difference 15 Independence Day speech from New Around 900 ceasefire violations -- The Home Ministry held meetings State after their radicalisation at 30. The than they would in a developed nation. Thought the BJP had Delhi's Red Fort and said Kashmir's the highest in a decade -- were com- with Chief Ministers of states border- ministry kept a strict tab on the reports greatly emphasised on this aspect of corruption before com- problems can be solved only by embrac- mitted by Pakistani forces both along ing Pakistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh about online radicalisation of youth by ing to power in 2014, they remain quite silent about how the ing its people, not with bullets or abuses. the Line of Control and the Interna- which were aimed at enhancing border the Islamic State. IANS absence of defaulters makes little sense when such damage to As part of efforts to address the sense tional Border in Jammu and Kashmir till security and curbing illegal immigra- (The views expressed exchequer has been assured and telecommunications in India of alienation and improve infrastructure December 10. The firing caused some tion, drug peddling, fake currency, and are strictly personal.) continues to suffer to this day. Jayalalithaa was a famed mass leader and even then, she was not exempt from corruption and money laundering. Sasikala still sits in jail for her conviction in dear a case of disproportionate assets. The Narada scam unearthed Quote martial THOUGHT FOR THE GIRL CHILD EDITOR millenniumpost.in how mid-level leaders in Bengal were providing undue favours in exchange of large amounts of money. Corruption is endemic The burgeoning state of girl-child and women is a serious concern. They fall prey Log on to write letters to the to our country, particularly to the politicians and bureaucracy. To a father growing No work progresses in government offices unless a few notes to masculine wrath. Originating in the family, depriving women of property and editor or send them to are slipped in amid piles of paperwork. The idea of doing jus- old nothing is dearer pampering male children plants discontent among daughters. While sons are over- [email protected] tice to the country or feeling pride in benefitting the country than a daughter You can also send your without scavenging for means to only further one’s bank bal- indulged with money and affection, girls are deprived of both. This makes them grow ance has been swept under bright red carpets, ornate with gold up with pent up feeling of jealousy and resentment. Such hostility can, in some cases, comments to The Editor, embroidery, all afforded at the cost of public exchequer. Even if make them vindictive and violent. It is time such parents analysed themselves and Millennium Post, the citizens pay their due taxes, rarely are those returned in ser- EURIPIDES Pratap Bhawan, 5 Bahadur Shah vices for the public. Politicians today accrue the least faith from tried to change their attitudes. SAMIR CHAKRABORTY Via email citizens. A pick-pocket is better trusted than a politician—with Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110 002 his lack of pretence and limited conniving knowledge he will evidently steal what is in your immediate possession; unlike the politician who makes policies, legally takes your salary and pockets all of it while wearing the mask of a messiah. Syncing strategic stakes Claimants to The ambition to establish economic hegemony is the propeller of strategic the throne pursuits. Military might is a means to further economic interests ince Jayalalithaa’s untimely demise last December, the KAVYA DUBEY onald Trump’s India-Myanmar connectivity) rest of the country that is usually divorced from events undemocratic also comes at a very peculiar unfolding in the south has locked all eyes upon Tamil antics threw dip- juncture when the appall- Nadu, vigorously tracing the trajectory of politics lomatic orders ing, incessant persecution of Sthere that has endlessly swayed with drama, role-reversals, Dacross the globe out of gear Rohingyas is making head- conviction and seat claims. With several claiming their own- when he declared Jerusa- lines internationally. The fact ership upon Jaya’s monumental legacy, the RK Nagar bypoll, lem the capital of Israel. Two that China does not offer asy- announced by the Election Commission in April, earlier this more events followed thereaf- lum to Rohingyas despite hav- year, was severely anticipated as the final plug that would The resurrection of ter: India expressed its disap- ing room to accommodate assure the AIADMK’s swerving fate. After the E Palaniswami proval for this announcement them in its ghost cities speaks and O Panneerselvam factions joined hands to reclaim the the Quadrilateral at the UN General Assembly, of Chinese interest to secure name and symbol of the AIADMK, Sasikala’s nephew, TTV alliance comes reiterating that India stands and enrich its economy before Dinakaran, who had been appointed as the deputy general with the Palestinian cause and everything else. Myanmar’s secretary of the party was sidelined by the newly rejuvenated with paramount favours a mutual and peace- agreement to this development powerhouse of the south. However, not one to step back, economic ful resolution between the also speaks of a similar under- Dinakaran continued to make his inroads to claim Jaya’s leg- stakeholders; and unveiling standing and accepting and acy, with the OPS and EPS factions not willing to step down considerations this USA’s National Security Strat- whatever benefits available. either. The RK Nagar seat is only one among 234 constituen- time. The shift in egy that has some positives The clearest thing unfold- cies in the state of Tamil Nadu, yet it has grabbed attention for India. Not withstanding ing in the current situation is and shot to relevance unlike any other constituency—delin- perspective from Trump's bombastic ultimatum that economic interest is the eating a specific underlying condition. In 2015, the sitting Asia-Pacific to of snapping aid to countries propeller of strategic pursuits. MLA from RK Nagar had resigned to allow Jayalalithaa to in opposition to his declara- Myanmar’s massive humani- contest the seat after she was acquitted off a disproportionate Indo-Pacific region tion, this goes into deciding tarian crisis does not keep it assets case. After she won the bypoll in 2016, she contested indicates the the possible geopolitical con- from turning its attention to the assembly elections from this very seat and consequently, ditions which will eventually Strategic stakes are on the rise in the Indian Ocean Region in the rivalry for power (Representational Image) lucrative and more substantial after her sudden demise, the seat was left vacant. The bypoll significant status impact domestic economies. concerns in the larger interest re-election that took place on December 21 was scheduled accorded to India. In a move to assert the the brunt of China’s aggres- stan continues to have China’s ticipating states. Apart from of Myanmar. USA’s invasion for much earlier. However, after the EC seized bribe money American dominance in the sive ambition as Reed Bank, tacit support. The pawn sta- strategic reasons, this time, of Iraq for oil and the Mid- intending to sway the voters amounting to Rs 90 crore, the The tricky aspect is international arena, it comes close to its coast, is a major tus of Pakistan for China is economic considerations are dle-East isolating a prosper- election was delayed as its veracity was brought under severe that this alignment clear that the USA acknowl- untouched prize. a particularly gnawing con- paramount. The shift in per- ing Qatar are some examples scrutiny. With repeated controversies and a constant attempt edges China as a challenge to its America’s need to contain cern for India, now especially spective from Asia-Pacific to of statecraft at work driven by all stakeholders to claim the lost throne, the RK Nagar is a counter- influence and hegemony. The China goes beyond economic with the China-Pakistan Eco- Indo-Pacific region indicates by the ambition to establish bypoll was seen as a means for the dishevelled AIADMK, the mechanism, dislike for North Korea is only interest. The strategic neces- nomic Corridor. The USA sup- the significant status accorded economic hegemony. Military rebelling Dinakaran and the subdued DMK to attempt to forge too obvious but the dynam- sity here is the containing porting India in this context to India. However, the tricky might is a means to further their rightful ownership over Jaya’s tall legacy. It was no lon- the validity and ics propelling the open clash menacing North Korea with is significant for how matters aspect of this alignment is that economic interests. The take- ger just a seat or simply a bypoll—its symbolic meaning was relevance of which between the utterly unequal its nuclear arsenal which is will unfold along the lines of it is not necessarily a positive away for India is that its foreign far more accentuated gaining a currency more valuable than are determined by sovereign entities is something a potential global threat of this strategic and economic undertaking aimed at con- policy should be essentially others. As counting began on December 24 and Dinakaran for India to be wary of. China’s unforeseeable magnitude. bulwark. structive development; it is a socialist and economy-centric took a swift lead, the AIADMK and DMK were left behind, a non-participating extraordinary belligerence to Given the situation when dip- The resurrection of the counter-mechanism, the valid- and all strategic moves ought with BJP scoring less than even NOTA—quite astounding for entity expand in and around Asia is lomatic solutions seem out of Quadrilateral alliance is an ity and relevance of which are to be directed for this aspira- the ruling party that seems to have carefully caressed voters’ very much a case in point. The sight, deterrence with subtle urgent diplomatic exercise to determined by a non-partici- tion. It is the economy that minds across the rest of the country. An election of bribery, South China Sea is a very criti- power is the risky way out with check and raise a counter to pating entity. will sustain a state ultimately, excessive drama and far more endowed meaning than neces- cal angle for consideration for North Korea. USA’s sidelining China’s territorial dominion. China’s signing a Mem- not territory. sary may ultimately cause more worry to the AIADMK than shipping routes that sustain the Pakistan and reprimanding its This alliance of democracies orandum of Understanding (The author is Editorial bringing joy to Dinakaran. It seems more than ever that Jaya’s economy and for the estimated state-facilitated terrorism does (USA, Australia, Japan, and with Myanmar for its eco- Consultant and Senior Copy legacy will loom large and rarely find a perfect occupant. large reserves of oil and natu- not come as a significant devel- India) comes with renewed nomic corridor (in the wake Editor with Millennium Post. ral gas. The Philippines bears opment for India because Paki- national interests of the par- of stalled Bangladesh-China- The views are strictly personal.) 9 MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017 mp in focus May might have to quit very soon Brexit blues cast a shadow on her political future, writes Arun Srivastava ith D-day approaching fast, Theresa May has gone from impassive Prime Minister to a recluse within her own party. WIf the party has been officially maintaining a passive silence about her future, a section of the law-makers of her party has never- theless been quite impatient to remove her from the office. The prospect of Brexit has cast its shadow May wanted to on her political future. A couple of days ago, her government had to eventually back down present herself on the Brexit date. Conservative MP Oliver as a no-nonsense Letwin’s amendment tweaked the govern- ment’s own amendment, leaving the Brexit pragmatist. Her date (March 29, 2019) in the legislation, but calling a snap giving the MPs the power to push it back if the EU27 agree. May had to burn midnight election in April candle for getting this reprieve. In fact, her was seen as a government has accepted a compromise over its plans to put the Brexit date into law. savvy political Paul Blomfield of Labour’s shadow Brexit move that would team said: “After a humiliating defeat in the Commons last week, the government has allow her to now been forced into an embarrassing climb- consolidate down by amending its own amendment. Theresa May would be well advised to use her power and the Christmas break to reflect on her chaotic gain maximum approach to Brexit and stop putting party politics above the national interest.” The with- leverage for drawal bill is aimed at bringing EU law onto the tough the UK statute book in preparation for Brexit. negotiations In the House of Commons, MPs clashed repeatedly about Britain’s future relationship ahead. But it with the European Union. proved to be a A briefing note sent to Labour MPs ahead of the debate said, “this amendment would worst political not keep the UK in a customs union with the action of May. EU”; adding that it is “not possible to “uni- laterally” remain in the customs union - or The election create a new one. This “can only ever be part eclipsed her of negotiations”. “I haven’t begged the European Union for public image two more years,” she said. “This is not two British Prime Minister Theresa May more years to negotiate with the EU. This is two years when practically both businesses May has been in a state of utter puzzle the election and was forced to ally with the tions and there is no limit on our ambition them the EU’s terms for a transition period and governments will be able to put in place about how she would act. She lacks guts to far right. In contrast, Corbyn, who barely a and creativity,” she said. are unacceptable. A leading Brexiteer has said the changes necessary to move from the cur- adopt a “hard Brexit” which would cut the year back was written off to become Prime The Prime Minister lost in the Commons the UK cannot become a ‘colony’ of the EU rent relationship to the future partnership country off from both the customs union and Minister, is inching closer to power. earlier this week when MPs - including 11 during the two year transition period after we will have.” the single market of Europe. It is also wary of Notwithstanding her losses and gains, from her own party - voted to give Parlia- Britain’s withdrawal in 2019. Little doubt May has lost her moral com- pursuing a “soft Brexit,” which would ease the she is all set to move out. There is no dearth ment a legal guarantee of a vote on the final During the transition, the UK will have mand. She has cut such a sorry figure that country out of the EU in a traumatic manner. of contenders in the party. May insisted she Brexit deal struck with Brussels. Following to accept the full jurisdiction of the Euro- some conservative MPs attempted a party After May replaced David Cameron, would not be deflected from delivering her the vote, there were calls for the Tory rebels pean Court of Justice, and all four freedoms coup against her. The situation has come to though opposed to EU withdrawal herself, vision of a clean Brexit, while working to to be deselected by the party and even some - including the freedom of movement of peo- such a head that even the British newspa- she, however, reassured hard-liners with overhaul the U.K. economy. received death threats. ple. Incidentally, May has largely conceded to pers and politicians are openly wondering the vague declaration that “Brexit means Only a week ago, May in her despera- May also suffered her first Commons the EU on the structure, timetable and sub- whether she can last in power, and if so, for Brexit”. She wanted to present herself as a tion to galvanise the party and rejuvenate defeat as Prime Minister a week ago as Tory stance of the negotiations. how long. It is also being debated whether her no-nonsense pragmatist. Her calling a snap her supporters, had said the government is rebels joined forces with Labour and the SNP During his three decades on Labour’s continuation in power will hurt the interest election in April was seen as a savvy politi- ‘proving the doubters wrong’ with its Brexit to vote for a plan to give MPs a bigger say in leftist edge, Corbyn consistently opposed and self-respect of UK. cal move that would allow her to consolidate negotiations. She vowed that she would ‘not any Brexit deal. A number of Conservative European integration and described it as a Though May claims that her Cabinet was her power and gain maximum leverage for be derailed’ from securing an ‘ambitious’ MPs had echoed Labour concerns that the capitalist body. Corbyn had campaigned for ‘fully behind’ her, there is no denying the fact the tough negotiations ahead. But it proved deal. In her write-up to two newspapers, move would box Britain into a corner if nego- Britain to remain in the bloc, but held the that her position has turned shaky and is get- to be worst political action of May. The elec- May also said the last 10 days had ‘marked a tiations with the EU go to the wire. ground that Labour would deliver Brexit if ting weaker with passing of every day. UK’s tion eclipsed her public image. watershed’ in the Brexit process and that the Apprehensions are being expressed on the in power, albeit with very different priorities complex negotiations to leave the EU have While she wore the image of an uninspir- government would now ‘begin to build that style and nature of the negotiations. Some from those stated by May. IPA not gained much shape since the country ing leader, Corbyn galvanised a liberal move- new, deep and special partnership’ with the MPs are scared that the agreement would (The views expressed voted for “Brexit” last June. ment. Eventually May had to suffer losses in EU. “This is the exciting part of the negotia- turn UK into a colony of EU. Obviously for are strictly personal.)

tweet Time for real autonomy for IIMs RETWEET The struggle for autonomy has been going on within the Indian PEMA KHANDU Institutes of Management since their inception @PemaKhanduBJP nitially, the IIMs just stayed away from the main system and awarded P.D. RAI Post-Graduate Diplomas in Busi- I am thankful to Honble PM Shri @ ness Management (PGDMs). narendramodi ji for listening to IRegistered as societies and not coming under the purview of any of the con- the developmental issues relating trolling institutions like the University to Arunachal Pradesh and your Grants Commission (UGC) or the All continued support to the state. Under India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) helped in this process. your guidance our state will rise to The pull and push from the Minis- newer heights. Looking forward to try of Human Resources Development your visit to the state soon. (HRD) was to bring it comprehensively under its umbrella, especially in the first IIM Bill draft brought in by the The autonomy then minister. However, an about-turn happened with Prakash Javadekar tak- EMMA WATSON to make ing over as HRD Minister. He and the @EmmaWatson administrative Prime Minister’s Office ensured a draft decisions, Bill that had “autonomy” at itsCentre. The Indian Institutes of Manage- This Christmas 30,000 children in Haiti approve ment Bill, 2017, stands passed by both houses of Parliament as on December The ball is in the court of the IIMs to attain the glorious heights the nation expects of them (Representational Image) are living in orphanages, exposed to development 19, 2017. The Bill witnessed unanimous exploitation & abuse. @JK_Rowling's plans, and grant support across the political spectrum. This huge systemic reform will pro- to respond through service to society. man forms a part. With the successful charity @Lumos is working hard to It is the element of “increased auton- pel our premier management institu- I understand where my colleagues are passage of the IIM Bill, devolution of degrees now lies omy” that swung the majority opinion tions nationally and, indeed, globally. coming from and that is certainly a greater autonomy to these premier tech- return these children to their families. with the Board of in its favour. The Bill recognises IIMs These institutions, including the IITs, genuine concern. I listed out instances nical education institutions will surely In the spirit of giving, help them make it as Institutions of National Importance have served our country well. They where the alumni of IIMs have contrib- be addressed soon. The new act is, no home by donating Governors. The and aims to provide them an indepen- now deserve to be promoted through uted to development in great measures, doubt, seen as the harbinger for the next power to appoint dent statutory status to ensure uniform such legislation which will allow them within and outside India. generation of IIMs and IITs. governance. And, yes, the IIMs will be to innovate and re-think and rebuild The IIM alumni who have become In the present educational eco- the Director and able to award an MBA degree. their institutional capacity. The 21st entrepreneurs in diverse streams are system, the next challenge would be SURESH PRABHU the Registrar of Now, all IIMs have been instituted century demands such landmark ideas today giving back to the society and knowledge generation for India by Indi- @sureshpprabhu as body corporates. The autonomy to and those can only happen if we allow India. They are doing this through ans. Investment on infrastructure and the Institute also make administrative decisions, approve many more heads to grapple with the building angel funds and by being a human capital to encourage research solely rests with development plans, and grant degrees issues rather than being directed from medium for more start-ups to thrive and development is essential to steer our the Board. This now lies with the Board of Governors. Shastri Bhawan (where the HRD Min- and succeed. Let us also consider the technical education in the right direc- We register far better growth The importance accorded to the alumni istry is located). Jawaja experiment of Ravi Matthai, the tion. Keeping ahead in this global race in 2018,fuelled by investme is a significant in matters of governance is evident from The IIMs are built on the solid foun- first full-time Director of IIM-A, after is crucial for India strategically as also nt,consumption,productivity step towards the provision that up to five members dation of knowledge garnered through he stepped down. It is an example of to solve the burden of poverty and dis- gains,good sentiments,structure of the Board will be from amongst the teaching, consulting, and research. Fac- how a project on educational innovation ease in the long run. establishing alumni. The power to appoint the Direc- ulty thus impart cutting-edge curricu- went on to become a successful rural This is truly the first significant change,Exports,services independence in tor and the Registrar of the Institute lum to young minds who are the leaders development initiative and resulted in reform in the higher education space also solely rests with the Board. This of tomorrow. One important outcome the formation of the Institute of Rural that the NDA Government has ush- the functioning is a significant step towards establish- of increased autonomy would be that, Management, Anand. ered in with the full and unstinting NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON of the IIMs ing independence in the functioning like the Ivy League institutions and Another example is the launch of support of all the parties represented @neiltyson of the IIMs. other universities that offer manage- incubation centres that give the required in Parliament. It is a fine example of The passage of this bill will also stim- ment courses abroad, the IIMs will be fillip to start-ups. The incubation centre bipartisanship. ulate India’s research ecosystem. It is able to propel themselves forward. This of IIM-Calcutta boosts start-ups in Odi- Now the ball is in the court of the hoped that this legislation will play a will also ensure that there are innova- sha, West Bengal, and the entire north- IIMs to use this as a pivot to attain the If a Space Alien landed on Earth and pivotal role in improving the ranking of tive means by which no student who is eastern region. glorious heights the nation expects of demanded, “Take me to your leader!” I Indian educational institutions among worthy of an IIM admission would be Today, the IITs are body corporates them. IANS higher education institutions globally. left behind. and are recognised as Institutions of (The author is an IIT wonder how many people would take it The IIMs must capitalise on this reform Speaking on the bill in Parliament, National Importance. However, they are and IIM alumnus and represents to their head-of-state. as it also gives individual IIMs primacy I responded to the questions raised by still governed by the IIT Council at the Sikkim as MP in the Lok Sabha. The over their curriculum design. fellow members on elitism and the need Central level of which the UGC Chair- views expressedare strictlyy personal.) 10 world mp MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017 Jadhav's wife, mother to visit Pakistan today, Philippines storm toll tops 200 says Foreign Office 144 people remained missing while more than 40,000 had fled to evacuation camps as Tembin roared out into the South China Sea At least 37 feared dead ISLAMABAD: Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife and mother will MANILA: Some 200 people arrive here on Monday to meet have been killed in the south- in Philippine mall blaze the Indian prisoner on death ern Philippines after a tropical row, the Pakistan Foreign storm battered the archipelago DAVAO: At least 37 people, Office has said. nation's second-largest island, including call centre staff from They will arrive in Islam- triggering heavy flooding and an American firm, are believed abad by a commercial flight landslides that have ravaged to have perished in a fire that and leave the same day after towns and displaced tens of tore through a shopping mall the meeting, it added. thousands. in the southern Philippine city India's Deputy High Tropical Storm Tembin of Davao, local authorities said Commissioner J P Singh will lashed Mindanao island, home on Sunday. accompany the visitors to the to 20 million people, on Friday President Rodrigo Duterte, meeting. They will arrive with gusts of 125 kilometres himself a Davao native, visited "India informs that the in Islamabad by (80 miles) an hour and torren- distraught relatives outside the company SSI. mother and wife of Com- tial rain, wiping out at least one burning building overnight Jimmy Quimsing, a retired mander Jadhav will arrive by a commercial mountain village and prompt- but told them there was “zero” seaman, was one of the relatives commercial flight on 25 Dec flight and leave ing a massive rescue operation chance their loved ones had sur- desperately waiting for news. and leave the same day. Indian over the weekend. vived, witnesses said. His 25-year-old son Jim DHC in Islamabad will be the the same day Police said 144 people Firemen found one body Benedict worked at the call cen- accompanying diplomat," after the meeting. remained missing while more as the blaze was finally extin- tre and had not been in contact Foreign Office spokesman than 40,000 had fled to evacu- guished on Sunday, Davao since the fire broke out. Mohammad Faisal tweeted Indian DHC in ation camps as Tembin roared Mayor Sara Duterte -- the presi- Quimsing said he spoke to last night. Islamabad will be out into the South China Sea dent’s daughter -- told reporters. President Duterte and had been Earlier, media reports said early Sunday. Firemen have concluded told to prepare for the worst. that Pakistan had asked India the accompanying A total of 70,000 have been that all those trapped in the “He told us ... no one would to convey the plan of Jadhav's diplomat displaced or affected by the building are dead, she said, add- survive under these circum- family at the earliest otherwise storm according to the Inter- ing: “They assessed that no one stances,” he said. it would be difficult to arrange his execution on India's appeal national Federation of Red would survive in that heat and Duterte’s special assistant the meeting. pending the final verdict by it. Cross and Red Crescent Soci- with that thick, black smoke.” Christopher Go confirmed the Separately, Faisal had said Pakistan has repeatedly eties (IFRC), which warned missing in the northern sec- their bare hands to dig through defence chief Zaldy Ablana told The deadly fire adds fresh bulk of the president’s com- that the meeting would take denied India consular access that continued heavy rain tion of Mindanao, while 47 mud and debris in their search DZMM radio in an interview misery for the mainly Catholic ments to media. place at the Ministry of Foreign to Jadhav on the ground that could hamper the search for were dead and 72 missing in for survivors. on Sunday. Philippines at Christmas as the Paolo Duterte, the presi- Affairs and its photo and video it was not applicable in cases survivors. the impoverished Zamboanga "The flood was already close But in a Palawan fish- death toll from a tropical storm dent’s son and the vice mayor footage would be issued. related to spies. "People left everything peninsula on its western side. and the people were not able ing village, a 53-year-old man that hit the south of the coun- of Davao, also wrote on Face- The mother and wife of It said that Jadhav is not behind when they fled for their Another 18 people perished to get out from their homes," was killed by a crocodile while try Friday crossed 200 and with book that fire officials had told Jadhav were being provided an ordinary person as he had lives," the IFRC's Philippines in the province of Lanao del Sur Armando Sangcopan, an securing his boat in a river. tens of thousands displaced by him there was “zero” chance with a meeting with him in the entered the country with the operations and programmes in the centre of the island. elderly male survivor, told the Tembin struck less than a severe flooding and landslides. of anyone trapped surviving light of "Islamic traditions and intent of spying and carrying manager Patrick Elliott said in One of the places hit hard- station. week after Tropical Storm Kai- The blaze started at the four- the blaze. based on purely humanitarian out sabotage activities. a statement. est by the storm was the moun- Rescuers said a total of 103 Tak left scores dead and more storey NCCC Mall Saturday In a statement on its local grounds," he had said. Pakistan claims its security The Philippines is pum- tain village of Dalama, which houses were carried off by ram- than 20 missing in the cen- morning, sending thick plumes Facebook page, SSI said it would Pakistan on December 20 forces arrested Jadhav alias melled by major storms every was virtually erased from the paging floodwaters in Dalama. tral Philippines, straining the of black smoke billowing into set up a “command centre” for issued visa to Jadhav's wife and Hussein Mubarak Patel from year, many of them deadly, map. The storm approached the disaster-prone nation's already the sky over Davao. the relatives of those missing. mother to visit Islamabad to its restive Balochistan province but Mindanao tends to be less Footage filmed by Filipino western island of Palawan, a stretched resources. With low wages but strong “Please continue to pray meet him. on March 3 last year after he affected. television network ABS-CBN popular tourist draw, late Sat- The deadliest typhoon to English language skills, the Phil- for everyone’s safety,” the firm Jadhav, 47, was sentenced reportedly entered from Iran. Footage shows vast tracks showed houses destroyed or urday and swept into the South hit the country is still Hai- ippines is a popular destination added. to death by a Pakistani mili- India, however, maintains of land on the island is now engulfed by floodwaters there China Sea before dawn, the yan, which killed thousands for international companies to Davao fire marshal Honey- tary court on charges of espio- that Jadhav was kidnapped under brown water, often waste and rescuers retrieving the state weather service said. and destroyed entire towns in set up customer call centres. fritz Alagano said the blaze may nage and terrorism in April, from Iran where he had busi- deep as local try to flee to safer body of a dead girl buried in a "So far zero casualties, but heavily populated areas of the The building’s top floor have started by a spark on the following which India moved ness interests after retiring ground. Local police said 135 landslide. Police, soldiers and we have accounts of some central Philippines in Novem- housed a 24-hour call centre for third floor of the mall, which the ICJ in May. The ICJ halted from the Indian Navy. AGENCIES people were killed and 72 were volunteers used shovels and people missing," Palawan civil ber 2013. AGENCIES the US-based market research had a furniture section. AGENCIES Ten killed in ‘New contact’ in search for Gunmen kill 3 road accident MH17 families voice concerns at cafe south of in Pakistan over new discovery of remains lost Argentine submarine Egypt capital KARACHI: At least 10 people, BUENOS AIRES: A sonar CAIRO: Masked gunmen including six children, were THE HAGUE: Relatives of publicity about it". Malaysia Air- search for the Argentine sub- opened fire on a cafe south of killed on Sunday in Pakistan those killed in the MH17 air lines flight MH17 from Amster- marine that disappeared on the Egyptian capital, killing when two buses and a pick-up disaster have called for greater dam to Kuala Lumpur was shot November 15 with 44 crew three people, security officials van collided on a highway in respect for victims' remains down in July 2014 over war-torn members on board has made said on Sunday. the country's Sindh province, fearing some may be "playing Ukraine, killing all 298 people a new contact in the South The attack, which took according to a media report. a game" after a new discovery on board most of them Dutch. Atlantic, according to the navy. place overnight in the village All 10 deceased were pas- of bones. An international investiga- It will be investigated by of Al-Ayat about 50 kilometres sengers of the pick-up van, Freelance journalist Patrick tion concluded the plane was the remotely-operated Rus- from Cairo, left at least five oth- which was travelling from Lancaster revealed in a You- hit by a Russian-made BUK sian Panther Plus submarine, ers wounded, they said. Larkana to Sehwan in Sindh Tube video on December 11 missile transported across the while the US oceanographic circuit and start a fire. While the motivation was province, police was quoted as that he had found 52 bones and border into Ukraine from Rus- research vessel Atlantis con- An unusual noise heard in unclear officials suspect it was saying by Geo News. remains on the site of the 2014 sia and fired from territory held tinues exploring the search the ocean near the last known a criminal incident rather than The accident took place on crash in eastern Ukraine. His by separatists pro-Russia rebels. area, the navy announced on position of the San Juan, three terrorism. the Indus Highway in Sindh video shows him apparently remains from a Dutch journal- foundation said on Sunday. Ploeg's 58-year-old brother, Saturday. hours after its final contact, was State-run newspaper Akh- province. excavating the remains from ist which he said he found on The remains were found Alex, is one of only two victims Argentina has received help "consistent with an explosion," bar al-Youm, citing witnesses, The deceased were shifted the snow-covered crash site in the sire. But Lancaster's latest "exactly on the place where who has not yet been identified, from 13 countries in its search the navy said in late November. said two attackers arrived on to nearby medical facilities rebel-held territory. find has puzzled relatives and the joint investigation team has and fresh videoed reports of new for the San Juan submarine. Other reported contacts a motorcycle and opened fire for autopsy, the report said on It comes after Lancaster the MH17 Foundation, who excavated the soil, and sifted it. finds are painful. It has abandoned hope of detected weeks ago amounted on people in the cafe before Sunday. maintained he had discovered are calling for any outstand- It can't be possible on that place "It's good when human finding survivors and is con- to nothing – with some arising fleeing. Drivers of both the buses remains in August and handed ing remains to be handed over that there are a lot of human remains return to the next- centrating only on finding the from a fishing boat which sank Security officials arrived fled after the accident. The them over to local mayor, say- immediately to be identified remains." of-kin let's be clear about that. vessel, which in its last mes- years previously. at the scene and also inter- police said the search of the ing he was trying to do it "in the and returned to the next-of-kin. "It is curious," he said, add- But playing games with them, sage reported that seawater The tragedy led to the firing viewed injured people in hos- suspects is underway. most professional way possible." "The circumstances of the ing "it seems like someone with- is not good. That's bad behav- had entered the ventilation sys- of Admiral Marcelo Srur, head pital to try to identify and arrest Road accidents are com- And in January, Dutch findings are a little suspicious," held human remains to release iour from the journalists," tem, causing a battery on the of Argentina's navy, earlier this the attackers, the newspaper mon in Pakistan. Most of them police seized possible human Piet Ploeg, the chairman of the them now and then, and get Ploeg said. AGENCIES diesel-electric vessel to short- month. AGENCIES reported. AGENCIES are caused by careless driving, bad roads and faulty vehicles. On November 9, a total of 27 people were killed and China conducts flight of world’s largest amphibious aircraft New spider species named around 60 injured after a speeding bus fell off a bridge in BEIJING: China on Sunday AG600. The ruling Communist water on a single tank of fuel. Dhok Pathan area of Talagang. successfully conducted the Party of China (CPC) has con- Its name "Kunlong" stands after reggae legend Marley The bus fell from a height maiden flight of its first indig- gratulated all those engaged in for a high expectation in Chi- of 150 feet, rescue officials enous amphibious aircraft, the mission. nese culture with the "Kun" said, adding that as many as believed to be the world's larg- The congratulatory message meaning an enormous legend- 69 people were injured in the est, in southern Guangdong said the maiden flight was a ary fish and "Long" a dragon. accident. Province. major breakthrough in devel- China in recent years The bus, which was carry- The aircraft AG600, code oping special-purpose aircraft made major strides in aviation ing nearly a hundred passen- named "Kunlong", lifted off following the first flight of the technology. gers, was on its way to Lahore s from the Jinwan Civil Aviation large C919 passenger jet in May. The AG600 is the third Raiwind from Kohat, said res- Airport in Zhuhai in Guang- The 39.6-meter aircraft is member of China's "large air- cue officials. dong. The flight lasted about powered by four domestically- cruising speed of 500 kilometers itoring, state-run Xinhua news craft family" following the large The new spider species was discovered when the sea receded in On October 7, fourteen one hour. built turboprop engines, accord- per hour, the AG600 has a range agency reported. freighter Y-20 and large passen- Queensland and revealed a large population of water-adapted spiders people died and 30 were "The maiden flight makes ing to its developer, the Aviation of 12 hours. Designed to be the It can carry 50 people dur- ger aircraft C919, which made injured when a passenger China among the few coun- Industry Corporation of China world's largest amphibious air- ing search-and-rescue missions, maiden flights in 2013 and 2017. MELBOURNE: Scientists have cies, listed under the scientific bus collided with a van in the tries capable of developing a (AVIC). craft, the AG600 will be mainly collect 12 tonnes of water in 20 The Y-20 entered into service discovered a water-adapted spe- name of Desis bobmarleyi, is Dasht area of Mastung district, large amphibious aircraft," said With a maximum take-off used for maritime rescue, fight- seconds for fire fighting and with China's airforce in July cies of spiders and named it described based on male and they said. AGENCIES Huang Lingcai, chief designer of weight of 53.5 tonnes and a top ing forest fires and marine mon- transport up to 370 tonnes of 2016. AGENCIES after Jamaican reggae legend female specimens spotted and Bob Marley. collected from brain coral. In 2009, the sea along the Both sexes are characterised coastline of Queensland in Aus- by predominantly red-brown Photosynthesis began 1.25 billion years ago on Earth tralia receded to such an extent colours, while their legs are that it exposed a population of orange-brown and covered with TORONTO: The world's old- val of Earth's history often Using a dating technique, lished that the chloroplast, the spiders. a dense layer of long, thin and est algae fossils are a billion referred to as the 'Boring Bil- they determined that the rocks structure in plant cells that is Researchers associated their dark grey hair-like structures. years old, according to a study lion' may not have been so bor- are 1.047 billion years old. the site of photosynthesis, was emergence with Marley's song The females appear to be which found that the basis ing, after all. "That's 150 million years created when a eukaryote long "High Tide or Low Tide". larger in size with the studied for photosynthesis in today's From 1.8 to 0.8 billion younger than commonly held ago engulfed a simple bacte- In a study published in specimen measuring nearly nine plants was set in place 1.25 bil- years ago, archaea, bacte- estimates, and confirms that rium that was photosynthetic. the journal Evolutionary Sys- millimetres, whereas the male lion years ago. ria and a handful of complex this fossil is spectacular," said The eukaryote then man- tematics, researchers from was about six millimetres long. The study, published in the organisms that have since gone Galen Halverson, associate aged to pass that DNA along Queensland Museum in Aus- While the exact distribution journal Geology, may resolve a extinct milled about the plan- professor at McGill's. to its descendants, including tralia and University of Ham- range of the newly described long-standing mystery over the et's oceans, with little biologi- This will enable scientists the plants and trees that pro- burg in Germany described the species remains unknown, it age of the fossilised algae, Ban- cal or environmental change to make more precise assess- duce most of the world's bio- intertidal spider. is currently recorded from the giomorpha pubescens, which to show for it. ments of the early evolution of mass today. Unlike the spiders which intertidal zones of the Great were first discovered in rocks In fact, that era may have set eukaryotes - the celled organ- Once the researchers had people are familiar with, the Barrier Reef on the north- east- in Arctic Canada in 1990. the stage for the proliferation of isms that include plants and gauged the fossils' age at 1.047 intertidal species have adapted ern coast of Queensland. The microscopic organ- more complex life forms that animals. billion years, they plugged to the underwater life by hid- "The song 'High Tide or Low ism is believed to be the old- culminated 541 million years Since Bangiomorpha pube- that figure into a "molecu- ing in barnacle shells, corals or Tide' promotes love and friend- est known direct ancestor of ago with the so-called Cam- scens is nearly identical to lar clock," a computer model kelp holdfast during high tide. ship through all struggles of life," modern plants and animals, brian Explosion. modern red algae, scientists used to calculate evolutionary To breathe, they build air researchers said. but it was poorly dated, with "Evidence is beginning to viously thought," said Timothy Bangiomorpha pubescens fos- have previously determined events based on rates of genetic chambers from silk. Once the "It is his music that aided estimates placing it somewhere build to suggest that Earth's Gibson, PhD student at McGill sils have been found. that the ancient alga, like green mutations. sea water recedes, though, they a field trip to Port Douglas between 720 million and 1.2 biosphere and its environment University in Canada. They collected samples of plants, used sunlight to syn- They concluded the chloro- are out and about hunting small in coastal Queensland, Aus- billion years. in the latter portion of the 'Bor- To pinpoint the fossils' black shale from rock layers thesise nutrients from carbon plast must have been incorpo- invertebrates that roam the tralia, to collect spiders with The findings also add to ing Billion' may actually have age, researchers camped at the that sandwiched the rock unit dioxide and water. rated into eukaryotes roughly surfaces of the nearby rocks, a highly unique biology," recent evidence that an inter- been more dynamic than pre- remote Baffin Island, where containing fossils of the algae. Scientists have also estab- 1.25 billion years ago. AGENCIES corals and plants. The new spe- they said. AGENCIES world 11 MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017 mp Federal judge partially lifts North Korea slams new UN Trump’s ban on refugees SEATTLE (US): A federal sanctions as an ‘act of war’ judge in Seattle has partially lifted a Trump administration SEOUL: North Korea on Jong-un’s government has ban on certain refugees. Sunday slammed the latest UN conducted several missile tests US District Judge James sanctions imposed on it over this year, which have drawn Robart ruled Saturday for the the isolated country's widely- condemnation from the American Civil Liberties Union condemned intercontinental international community. and Jewish Family Service after ballistic missile tests, describing The fresh sanctions, which they urged him to halt the ban the move as an "act of war". also prohibit the supply of on refugees from some mostly "We fully reject the latest UN industrial machinery to North Muslim countries. sanctions... as a violent breach Korea and the purchase of food Robart ordered the federal of our republic's sovereignty and agricultural products from government to process certain and an act of war that destroys the country, are in response to refugee applications. He says the peace and stability of the North Korea’s test-launch of his order does not apply to Korean peninsula and a wider an intercontinental ballistic refugees without a "bona fide" region," Pyongyang's foreign missile on November 29. relationship to a person or an the security review, but that it “This ruling brings relief ministry said in a statement Both Russia and China entity within the United States. could not stop processing or to thousands of refugees in carried by the state-run KCNA supported the new move, On October 24, the Trump admitting refugees from the precarious situations in the news agency. despite previously raising administration effectively11 countries in the meantime, Middle East and East Africa, as It was the first official concerns that not enough paused refugee admissions as long as those refugees have well as to refugees already in the reaction from Pyongyang, was being done to promote from 11 countries mostly in a “bona fide” connection to the U.S. who are trying to reunite a day after the 15-member diplomatic resolutions to the Middle East and Africa, United States. with their spouses and children,” UNSC unanimously voted to tensions on the Korean pending a 90-day security As part of its new restrictions, said Mariko Hirose, litigation impose tough new sanctions Peninsula. review, which was set to expire the Trump administration had director for the International on North Korea in response “Those countries that raised in late January. also paused a program that Refugee Assistance Project, one to its latest missile test and their hands in favour of this The countries subject to the allowed for family reunification of the plaintiffs in the case. vowed to prevent Pyongyang ‘sanctions resolution’ shall be review are Egypt, Iran, Iraq, for refugees, pending further A Justice Department from furthering its nuclear accomplishment of the great blackmail and hostile moves not a surprise as it is the US held completely responsible Libya, Mali, North Korea, security screening procedures spokeswoman, Lauren Ehrsam, programme. historic cause of completing by establishing the practical who negotiated the latest round for all the consequences to Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, being put into place. said the department disagrees The measures order North the state nuclear force, is getting balance of force with the US.” of sanctions.” be caused by the ‘resolution’ Syria and Yemen. For each of Robart ordered the with Robart’s ruling and is Koreans working abroad to more and more frenzied in the Pyongyang’s statement Following the vote on and we will make sure for ever the last three years, refugees government to re-start the “currently evaluating the next return home within two years moves to impose the harshest- “comes as no surprise, Friday, US President Donald and ever that they pay heavy from the 11 countries made up program, known as “follow- steps”. and ban nearly 90 percent of ever sanctions and pressure on according to policy watchers Trump endorsed the stricter price for what they have done,” more than 40 percent of U.S. to-join”. Approximately 2,000 Robart, who was appointed refined petroleum exports to our country,” said the foreign and foreign analysts”,” she said. measures, saying “The World North Korea’s foreign ministry admissions. A Reuters review of refugees were admitted into the to the bench by Republican the country. ministry. “The language is something that wants Peace, not Death!” on statement read. State Department data showed United States in fiscal year 2015 former President George W. In its statement, North It added: “We will further North Korean policy watchers Twitter. An estimated 93,000 North that as the review went into under the program, according Bush, emerged from relative Korea defended its missile and consolidate our self-defensive are quite familiar with. The latest UN sanctions Koreans work abroad and send effect, refugee admissions from to Department of Homeland obscurity in February, when nuclear weapons programme. nuclear deterrence aimed at “The statement also seems were the third imposed on money back home, helping the 11 countries plummeted. Security data. he issued a temporary order to “The United States,fundamentally eradicating to have directed much of its North Korea this year. the government to fund its Robart ruled that the Refugee advocacy groups lift the first version of Trump’s completely terrified at our the US nuclear threats, anger at the US and this is again North Korean leader Kim weapons programmes. AGENCIES administration could carry out praised Robart’s decision. travel ban. AGENCIES Venezuela expels 12th Palestinian dies since Trump declaration on Jerusalem top Brazil and Bali volcano spews GAZA CITY (PALESTINE): US embassy there from Tel Aviv. of COGAT, Israel's defence Canada diplomats A Palestinian teenager died Ten protesters have died ministry unit responsible for thick smoke, ashes on Sunday, nine days after after clashes with Israeli troops, activities in the Palestinian CARACAS: Venezuela on being wounded by Israeli fire two of them on Friday. Two territories, reiterated there was JAKARTA: Mount Agung in Sunday said two diplomats during a Gaza protest against others were killed in an Israeli "no basis for the false reports Indonesia's Bali island spewed from Canada and Brazil were no US recognition of Jerusalem air strike on Gaza earlier in the that a sniper deliberately thick smoke and ashes high into longer welcome, in an escalating as Israel's capital, the health month. targeted Abu Thurayeh". the air on Sunday, authorities showdown over their criticism ministry said. Among the Gazans killed in Major General Yoav said. of President Maduro's socialist Mohammad Sami the December 15 clashes was Mordechai also wrote in a The eruption took place at government. al-Dahduh, 19, from Gaza City Ibrahim Abu Thurayeh, who Facebook post in Arabic that 10.05 a.m., emitting thick grey The head of the powerful was shot on December 15 during had lost his legs in an Israeli he had asked the Red Cross smoke, the National Disaster pro-government Constituent a demonstration on the Israeli attack a decade ago. to provide all information on Mitigation Agency (BNPB) issued the highest alert on Assembly, Delcy Rodriguez, said border, ministry spokesman The health ministry in Gaza Abu Thurayeh's evacuation and said. "The eruption lasted for November 27. An eruption on the body decided on the move Ashraf al-Qudra said. His said the 29-year-old was shot in treatment. 10 minutes. White smoke was Saturday prompted rain of ashes against Brazil's ambassador Ruy death brings to 12 the number the head by a sniper, with the "There are too many seen came out from the volcano in the villages located in the Pereira and Canadian charge of Palestinians killed since UN's human rights chief saying the Israeli army said it conducted of riot dispersal means or what question marks around Abu summit after the blast," Xinhua slope of near the volcano. d'affaires Craig Kowalik. US President Donald Trump he was "truly shocked" by Abu an investigation, according caused his death". "No live fire Thurayeh's death," Mordechai news agency quoted BNPB Volcanic activities of Mount "We have decided to declare announced on December 6 that Thurayeh's death, demanding to which it was "impossible was aimed at Abu Thurayeh," wrote. "Let's put an end to the spokesman Sutopo Purwo Agung have been ensuing since persona non grata the Brazilian he would recognise Jerusalem an "independent and impartial to determine whether Abu the army said. rumours, exaggerations and Nugroho as saying. September after 54 years of ambassador until such time as as Israel's capital and move the investigation". On December 18, Thurayeh was injured as a result On Saturday, the head lies." AGENCIES Indonesian authorities inactivity. AGENCIES constitutional order is restored in the neighboring country" Rodriguez said referring to the government of Brazilian ‘10,000 refugees’ to be relocated President Michel Temer. The Brazilian conservative replaced leftist Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff after from Libya to Europe in 2018 she was impeached. And Kowalik of Canada has ROME: Up to 10,000 people the chaos following the 2011 been carrying out "nagging, stranded in refugee camps and revolution. constant rude and offensive detention centres in Libya could Last month, US television interference in Venezuela's be relocated to Europe in 2018, network CNN broadcast video domestic affairs." the Italian government said on footage appearing to show On the Twitter account Sunday. migrants being sold as slaves of the Canadian embassy in The initiative would be part near the Libyan capital Tripoli, Caracas, she said, the assembly of an attempt by EU countries sparking international outrage. was described as a threat to to address the deteriorating International organisations Venezuelans' ability to elect conditions in Libya, where are now able to "visit reception their leaders, including their thousands of people are held centres and improve their next president. captive in inhumane conditions. living conditions," Minniti said, Last week, Brazil urged "In 2018, up to 10,000 adding that the conditions were Venezuela -- which has been refugees will be able to come currently "unacceptable". sidelined from the regional to Europe without risk, through relocated directly to Europe objectives of the International Italy also needs to take trading bloc Mercosur -- to humanitarian corridors," Italian by the UN's refugee agency Organization for Migration, "credible" measures to work improve its human rights Interior Minister Marco Minniti (UNHCR). 30,000 migrants without right with the Libyan coastguard record. Temer said he would said in an interview with the About 400,000 migrants to asylum will be able to be to better control the "illegal" welcome Caracas back into newspaper La Repubblica. are in Libya, including roughly repatriated to their countries influx of migrants arriving by Mercosur's fold when Venezuela The announcement comes 36,000 children, the UN on a voluntary basis," in 2018, sea, he said. returns to democracy. after a group of 162 "vulnerable" children's agency UNICEF and Minniti said. Sea arrivals to Italy are Venezuela considers people, from Eritrea, Ethiopia, the International Organization "With the help of the down a third this year, from Rousseff to have been pushed Somalia and Yemen, were for Migration (IOM) said earlier Libyan authorities, we have almost 180,000 people in 2016 out in a political "coup d'etat" evacuated from Libya and this month. constructed a new management to just under 119,000 in 2017, in Congress. arrived by military plane in In 2018, the IOM aims to model on the other side of the which includes nearly 15,000 No time frame was set for Rome on Friday. repatriate 30,000 migrants to Mediterranean." unaccompanied children, the diplomats' departure, she The group included single their home countries as part of Libya has long been a transit according to UNICEF and IOM. said. In Brasilia, the government mothers, unaccompanied a voluntary return programme. hub for migrants seeking a Hundreds of people also said that if the measure were to children and handicapped Around 15,000 have been better life in Europe, but people drowned trying to make the take place, Brazil would take people, and was the first time sent back this year. smugglers have stepped up treacherous journey across the reciprocal steps. AGENCIES refugees and migrants had been "In accordance with the their lucrative business since Mediterranean. AGENCIES Mars absorbed water on its Thousands endorse Navalny surface like a sponge: Study to challenge Russian prez LONDON: The Martian planetary surfaces. MOSCOW: Alexei Navalny, surface may have reacted with The results revealed that seen as the only Russian and absorbed the water that the basalt rocks on Mars can opposition leader who stands once flowed on the red planet, hold approximately 25 per cent a fighting chance of challenging making it uninhabitable, more water than those on Earth, Vladimir Putin, sought on scientists suggest. and as a result drew the water Sunday to get his name on the Although today's Martian from the Martian surface into ballot for a March presidential surface is barren, frozen its interior. election, with supporters and uninhabitable, a trail "People have thought about gathering across Russia to of evidence points to a once water has gone. this question for a long time, but endorse the move. term, which would extend his warmer, wetter planet, where Convinced that the planet's never tested the theory of the Thousands of people who rule until 2024 and make him water flowed freely. minerology held the answer to water being absorbed as a result back the charismatic 41-year- the longest-serving Russian The conundrum of what this puzzling question, scientists of simple rock reactions," said old lawyer were meeting in leader since dictator Joseph happened to this water is long from the Oxford University Jon Wade, from Oxford, who 20 Russian cities to formally Stalin. standing and unsolved. in the UK applied modelling led the research. nominate his candidacy in the But Navalny, who has Previous research has methods used to understand "There are pockets of presence of electoral officials tapped into the anger of a suggested that the majority of the composition of Earth evidence that together, leads to boost his chances of making younger generation who grew the water was lost to space as rocks to calculate how much us to believe that a different the vote. up under Putin and yearn for a result of the collapse of the water could be removed from reaction is needed to oxidise Russian electoral officials change, said he would not give planet's magnetic field, when it the Martian surface through the Martian mantle," said Wade. have deemed him ineligible to up. was either swept away by high reactions with rock. "On Mars, water reacting run due to a criminal conviction, He hopes that popular intensity solar winds or locked The team assessed the role with the freshly erupted lavas' saying "only a miracle" would support for his Kremlin bid up as sub-surface ice. that rock temperature, sub- that form its basaltic crust, help him get registered. Putin, would pressure authorities However, these theories surface pressure and general resulted in a sponge-like effect," 65, announced this month that into putting his name on do not explain where all of the Martian make-up, have on the he said. AGENCIES he will seek a fourth presidential the ballot. AGENCIES 12 business mp MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017 NCLTs receive 4,300 insolvency petitions Take urgent remedial steps to since inception in 2016 contain NPAs: Par panel to govt MUMBAI: Since the National resolution. And 11 of them are Company Law Tribunal in NCLT now. (NCLT) was set up 18 months Later in August, the central NEW DELHI: Concerned over rising ago, over 4,300 cases have been bank gave the banks a list of NPAs of the banks, a Parliamentary panel filed at its various benches for another 28 more large accounts asked the government to take urgent reme- PSBs’ NPA hits Rs 7.34L cr resolution process, according to be resolved by December 13, dial measures to reduce volume of stressed to the Reserve Bank data. failing which those accounts assets in the system and strengthen vigi- at the end of September The insolvency and bank- would have to be referred to the lance mechanism. ruptcy code came into exis- NCLT by December 31. These The Committee on Petition in its tence with the enactment of accounts constitute another 15 reports said that it is constrained to note NEW DELHI: Bad loans of est amount of NPAs at over the Insolvency and Bankruptcy per cent of the system-wide bad that even after having a 'vigilance mecha- Public sector banks (PSBs) Rs 1.86 lakh crore followed Code (IBC) in May 2016, loans and of these banks have nism' in vogue in the banking system, there stood at Rs 7.34 lakh crore by Punjab National Bank (Rs replacing the Company Law sent as many as 25 to the NCLT. are incidences of fraud relating to non-per- by the end of second quar- 57,630 crore), Bank of India (Rs Board regime. The bad loans in the system forming assets (NPAs). ter this fiscal, a bulk of which 49,307 crore), Bank of Baroda "As of November 2017, over have crossed the Rs 10-trillion- "In this regard, the Committee opined came from corporate default- (Rs 46,307 crore), Canara Bank 4,300 applications under the mark or 10.2 per cent as of the that merely issuing of guidelines or advi- ers, according to Reserve Bank (Rs 39,164 crore) and Union corporate insolvency resolution September quarter from 9.6 per sories by the government or the RBI for data. However, on the other Bank of India (Rs 38,286 crore). process (CIRP) were filed in the cent a year earlier and the FSR averting the incidences of fraud relating hand private sector banks' non- Among private sector lend- various benches of NCLT," the warned that gross NPAs would to NPAs do not seem to have yielded the performing assets (NPAs) were ers, ICICI Bank had the highest RBI said in its Financial Stabil- spike further to 10.8 per cent by desired results and the RBI-being a Regu- considerably low at Rs 1.03 amount of NPAs on its books ity Report (FSR) released over March 2018 and to over 11.1 lator - does not seem to have succeeded in lakh crore by September 30. at Rs 44,237 crore by the end the weekend. Of these, more per cent by September 2018. so far as implementation and enforcement malpractices, corruption, etc, at all levels defaulters' in public domain. "The gross non-perform- of September, followed by than 500 applications seeking "The banking stability of its own guidelines is concerned," it said. in the functioning of banks. However, it added, the Ministry of ing assets of public sector Axis Bank (Rs 22,136 crore), admission for insolvency pro- indicator shows that the risks The Committee, therefore, recom- The committee has also made a case for Finance (Department of Financial Ser- and private sector banks as HDFC Bank (Rs 7,644 crore) ceedings were rejected, dis- remain at an elevated level mended the government to impress upon amending banking laws, including the SBI vices)/RBI are of the opinion that the dis- on September 30, 2017 were and Jammu and Kashmir Bank missed or withdrawn, it added. weighed down by further asset the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to moni- Act, to provide for disclosure of names of closure of information of other defaulting Rs 7,33,974 crore, Rs 1,02,808 (Rs 5,983 crore). The report said around 470 quality deterioration," warned tor and follow up strict compliance of the loan defaulters. borrowers may not be in the interest of the crore, respectively," the finance Host of provisions have cases admitted by the NCLT are the report. Overall, the stressed relevant instructions with the banks and The panel had recommended that the revival of their distressed business units, ministry said citing RBI data. been restored for the recovery at various stages of the insol- assets, including restructured financial institutions on a regular basis, government make appropriate amend- which may be otherwise viable. The government said lead- of the bad loans, the ministry vency process. loans and dud loans increased the panel added. ments in "the archaic provisions of the SBI It reiterated that they should undertake ing corporate houses and said, adding that the network In June this year, the to 12.2 per cent during the It also recommended that the existing Act and other relevant laws to disclose the an "objective examination and analysis of companies accounted for of Debt Recovery Tribunals Reserve Bank had asked banks same period from 12.1 per cent. vigilance mechanism should be re-visited names of individuals who owe money to the extant provision(s) for disclosure of approximately 77 per cent (DRTs) have been expanded. to refer the 12 largest dud Gross dud loans at the state- and, if required, the same be amended to the Banks or are responsible for bad loans details of loan defaulters in public domain of the total gross NPAs from There are 39 DRTs now as com- accounts totalling about 25 per run banks shot by 100 bps to provide more teeth to existing mechanism. on account of their default to repay". by amending the existing relevant Acts/ domestic operations for the pared to 33 in 2016-17 that will cent of the gross NPAs of the 13.5 per cent while the same There is a need for establishment of a In this regard, it said the Commit- Rules vis-a-vis interest of the revival of banks. Among the major pub- help reduce the pending cases banking system or worth about for their private sector peers more robust vigilance mechanism to put tee appreciated that RBI was in favour of their distressed business units without hav- lic sector banks, State Bank as well as expedite disposal Rs 2.5 trillion to the NCLT for jumped to 3.80 per cent. PTI a check on the incidences of irregularities, making available information on 'wilful ing any impact on their viability". of India (SBI) had the high- of cases. PTI Reliance Jio subscriber Economic growth may Nokia plant in Tamil Nadu left as an touches touch 7% in 2018: Report ‘orphaned child’: Ravi Shankar Prasad NEW DELHI: India's eco- is traceable to lack of reforms 160 mn nomic growth may touch 7 per in the rural economy. CHENNAI: Union Minister "We are trying to work it Indians in ticket sizes of Rs cent next year as the govern- Despite political promises, Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sun- out," he told reporters at a CII 10,000, Rs 50,000 Rs five lakh MUMBAI: The customer base ment's policies tilt towards the several states have not been day said the Nokia facility at organised event here. and Rs 10 lakh. of Reliance Jio has touched 160 country's stress-ridden rural able to reform the APMC Sriperumbudur near here, was Elaborating further, he The Pradhan Mantri million, a little over a year after landscape in the penultimate (Agricultural Produce Mar- left like an "orphaned child" said, "We (the government) MUDRA Yojana scheme pro- the newcomer stormed into the year before the 2019 general keting Committee Act), which and the Centre was "on the job" were on the job.. We tried with vides access to institutional telecom market with aggressive elections, according to a report. restricts farmers to sell their to make it operational. one-two companies.. It did not finance to small business units voice and data offerings. "Against GDP growth of 6.3 Monsoon, pick-up in industrial produce to a particular set of Finland-based Nokia, one work out.. Let me concertise of various ticket sizes. The latest subscriber base per cent in the second quar- activity and credit growth and cartels. Besides, the import- of the largest employers in Srip- and then disclose it to you.. But, "50 per cent of them were of the telecom operator was ter of 2017-18, the economic stable foreign exchange rates. export policies for the agri erumbudur, had provided jobs we are on the job(to make it first time entrepreneurs. Now, revealed by Akash Ambani, expansion may reach the cru- The coming budget is products need to be revisited to 8,000 people when the facil- operational)." even if half of this eight crore son of billionaire Mukesh cial 7 per cent mark by the expected to be heavily tilted to help growers realise better ity was functioning with full On the proposal by Apple Indians have added one job, Ambani, at an interaction with end of September 2018 quar- towards the farmers while prices, the chamber said. capacity. Inc., to set up a manufacturing there would be four crore new Bollywood superstar Shahrukh ter, while inflation may range the industrial focus will be on However, according to The factory was left out of facility in the country, he said, in the country has increased to jobs," he said. Khan during a glitzy event on between 4 to 5.5 per cent the sectors which create jobs, Assocham, while the under- the $7.2 billion deal that was the government is in talks with 108 from two that were operat- Prasad also said, the gov- Saturday to mark Reliance towards the second half of the it added. lying bullish sentiment should signed between Microsoft and them. To a query, he said there ing earlier. ernment has decided to set Industries' 40 years of exis- next calendar year with the "A realisation seems to be continue to prevail in the Nokia in 2014. were 40 lakh persons work- "Now 108 mobile manufac- up 23 BPO centres targetting tence and to commemorate monsoon being a key impon- dawning that growth per se is Indian stock market in 2018, "Nokia was left as an ing "directly" in the IT indus- turing facilities have come up skilled employees present in founder Dhirubhai Ambani's derable," said Assocham in its not enough, the benefits must the returns on equity may not orphaned child.. I tried my try and 1.30 crore employed (across India) and about three Tier II and III cities in Tamil birthday. In an onstage chat Year-Ahead Outlook. be seen in the form of higher be as robust as in 2017. This is best. You know Microsoft took "indirectly." lakh boys and girls are working Nadu. with the Ambani twins Akash The chamber said its pro- employment. because the 2017 bull run has over Nokia but left the Nokia "I am very happy to tell directly and indirectly," he said. Nineteen BPOs were and Isha, the 52-year-old actor jections for the 7 per cent The year 2018 would see already factored in the return of plant (due to double) taxing you that one-third of them are On the Pradhan Mantri already operational in places mentioned that Jio now has 100 GDP growth are based upon policies in this direction," it growth steadiness in 2018 and issue," the Minister for Law and women," he added. MUDRA Yojana scheme, he like Coimbatore, Mayiladuthu- million subscribers. the assumption of stability in said, highlighting that the the corporate earnings witness- Justice, Electronics and Infor- He said the number of said about Rs four lakh crore rai, Tiruchirapalli among oth- Akash corrected him say- the government policies, good stress in the agriculture sector ing a pick-up, it added. PTI mation Technology said. mobile manufacturing factories has been given to eight crore ers, he noted. PTI ing "160 million, SRK!", in turn prompting the 'Badshah of Bol- lywood' to take a dig at just how good the Ambanis were with Modi likely to attend WEF Davos Summit; Shahrukh, over 100 Indian CEOs may join numbers. Reliance Jio entered the highly-competitive telecom sector in September 2016 with NEW DELHI/GENEVA: expected to participate. and abroad include former RBI Sharan Burrow, CERN Direc- and an activist. a 6-month promotional offer Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be Governor Raghuram Rajan and tor-General Fabiola Gianotti Since 1986, she has been of free voice and data, a strat- Modi is likely to make his accompanied by some union IMF chief Christine Lagarde. and ENGIE CEO Isabelle working with marginalised egy that helped it mobilise mil- debut at the World Economic ministers and top government Sources said Modi is Kocher. communities and is founder lions of users. Forum's annual jamboree of officials, while a large India Inc expected to be there on Janu- The WEF, which describes and president of Mann Deshi Jio threw an open challenge the global elite in the snow- delegation led by apex industry ary 23- 24 and may address the itself as an international organ- Mahila Bank and Mann Deshi to the incumbent telecom oper- laden Swiss resort town of chamber CII will also be pres- first special plenary of the big- isation for public-private coop- Foundation. ators with its disruptive tariffs, Davos next month, where he ent at the meet, whose theme gest congregation of top global eration and was established in The WEF, which has been triggering a price war that saw is also expected to address a will be 'Creating a Shared leaders including over 40 heads 1971 as a not-for-profit founda- criticised in the past in some severe bloodletting in the sec- special plenary session. Future in a Fractured World'. of state and government. He tion, hosts its annual meeting quarters for relatively lower tor in the following months. While the final list of par- The ministers whose names may hold a number of bilaterals in Davos every year in January. presence of women, said these Earlier this year, Mukesh ticipants would be released are being considered include besides other meetings. In a statement last month co-chairs represent both the Ambani announced the launch next month itself for the five- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Modi will be the first Indian announcing its co-chairs for public and private sectors, of a 4G-enabled feature phone day Davos Annual Meeting Commerce and Industry Min- Prime Minister at the Davos the 2018 meeting, the WEF international organisations, priced at "effective" zero, that of Geneva-based WEF begin- ister Suresh Prabhu, Railways summit since 1997 when the said that over 3,000 leaders, organised labour, academia and wooed low income users with ning January 22, 2018, sources Minister Piyush Goyal, Trans- then Prime Minister H D Deve representing 100 countries, will science as well as civil society life-long free voice calls and familiar with the programme port Minister Nitin Gadkari Gowda had attended. This is Annual Meeting of WEF will history that its Davos Annual gather in a collaborative effort and social entrepreneurship. cheap data bundled with the said Indian presence will be and Oil Minister Dharmendra one of the few global summits conclude on January 26. Meeting would have all women to shape the global, regional The Forum has said the handset. The mobile subscriber really big this time with over Pradhan. yet to be attended by Modi. Indian social entrepreneur co-chairs. and industry agendas, with a programme of the 2018 Annual base of India, the second larg- 100 CEOs including Mukesh NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh To be attended by over and activist Chetna Sinha will Sinha will be joined by commitment to improve the Meeting will explore the root est market after China, stands Ambani, Chanda Kochhar and Kant and DIPP Secretary 3,000 global leaders includ- be among seven all-women co- IMF's Christine Lagarde, state of the world. causes of, and pragmatic solu- at over 1.1 billion with Airtel, Uday Kotak, as also Bollywood Ramesh Abhishek are also ing CEOs, heads of state and chairs for the event. Norway Prime Minister Erna Sinha has been a social tions for, the manifold political, Vodafone and Idea Cellular as superstar Shahrukh Khan and expected to be present. government, artists and civil This will be the first time in Solberg, IBM chief Ginni Rom- entrepreneur, a microfinance economic and social fractures the top three operators. PTI top filmmaker Karan Johar Other big names from India society members, the Davos WEF's nearly five-decade- old etty, ITUC General Secretary banker, an economist, a farmer facing global society today. PTI Bitcoin craze: BigB gets over $100 mn top-up; wiped out in days

NEW DELHI/NEW YORK: rectly and because of a small a website that claims to spe- As per the regulatory filings Bachchans got as part of Ziddu. Longfin filed for US listing. The crazy swings of Bitcoin investment that is at least 3-4 cialise in providing warehouse made by Longdin with the US com deal, was over $30 million. Incidentally, the public prices added more than $100 years old. coins, powered by the block- regulator SEC, the distribution Besides, the indirect ownership offer documents in March this million to megastar Amitabh The link is a Hyderabad- chain technology, to importers of these 2.5 million shares for through Stampede stake was year did not mention anything Bachchan's fortunes within based company named Stam- and exporters of commodi- acquisition of Ziddu.com is like worth about $100 million at the about Bitcoin or cryptocur- days, but most of it got wiped pede Capital, which describes ties against their warehouse this –2.15 million to Merid- peak valuation. rencies and Longfin described out even faster –thanks to itself as a "research driven receipts. This made Longfin ian, 100,000 shares to Galaxy On the other hand, all these itself at that time as "an inde- a small stake in a hitherto global trade house" and a one of the few listed stocks with Media, 125,000 to Amitabh holdings were just worth about pendent financial technology unknown firm associated with "liquidity provider and market direct or indirect association Bachchan and another 125,000 $1 million before the listing, company" specialising in trade the web of cryptocurrencies. maker" at various exchanges with the Bitcoin buzz. to his son Abhishek Bachchan. taking into account the $2.5 commodity solutions. It said There may be further such driving "millions of dollars Longfin acquired the web- At the current stock price apiece public offer price pro- Longfin was a newly estab- fluctuations with the craze for trading volume everyday across site from Singapore-based of $41, Longfin shares of the posed by Longfin. lished company and Stampede Bitcoins and other cryptocur- the globe in nano seconds". entity named Meridian Enter- two Bachchans would be worth Now, the direct and indi- was incorporated in 2010. rencies continuing to drive In its regulatory filings, the prises Pte Ltd, in which 95 per about $10.25 million. rect holdings are worth an esti- It also said "LongFin has their prices and the regulatory company lists Bachchan as cent of the equity was owned The indirect holding, owing mated $40 million –still over had minimal net income risks remaining a big drag for an "individual non-promoter by Venkat S Meenavalli, the to Stampede stake, would be $100 million below the peak. (approximately $5,000) with the prices that saw Bitcoin sky- shareholder" with a small stake at that time (going by the share cap of $370 million, after it sold CEO and chairman of Longfin worth further $30 million Stampede also has been only one month operating his- rocketing to near $20,000 just a of 2.38 per cent at the end of price around then), while the shares in a public offer at $2.5 Corp and also main promoter going by the current market seeing a sharp rally in its share tory, and the revenues gener- few days back before plunging last quarter. As per the BSE value of his latest holding is apiece. Stampede now owns of Stampede. cap of about $3.4 billion of price back home at the BSE ated since its inception till end back by almost half and then records, Bachchan figures on almost half at about Rs 4.7 37.14 per cent stake in Long- Longfin has entered into Longfin. The current market with a surge of about 50 per of February 2017 of approxi- again recovering to $15,000 the list of shareholders (with 1 crore. fin, by virtue of which Bach- an asset purchase agreement cap is itself nearly 10-times of cent in the past one month, mately $300,000". As per the level. per cent or more stake) since The Bitcoin-driven top-up chan (with his 2.38 per cent with Meridian, and with related the listing level. but its stock still remains far BSE records, Stampede had While lakhs of Indians are at least June 2014, though the to Bachchan's fortunes comes stake in Stampede) becomes affiliates collectively repre- An analysis of Longfin below the yearly peak of over revenue of Rs 10.22 crore in said to have taken a fancy to the quantum he is holding has been in the backdrop of Stampede an indirect beneficiary in the sented by Hong Kong-based share price since its listing Rs 30. The stock is currently last fiscal and profit of Rs 0.03 Bitcoin and other such virtual changing somewhat. recently listing one of its sub- US- listed firm. Galaxy Media Ltd in exchange shows that it had hit a high of trading at Rs 8.71 each after crore. Before the IPO, Stam- currencies, Bachchan is prob- As on June 30, 2014, Bach- sidiaries, Longfin Corp, on the The stock suddenly saw a for 2.5 million restricted Class $142.82 each on December 18, hitting upper circuit on Friday pede held 55 per cent stake ably the first big name from the chan held 3.39 per cent in the Nasdaq exchange in the US. huge two-day surge of 2,500 A common shares of the com- when the market cap was over and commands a market cap of in Longfin and the remaining country to get associated with company which could have Longfin got listed on Nas- per cent post announcement pany –and here comes another $10 billion. At that peak, the Rs 200 crore. It was $100 mil- 45 per cent was with the CEO this big buzzword -- albeit indi- been worth around Rs 9 crore daq last week with a market of an acquisition of Ziddu.com, Bachchan link. value of Longfin shares, which lion (over Rs 600 crore) when Meenavalli. PTI business 13 MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017 mp India to link highway corridors to int'l trade points for Rs 25k crore Now, natural gas may come

NEW DELHI: To facilitate trade with bordering coun- tries like Nepal and Bangla- under ambit of GST in 2018 desh, India will link its major highway corridors to interna- NEW DELHI: It literally continued to attract duties like often run by barely literate was tional trade points at a cost of took the country by storm six central excise and VAT. a hurdle. Rs 25,000 crore, Union Minis- months back when dozens of That may well change in For exporters, GST was a ter Nitin Gadkari said. taxes and levies were rolled into 2018, at least for natural gas. nightmare as tax refunds were About 2,000 kms of high- one, but as the new goods and A top revenue department delayed, leaving them short ways will be constructed under services tax (GST) stabilises, official said as the Centre and of capital. Small, unorganised the plan. "About 2,000 kms of its ambit is now likely to be states are assured of revenue businesses, especially in tra- highways will be constructed to increased by including natural flows, natural gas can be the ditionally dominant textiles link major highways corridors gas in next couple of months. next big item to be included. and jewellery sectors, were to international trade points," On July 1, when the new "To me it appears that out worst hit. the road transport and high- national sales tax was imple- of the 5 petroleum products, So, the government eased ways minister said. mented, it was decried as natural gas is an easier candi- the filing process for traders He said this will be to facili- Rs 2.05 lakh crore as market "NHIDCL has been nomi- technologically tedious and date for bringing into GST," he with a turnover of less than Rs tate trade with Nepal, Bhutan, borrowing, Rs 34,000 crore nated as project management expensive and had potential said, adding that a 5 per cent 1.5 crore and expedited refunds Bangladesh and Myanmar. from monetisation of highway consultant by the Ministry of to torpedo political prospects GST, equivalent to that being to exporters. The project is part of the projects and Rs 60,000 crore External Affairs for this," he of the ruling BJP. However, the charged on coal, will benefit The 'one nation, one creeping in with unscrupulous With GST, about two dozen Bharatmala Pariyojana, he through budgetary allocation. said, adding that contracts have government made numerous states in reducing price of CNG tax' united at least 17 differ- traders colluding with trans- of 29 states have abolished added. The Cabinet on Octo- The minister said that been awarded for all 14 projects changes, including easing the as well as cooking gas piped ent central and state indirect porters and suppliers prefer- check points at their borders, ber 25 had approved a mega besides project to link high- and work is going on. tax filing process and reducing into kitchens. The Centre may taxes under one umbrella to ring to conduct a cash-only where truck drivers had to halt plan to build 83,677 kms of way corridors with interna- Earlier this month, Gad- rates on over 200 items, to save try to bring up inclusion of nat- cut tax evasions and reduce business and not pay the tax. and fill out paperwork, often highways by March 2022 at a tional trade points, there are kari had said that India has pro- the day for the party in Prime ural gas at the next GST Coun- corruption. Also, states like Tamil Nadu delay deliveries, at times by cost of about Rs 7 lakh crore, several other projects under posed $1 billion line of credit to Minister Narendra Modi's cil meeting in January. In a bid to get states and and Maharashtra have used days. The posts have gone but which includes the ambitious implementation which aim to promote sea, air and road con- home state Gujarat. But doing so for other political rivals onboard, the their discretion to raise taxes tax officials can still clog the Bharatmala project at a cost of facilitate India's international nectivity projects with Asean While GST transformed petroleum items could be dif- government got a four tax rates on certain goods excluded roads by demanding inspec- about Rs 5.35 lakh crore. connectivity with neighbour- countries. India into 'one nation, one ficult because the states and the of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent with from the new regime, defeat- tions of goods being moved Asked about the funding ing countries in South Asia and Apart from this, India has market' at the "stroke of mid- Centre both get quite a bit of numerous exceptions, instead ing the purpose of unified tax. or fees. for the project, Gadkari said Asean. set up a project development night" on June 30, real estate as revenue from those items. of the single slab adopted in But multiple rates wasn't Prices of some products are the entire Rs 5.35 lakh crore for He said a pact on strength- fund of $77 million to develop well as crude oil, jet fuel or ATF, The roll out of biggest tax countries like the UK, Singa- the biggest problem with GST. varying according to location Bharatmala has been tied up as ening of road infrastructure in manufacturing hubs in Cam- natural gas, diesel and petrol reform since independence pore and Malaysia. It was the costly compli- as traders have not fully imple- Rs 2.37 lakh crore would flow Terai area in Nepal had been bodia, Laos, Myanmar and were kept out of its purview. on July 1 was without undue Six months into implemen- ance. The need for computer- mented the new structure and from the central road fund, inked in 2016. Vietnam. PTI This meant that the products disruption. tation, there are talks of evasion ised accounting in businesses profiteers have stepped in. PTI 213 railway India's plastics export poised IRFC hopeful of raising Rs 1k cr Odisha recognised as projects report to cross $8 bn mark in FY18 from capital gains bonds ‘Champion State’ for exports cost overrun MUMBAI: The Plastics Export plastic exports as the global BHUBANESWAR: The Cen- recorded by exports from Odi- Promotion Council (PLEX- export market for plastics of tre has recognised Odisha as a sha against a positive growth of CONCIL) is confident that $800 billion presents a huge BHUBANESWAR: Indian 'Champion State' for recording 3.18 per cent in overall exports of Rs 1.61L cr India's plastics exports will opportunity. Railway Finance Corporation the highest growth in exports of India. Growth of exports cross $8 billion mark due to The Council has taken up (IRFC) is hopeful of raising during 2016-17, official sources has direct positive impact on NEW DELHI: Indian Rail- the positive growth trend. all important issues post the Rs 1,000 crore from the recent said. This was announced dur- enhancement of employment ways' 60 per cent projects out "The current trend in GST-era, with the concerned issue of capital gains bonds, its ing a review meeting of the and livelihood opportunity, of the total 353 central sector India's plastic exports seems Ministry for remedial action Managing Director S K Pat- Ministry of Commerce and Gupta said. The major sectors projects are facing huge cost highly encouraging and we are in terms of fast tracking of tanayak said on Sunday. Industry on the export perfor- of exports in Odisha are alumi- overrun due to various rea- confident of crossing plastics IGST refunds; exemption of With an aim to raise Rs mance of states and formula- num, products of aluminum, sons, according to a govern- exports to cross $8 billion mark merchant exporters from GST 500 crore with the green shoe tion of strategy attended by L iron ore, processed minerals, ment report. in FY18 showing a 6 per cent on procurement against bond, option to retain over-subscrip- N Gupta, MSME Additional iron, steel, marine products, As many as 213 railway increase from $7.56 billion in clear procedure for third party tion, IRFC is looking at mop- Chief Secretary, Odisha. residual chemical and allied projects are facing total cost FY17. India's plastic exports to exports under the GST regime; ping up Rs 1,000 crore from The exports from the state products, textiles and IT and overrun of Rs 1.6 lakh crore, United States, the largest des- using of Chapter 3 incentive the capital gains bonds, he have increased from Rs 19,082 ITES. Of late, engineering, as per the flash report of the tination, continues to tread scheme scrips & advance said here. crore in 2015-16 to Rs 40,872 handicrafts, tourism, silver fil- Ministry of Statistics and higher and nearing the coveted authorization for debit of full Stating that IRFC opened crore in 2016-17 with mer- igree and rubber are emerging Programme Implementation $1 billion mark," PLEXCON- import duty and restoring of the issue on November 10, issue such bonds. The other An investor can invest a chandise exports from Odisha as new items of exports, he said. (MOSPI) for September, 2017. CIL chairman Pradip Thakkar export benefits to export ori- Pattanayak said the bonds three non-banking financial minimum of Rs 20,000, and registering the highest growth As per the Revealed Com- The MOSPI monitors cen- told reporters here. During the ented units," Thakkar said. have a lock-in period of three companies are NHAI, REC in multiples of Rs 10,000 there- rate of 114 per cent among all petitive Advantage (RCA) done tral sector projects envisag- first half of FY18, cumulative During September 2017, years and presently yields an and PFC. after, with a maximum of up to the states, Gupta said. Between by the Federation of Indian ing an expenditure of Rs 150 value of India's plastics exports India exported plastics worth interest of 5.25 per cent per "The IRFC bonds are safe, Rs 50 lakh in these bonds, dur- 2012-13 and 2016-17, in terms Export Organisations (FIEO), crore and above each on reg- witnessed a positive growth of $630.93 million, up 17.3 per annum, payable on October 15 secure, redeemable and non- ing a financial year. of $, shipments from the state four categories of export items ular basis. around 9.5 per cent amount- cent from $538.01 million in every year. transferable, and are a cheap Noting that IRFC is one witnessed a positive growth of have emerged as items of prime According to the report, ing to $3.49 billion as against September 2016. The country The bonds have benefits source of funding for us," the among the five Railway PSUs 17.60 per cent against the nega- importance for the state having the total original cost of $3.19 billion during the same exported plastics to 185 coun- under Section 54EC of the managing director said, add- selected for listing on the tive growth of 2.07 per cent in a competitive advantage vis- these 213 projects was Rs period last year. tries in September 2017. United Income Tax Act, 1961, he said. ing, that a person who has bourses, Pattanayak, who was overall exports of India, he said. -vis the other Indian states and 1,21,595.36 crore. "We are working with the States, China and Italy were IRFC is among the four received capital gains in a year on a visit here, said prepara- During the same period, world exports. The items are The total anticipated cost government on a strategy in the top three buyers of plastics institutions authorised by the can invest in these bonds and tions were underway in that in terms of Rupee, a positive iron, mineral metals, chemicals of these projects is estimated order to increase the country's from India. PTI Union Finance Ministry to save tax on capital gains. direction. PTI growth of 23.84 per cent was and marine products. PTI at Rs 2,83,482.35 crore, which indicates overall cost escala- SAKSHAM CYCLOTHON tion by 133.14 per cent. The ministry monitored Murthy trashes AI as hype, asks 353 projects of Indian Rail- ways in September this year. The study said that as many as 36 railway projects reported IT leaders to be less greedy time overrun or delay of 12 months to 261 months. MUMBAI: Corporate thought- that the senior level people have at the prestigious institute, Mur- After railways, power sec- leader and Infosys co-founder been taking handsome hikes. thy said in the last seven years, tor reported second high- NR Narayana Murthy has flayed "I think that is not the way to the salaries of freshers in the est incidence of overall cost the high wage hikes that senior make capitalism acceptable to software industry have stayed overrun. managements have been appor- the larger masses in a country stagnant while the same for Out of the 124 projects tioning to themselves when the that has huge poverty," he said, senior-level employees have monitored by the MOSPI in software industry is in trying speaking at the IIT-Bombay grown by up to 1,000 per cent. the power sector, 44 reported times and has advised them over the weekend. "If all of us make sacrifices, then cost overrun of Rs 57,756.87 to make "sacrifices" to main- "If we believe in capitalism, if the youngsters will understand," crore. tain common man's faith in we believe that is the best solu- he said. He said the IT sector is The total original cost capitalism. tion for the country to move passing through a trough that is of these 44 projects was Rs Conceding that times are forward, then the leaders of cap- cyclical in nature and may occur 1,05,404.62 crore which esca- difficult for the IT services italism will have to demonstrate since his days in the company, once a few years. The Saksham Cyclothon organised at Vadodara on Sunday witnessed massive public participation. lated to total anticipated cost sector, Murthy dismissed the self-restraints in apportioning to did not make any reference to One of the reasons for this The energy and enthusiasm at the ONGC Sports Complex was palpable as professional cyclists from of Rs 1,63,161.49 crore. commonly attributed threats of themselves the part of the ben- Infosys. It can be noted that over is the investments in IT done different local cycling groups, amateur cyclists, ONGCians, employees of OPaL and other oil PSEs, The report stated that out artificial intelligence and auto- efits that come out of running the past few months, Murthy by the developed world clients their family members and school children participated in the Cyclothon. Present on the occasion were of the 124 power sector proj- mation as "more hype than real- companies, Murthy, who mostly had gone public with his dis- in the past, he said, adding they ED-Basin Manager ONGC, Arun Kumar; ED Gujarat Refinery (IOCL), Sudhir Kumar; GM (O&M) GAIL, ects, 61 reported time overrun ity". Terming the trend of no flies the economy class, added. pleasure over senior executive are waiting to reap the benefits Gautam Prasad; DCP- North Zone, Manish Singh (IPS); addl Director PCRA, Rahul Kishore, besides two (delay) of three months to 136 hikes for juniors and freshers Murthy, a strong proponent compensation at Infosys. of the same before starting to iconic cyclists of Vadodara, Nikita Lalwani and Jarul Vora months. PTI as "worrisome," Murthy rued of "compassionate capitalism" Speaking before the students invest again. PTI It’s raining funds: India Inc garners Rs 8.5 trillion from markets

NEW DELHI: In a major leg-up The funds have been raised sive mode of capital raising. lected a record amount of over Rs capital raising norms for insurers, to fund raising activities, Indian mainly for business expansion In the debt segment, firms 68,000 crore through IPOs this year. said V Jayasankar, head of equity companies are estimated to have plans, loan repayments and beef- have mopped up Rs 6.2 lakh crore However, 83 per cent of the total capital markets at Kotak Investment mopped up a whopping Rs 8.5 lakh ing up of working capital reserves, through debt placement route, Rs has gone to promoters and other Banking. crore from capital markets in 2017 – while a large amount raised from 6,282 crore has been raised through existing shareholders like private Apart from the main bourse, the rising by about a quarter –with debt IPOs also went to the promoters, public issuance of debt and Rs equity players leaving only 17 per small and medium enterprise (SME) instruments remaining the most private equity firms and other exist- 60,580 crore through plain bonds. cent funds for the firms' growth and platform too witnessed frantic activ- preferred route for financing busi- ing shareholders for part or full sale Within the equity segment, expansion plans. ity. Such firms raised a staggering ness needs. of their investments. IPOs helped garner over Rs 68,000 In comparison, 27 issuers had over Rs 1,500 crore, much higher However, corporates may face "Demonetisation led to a fall crore, followed by QIP or Qualified mobilised a total of Rs 26,494 crore than Rs 537 crore raked in last year. increased pressure in 2018 in terms in interest rates (cost of borrow- Institutional Placement (Rs 49,703 in the previous year. Attractive pricing for IPOs, of availability and cost of debt capital ing) and ensured adequate liquid- crore), Offer for Sale through stock The IPO chart for 2017 is led by leaving some juice for investors, in domestic markets and they may ity in Indian capital markets. The exchange mechanism (Rs 14,712 state-run General Insurance Corp contributed well to the surge in favour borrowing money from over- lower cost of borrowing and strong crore), rights issue of shares (Rs of India (GIC) that garnered over fund-raising through this route, seas markets or raising money from demand for corporate paper (from 5,800 crore) and institutional place- Rs 11,372 crore. This was the larg- Jayasankar added. equities in the new year. investors chasing yields) made it ment programmes (Rs 4,668 crore). est public float by a firm since Octo- The outlook appears bullish for Out of the cumulative Rs 8.5 lakh attractive for Indian companies to When it came to overseas mar- ber 2010 when another state-run the new year too on IPO front as crore garnered this year from capi- raise debt,” said Alok Agarwala, kets, routes like American Depos- giant Coal India had garnered Rs several companies have lined-up tal markets, a large chunk or over Senior VP and Head of Investment itory Receipts (ADRs), Global route. Apart from debt, demand for tion for companies to raise capital," 15,000 crore. The year 2017 also wit- their plans and the total fund mop- Rs 7 lakh crore has been mopped up Analytics at Bajaj Capital. Depository Receipts (GDRs) and equities has also increased, mainly Agarwala added. nessed the high-profile IPO by lead- up through this route may remain from the debt market, data compiled "Moreover, with private capex foreign currency convertible bond post-demonetisation, while bullish Purvesh Shelatkar, Senior Vice ing stock exchange BSE. equally good or even better. by analytics major Prime Database remaining lacklustre, companies (FCCB) remained largely untapped. stock markets have further helped. President Institutional Equities, The rise in mobilisation from "I see 2018 to be even better showed. In 2016, firms had raised raised capital mostly for short-term Investors have also shown tre- "Bullish stock markets are the Centrum Broking, said: "The fall- IPOs was further aided by the than 2017 for IPO markets. Inves- Rs 7.7 lakh crore and most of the working capital purposes and to mendous response to pubic issues of best time for promoters to raise cap- ing domestic interest rates have led launch of public issues from sev- tor appetite for equity is likely be funds were mobilised through debt replace existing high cost debt. Debt non-convertible debentures (NCDs) ital as they can raise the required to flow of money in equities and the eral insurance firms such as HDFC higher as earnings growth resumes, markets that year too. and not equity is the preferred route by non-banking finance companies amount by diluting a lesser por- trend will continue for at least next Standard Life Insurance, New India interest rates remain low and liquid- Fresh capital collected from for such purposes," he said. (NBFCs) in 2017. Also, the recent tion of their capital, or get a higher few years." Assurance Company, SBI Life Insur- ity remains adequate. The demand equity market stands at Rs 1.45 lakh According to Prime Database's spurt in mutual fund investments amount for the same amount of The year 2017 has seen hectic ance and ICICI Lombard General supply equation in equities is likely crore for 2017, which mostly came Managing Director Pranav Hal- have created a large scope in corpo- stake dilution. Net supply in equi- fund-raising activities in the IPO Insurance. to remain favourable in 2018 and from initial public offers (IPOs) and dea, companies always prefer debt rate bond markets for companies. ties had been negative till the first segment amid a sharp rally in the Together, these companies have this should encourage promoters issuance of shares to institutional route for raking in funds rather than All these factors contributed tre- half of 2017 whereas demand rose secondary market. raised around Rs 35,000 crore after to raise capital and list their busi- investors. equity, which is a relatively expen- mendously to capital raising via debt sharply. This created an ideal situa- A total of 36 firms have col- insurance regulator IRDAI relaxed nesses,” Agarwala added. PTI 14 sport mp MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi |Monday, 25 December, 2017 BRAZILIAN STRIKER FRED REJOINS INDIA FINISH RUNNERS-UP IN SAFF BARCA GRANT MESSI, SUAREZ AND CLUB CRUZEIRO U-15 WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP MASCHERANO ADDITIONAL CHRISTMAS LEAVE RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian striker Fred has rejoined his for- NEW DELHI: India finished runners-up after going down BARCELONA: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Javier Mascherano mer side Cruzeiro from their local rivals Atletico Mineiro. The 1-0 to Bangladesh in the final of the SAFF U-15 Wom- have been granted an extended rest over Christmas after help- 34-year-old, who had been contracted to Atletico until 2018, en’s Championship. Shamsun Nahar’s strike in the 41st ing Barcelona to open up a commanding lead at the top of La will be tied to Cruzeiro for the next three years, reports Xinhua minute sealed the issue in Bangladesh’s favour. After Liga. Barca signed off on 2017 with an emphatic 3-0 Clasico news agency. “I’m very happy and grateful to return home,” blanking out Bhutan and Nepal, India lost to Bangladesh win over fierce rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu Fred said in a short video posted on Cruzeiro’s Twitter account. in the group stages, as the hosts bagged the title. on Saturday. New rules for Waqar Younis tips Starc ruled out, SA’s 4-day Young bowlers help India Bird in for Test against Kohli to break all Boxing Day Test Zimbabwe batting records complete 3-0 clean sweep against England PORT ELIZABETH: The one- MELBOURNE: Australia pace off day-night Test between MUMBAI: It was far from a spearhead Mitchell Starc was South Africa and Zimbabwe, dominating batting show after PIC/PTI on Sunday ruled out of the starting on Tuesday, will be young bowlers’ inspiring show fourth Ashes Test with a heel staged under experimental but India managed to inflict injury and will be replaced by playing conditions. a 3-0 series whitewash on Sri Jackson Bird. The International Cricket Lanka with a tense five-wicket Starc, who is Australia’s Council gave permission to win in the third Twenty20, here leading wicket-taker in the Cricket South Africa to stage on Sunday. series with 19, bruised his heel a four-day Test. Sri Lankan hopes to end the bowling in Australia’s series- There are several varia- miserable tour on a high were clinching third Test win in tions from standard Test play- raised when India struggled in Perth last week. ing conditions. a 136-run chase but eventually There wasn’t enough time Play will be scheduled for the hosts crossed the finish line for him to recover from the six-and-a-half hours each day, with four balls to spare. injury to his landing foot, with half an hour more than in five- Sri Lanka will go home with team management officially day games, with 98 overs due just one ODI win from this tour ruling him out two days before to be bowled in a day, instead while India would head to Tuesday’s Melbourne Test. of 90. As in five-day games, an KARACHI: Pakistan’s for- go on to achieve a lot of batting South Africa with convincing While Starc had been opti- extra half hour can be added mer captain Waqar Younis records,” Waqar said. victories in all three formats. mistic about his chances of in order to complete the overs. has tipped Indian skipper Asked to compare Sachin Supremely confident playing, Australia’s selectors The first two sessions of Virat Kohli to break all batting Tendulkar and Brian Lara — Indian bowlers came out fir- took a cautious approach with play will be two hours 15 min- records in the years to come. the two greats of his time — ing with Jaydev Unadkat being their star paceman ahead of a utes each, instead of two hours, “The way he is maintain- Waqar said he rated the Indian outstanding on Sunday even key series against South Africa with a 20-minute tea break ing his fitness and the way he maestro higher. as the Lankans appeared to be early in the new year. instead of a lunch break after enjoys his game and focusses “I played a lot against Ten- in dilemma as if to attack or Starc said he hoped to the first session. There will be on his skill level, I think he is dulkar and he made his debut stay patient. return for the series-ending a 40-minute dinner break after destined to break all batting against us. Over the years I saw In a hurry to collect runs, Sydney Test on January 4. the second session. records in the years to come,” him become a thorough profes- they ended up playing poor scoreboard moving at snail’s meera cleaned up Pandey (32 from Thisara Perera to mid- “It’s never nice to miss but it There is no provision for Waqar said. sional and I have not seen such lofted shots on good balls, pace with runs mostly coming off 29 balls) with a faster but wicket boundary to finish would be pretty selfish of me to time lost to be carried over to The former fast bowler, a committed player. He was the resulting in tame dismissals in singles. straight delivery, bringing the game. go in to a game not at 100 per- subsequent days. The follow-on who resigned as Pakistan’s head best batsman I bowled to and it and put on board a modest 135 Iyer broke the shackles Dhoni at the crease with India Earlier, Asela Gunaratne cent,” he told reporters. AGENCIES can be enforced with a lead of coach last year, said that Kohli used to be a challenge.” for seven. with a long-off six off Dasun requiring 28 from 23 balls. was the only batsman, who 150 runs, compared to 200 runs was a supreme-talented bats- He said Lara was naturally India lost in-form open- Shanka but was soon run out Boundaries were still hard applied himself well and played in five-day games. man in contemporary cricket. gifted and could be devastating ers — captain Rohit Sharma in an unfortunate manner after to come but Dinesh Karthik a slow but crucial 36-run knock Play will start at 1.30pm Talking about the best bats- on his day. (27) and KL Rahul (4) — early, scoring 30 off 32 balls. (18 not out) tilted the match in that took Sri Lanka past the (1130 GMT) each day. The men of his era, Waqar said Waqar said that during his which affected their run-rate Hardik Pandya (4) came India’s favour by hitting a mas- 100-run mark. sunset in Port Elizabeth will be although cricket had changed tenure as captain and coach badly as Shreyas Iyer and ahead of MS Dhoni this time sive six off Nuwan Pradeep’s BRIEF SCORES: between 7.30pm and 7.31pm a lot in the last decade he still he never compromised on Manish Pandey found the but did not last long and was full toss in the last ball of the SRI LANKA: 135-7 (Asela on the four days of the match, rated Kohli at the top because discipline. going tough against a fired-up caught behind off Shanka, 19th over. Gunaratne 36, Dasun Shanaka half an hour into the last ses- of his commitment to fitness “I always believe that unless Lankan attack. whom Pandey had smashed Needing three from the 29; Jaydev Unadkat 2/15). sion. It is the first Test match and improving his batting you are disciplined particularly No boundary was scored for two consecutive fours in the last over, Dhoni (16 not out) INDIA: 139-5 (Manish Pandey since 1972/73 to be scheduled skills. in cricket sense all your talent is for more than six overs at one same over. got a couple from first ball 32, Shreyas Iyer 30; Dushman- over four days. AGENCIES “The way I see it he should off no use to your team.”AGENCIES stage during India’s chase with Paceman Dushmanta Cha- and flicked the next one tha Chameera 2/22). AGENCIES ‘I am ready to fight for Commonwealth, World title’ Ashes gone, pride at stake for JAIPUR: Indian boxing’s going to be long battle.” poster boy Vijender Singh He refuted the charge that wounded England at MCG now has his eyes trained on the African was not a worthy the Commonwealth and World opponent considering his low Championship title, the hunger ranking. for success not quite satiated “I know he is quite low in by his 10th straight win on the ranking as compared to me. pro circuit. But one blow can decide the The 32-year-old Vijender fight. He posed a challenge last night floored West African in the first two rounds and Boxing Union Middleweight when I started dominating all champion Ernest Amuzu with of a sudden I sustained a deep an unanimous verdict to retain cut on my forehead and for a his WBO Oriental and Asia moment it appeared that all Pacific Super middleweight was finished. titles. The Commonwealth “I was shaken but for- Super Middleweight title is cur- tunately there came a break, rently held by Great Britain’s giving me the time to recoup Luke Blackledge, a very tal- again.” ented 27- year-old boxer with Vijender’s promoter, Neerav 23 wins, including eight knock- Tomar of IOS, too was hopeful outs, from 30 fights. of a bout with Amir. While Blackledge could of Jaipur for making this show me in winning this fight.” weight categories,” said Vijen- “We have seen such fights prove to be his toughest oppo- a big success and thanks to all Asked about Pakistani Brit- der. Coming back to his latest before — like between May- nent so far, for the time being my fans across India for their ish boxer Amir Khan’s chal- fight, he said there were a few weather and Pacquiao — then India’s Olympic and World support,” Vijender said after lenge, Vijender said the time anxious moments during the why a fight between Vijender MELBOURNE: England are son typified the feelings inside has him in rarefied company Championship bronze med- his bout at the Sawai Mansingh has come to settle the issue. 10-round bout, and praised his and Amir cannot be arranged. contemplating changes as they the team when he said this and occupying joint second allist was delighted to have Stadium. “He has boasted that he has Ghanian opponent. In fact, we are working on it, look to restore battered pride week: “I don’t think this is the position in the ICC’s all-time signed off the year on a high. He added: “I am really two world titles, now I too have “He is a tough guy, I kept and hopefully it will take place. in Tuesday’s fourth Melbourne moment for rash decisions.” rankings list along with Eng- “Happy to end this year happy on winning this fight. two world titles, so we should searching for an opportunity to “Amir is 72 (kg) and pres- Test after surrendering the Wicketkeeper Jonny Bair- land’s Len Hutton and only on a winning note. Now I will I know he was a tough fighter have a fight. Despite having knock him down but somehow ently Vijender is 76.2 and if Ashes to Australia. stow has called on his team- behind the legendary Don look forward to play at least and that is why the fight contin- different weight categories the he survived. I have to admit he has to come down it can It’s been a tour from hell for mates to rally behind their Bradman. two titles next year — Com- ued till 10 rounds, but yes, I was bout can be arranged. that he is a durable boxer who be tough for him. His trainer’s Joe Root’s beleaguered team, under-fire skipper. Smith has a career average monwealth and World title. I sticking to the strategy planned We have seen such bouts can prolong a fight. After the advice would be the deciding succumbing to three heavy “We don’t just owe him of 62.32 from 59 Tests, second would like to thank the people by my coaches, and that helped having boxers of different initial rounds I realised this was factor,” Tomar said. AGENCIES defeats and rendering the last (Root), we owe ourselves as only to Bradman’s pinnacle two Tests in Melbourne and well,” Bairstow said. “We’ve got 99.94. The Australian skipper Sydney as “dead rubbers.” to go out there and try and win is gunning for his fourth con- Root has been in the eye both of these Test matches.” secutive Melbourne Test cen- Ashley Giles slams immature Australian captain hit of the storm over the tourists Talking is one thing, doing tury after hundreds against underwhelming efforts with it is another for England, who Pakistan, the West Indies and former Australia captain Ricky have had their moments in the India in the last three Boxing Ponting deriding him as a “little series, but have been blown Day showpieces. There is some England over bad behaviour on hand, should be boy” who has been a “bit soft” away by big losses -- 10 wick- respite for England with Aus- during the one-sided series. ets in Brisbane, 120 runs in tralian pace spearhead Mitchell played 54 Test matches for Several other under-per- Adelaide and an innings and Starc ruled out on Sunday with England and later worked as a fine for MCG test forming senior players, nota- 41 runs in Perth. a bruised heel and replaced by national team selector, believes bly Alastair Cook, Stuart Broad Cook, who became the first Jackson Bird. some of the current crop of and Moeen Ali, have also been Englishman to play 150 Tests But Smith has vowed no let- players have lacked maturity. under the gun with some critics during the series, has scored up with short-pitched bowl- “I think I would have been calling for their axing. just 83 runs in six innings, ing to England’s tailenders very tempted (to send some England are more likely while Root has two half-centu- despite claims their batsmen home),” Giles told BBC Radio to call up either Tom Curran ries but only 176 runs at 29.33. deserve more protection from 5 Live on Sunday. or Mark Wood for injured In comparison, Austra- the umpires. “There comes a time when paceman Craig Overton who lia skipper Steve Smith is in “We obviously had a plan there’s enough water gone is in doubt with a cracked cracking form and is coming from the start of the series that under the bridge, a lot of it not rib, while young leg-spinner off a Test best 239 in the third we were going to bowl a lot of very nice water, you have to Mason Crane is pushing for a Test. He is averaging 142 for short stuff to those guys, much make a stand and we’re prob- Test debut. England and Wales the series. like we did back in 2013,” Smith ably past that point. Cricket Board chief Tom Harri- Smith’s phenomenal form said this week. AGENCIES LONDON: Ashley Giles pension and a fine by the Eng- “The whole thing sheds a admits he would have con- land and Wales Cricket Board bad light on England cricket MELBOURNE: Australia cap- clinched the Ashes series 3-0. sidered sending home some for throwing a drink over vice- but I think what we have to tain Steve Smith was struck on “There’s absolutely noth- Australian paceman Pat Cummins defends of England’s players for bad captain James Anderson. remember is these guys are his right hand by a stray ball ing wrong with him, he’s fine,” behaviour during their Ashes England star Jonny Bair- extremely talented cricketers near the nets as the team pre- Warner said. “He was confused bouncers at tail-enders tour of Australia. stow was involved in a bizarre and they’ve got a great gift in pared for Tuesday’s start to the how it actually got there. I think England’s poor perfor- headbutt incident with Austra- what they do. It doesn’t make fourth Test against England. we all were. It hit the top of the MELBOURNE: Pat Cummins says struck England No 11 James Anderson mances on the pitch, which lia’s Cameron Bancroft during them extremely mature indi- Smith was standing to the rail and then just flicked up.” Australia will continue to bowl bouncers on the side of the head shortly before have seen them lose the series a night out in Perth. viduals. And there’s work to do side of the Melbourne Cricket Smith was struck on the ahead of the start of the fourth Ben Stokes, an England all- there. If the maturity isn’t there Ground nets on Sunday when same hand while working on at England’s tail- enders during the last the end of the third test at Perth, leaving Test on Boxing Day, have been rounder, is out of the interna- in the dressing room then they he was struck by a ball that had his slips catching at training two tests of the Ashes despite concerns a bruise on the Englishman’s ear. He compounded by incidents off tional frame while waiting to need quite strict guidelines and been hit by Cameron Bancroft. earlier in the season. the tactic is intimidating and potentially said the tactic of short-pitched bowling it. discover whether he will be rules. Over time, if you can’t Smith later had a hit but was in Wicketkeeper Tim Paine, dangerous. Australia has won the series at tail-enders is legitimate and that he Ben Duckett, who is not charged for an alleged late- trust people to make correct obvious discomfort. who delayed his arrival into 3-0 and the fourth Test begins at the has faced over 50 bouncers from Eng- part of the full Ashes squad night brawl before the Ashes decisions off the field, how can Opener David Warner said Melbourne after his father-in- but was in Australia to play for tour in Bristol in September. you trust them to make them Smith was OK and would play law had a stroke, trained with Melbourne Cricket Ground. Cummins land’s pacemen in the series so far. AGENCIES England Lions, was given a sus- Former spinner Giles, who on the field?” AGENCIES in the fourth test. Australia has the squad on Sunday. AGENCIES sport 15 MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi |Monday, 25 December, 2017 mp Otamendi signs Coach Mourinho two-year Man Warriors shock defending City contract slams ‘childish’ extension champions Smashers in PBL MANCHESTER: Nicolas Ota- Manchester United mendi has signed a two-year P V Sindhu Kidambi Srikanth contract extension with Man- LEICESTER: Jose Mourinho “We made a big defensive chester City. blasted his “childish” Manches- accumulation of mistakes in The 29-year-old has ter United stars after they con- an easy match to win. I talked become an important part of ceded a last-gasp equaliser in a to the players at half time when Pep Guardiola’s side this season damaging 2-2 draw at 10-man it was 1-1 that it was an easy and he has been rewarded for Leicester, here on Saturday. match to win. his fine performances in recent Mourinho’s side were sec- “We were punished by our months. He has started all but onds away from a win that mistakes. Childish loss of pos- two of City’s games across the would have kept them in touch session, so easy. Childish in Premier League and Champi- with Premier League leaders their box and childish in our ons League, scoring five goals Manchester City. box. We were punished in two in his 23 appearances. After falling behind to points.” He is the latest star whose Jamie Vardy’s strike, United led It was another frustrating deal City have moved to renew through Juan Mata’s double, day for Mourinho, whose side ahead of next summer’s World but the visitors switched off in had crashed to an embarrass- Cup in a bid to ward off interest stoppage-time and Leicester’s ing League Cup quarter-final from Europe’s top clubs. Harry Maguire snatched a dra- defeat at second-tier Bristol Nicolas Otamendi has matic leveller. City in midweek. signed a two-year contract United are now 13 points Asked how he felt after extension with Manchester adrift of City and Mourinho United’s latest mishap, City. was furious with his team’s Mourinho said: “I feel great. The 29-year-old has late defensive blunder and a The reality is that it is 2-2. become an important part of PIC/PTI series of woeful finishes when “It’s one thing to feel angry Pep Guardiola’s side this season chances arose to kill the game. as manager and another thing and he has been rewarded for the Danish girl Christinna and weeks back. She is recover- “We didn’t win because to feel great as a man. It was his fine performances in recent Hong Kong’s Tang fought back ing well and we are expecting missed incredible chances. an easy match to win, we did months. He has started all but brilliantly to turn the tables on her to be fully fit for the next I would say joke chances,” everything to win but when two of City’s games across the the English pair. match.” Mourinho said. you lose big chances.” AGENCIES Premier League and Champi- Their successes were The Saina-Sindhu meeting ons League, scoring five goals PIC/PTI roundly cheered by Saina cannot be ruled out completely in his 23 appearances. from the bench after she was as both teams can still face off He is the latest star whose GUWAHATI: Awadhe War- kanth downed Frenchman had ticked this encounter as ruled out with an ankle niggle in the semi-final or final. deal City have moved to renew riors overcame the last-min- Brice Leverdez 15-12, 15-14 their Trump Match. The vic- from the high-voltage meeting Although Chennai were ahead of next summer’s World ute pullout of star player Saina to build upon the successes tory gave them two points as against Sindhu. down 0-3, their star player Cup in a bid to ward off interest Nehwal owing to an injury, as of Parupalli Kashyap and the against the usual one point for Awadhe coach Anup Srid- Sindhu was yet to take to the from Europe’s top clubs. they stunned defending cham- mixed doubles pair of Chris- a win. har, however, was hopeful court and she was to take on Sai Gabriel Jesus has also pions Chennai Smashers in the tinna Pedersen and Tang Chun Kashyap dominated the Saina will turn out at the Siri Uttejitha Rao, in the last match agreed a new deal until 2023 Premier Badminton League Man earllier. encounter and sealed the con- Fort Sports Complex in New of the evening. and will sign it in the coming (PBL) opener here on Sunday. The resilient Frenchman test in straight games. Delhi for their second match A colourful opening cer- weeks, while Kevin De Bruyne Awadhe won both their stretched Srikanth in both the Earlier, Christinna and against North East Warriors on emony earlier featuring Assa- will sign his new agreement men’s singles and mixed dou- games but the Indian closed out Tang provided an ideal start to December 30. mese folk dancers, local once City and his agent agree bles to take an unassailable the second via sudden death Awadhe s campaign by shock- Sridhar, who alongwith sensation and Bollywood upon the valuation of his image 3-0 lead (4-0 on points) in the after they were tied 14-all. ing fancied English couple Siyadath Ullah are part of the singer Zubeen Garg and rights. five- match duel at the Karm- Kashyap won his singles Chris and Gabrielle Adcock Awadhe coaching setup, said the famous Shillong Choir, Otamendi, like Fernand- abir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi against Daniel S Farid 15-12, 10-15, 15-5, 15-12. The world in a statement: “Saina is recov- provided a rousing start inho, has already signed his Indoor Stadium. 15 -8 to give them an addi- No9 Adcocks started off well ering from a small ankle issue to the third edition of the contract. World No. 3 Kidambi Sri- tional advantage as Awadhe by pocketing the first game but which she had developed few Vodafone PBL. AGENCIES The Argentina centre-back signed a five-year deal when he signed for City in 2015, and has now extended his stay until Guardiola says Aguero will decide own future 2022. AGENCIES MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola said and set up a goal for Raheem Sterling. diving header after 27 minutes follow- to dribble and when to pass,” said the Man City first EPL club to score Sergio Aguero had earned the right to “I respect Sergio a lot, about all he ing a fine Fernandinho cross, was his former Barcelona and Bayern Munich determine his own Manchester City has done and what he will do in the 100th City goal at the Etihad. coach. over 100 goals since 1982 future after the Argentinian striker future,” said City manager Guardiola Sterling doubled City’s lead in the “Before there was a mistake, now scored a brace in a 4-0 demolition of after the Premier League leaders’ 17th 53rd minute, thrashing a low effort he’s enjoying scoring goals. In the past MANCHESTER: Manchester City became the Bournemouth. successive league win. home to end a challenging week that it was a bit scary for him. He’s loved in first English Premier League (EPL) club to score The build-up to Saturday’s contest “He is a legend. He will decide abso- saw him racially abused at the club’s the locker room, he’s a young player was dogged by talk of Aguero’s sup- lutely everything about his life and his training ground last weekend by a man and important for the national team. over 100 goals in a calendar year since Liverpool posed discontent at the Etihad Stadium future. I’m delighted to have him here who was jailed for 16 weeks on Wednes- He must maintain that level.” achieved the feat in 1982. A brace from striker Ser- as Guardiola continues to rotate his with Gabriel (Jesus) and all the squad. day. The England forward appears to After Sterling’s goal, Bournemouth gio Aguero and a goal each from Raheem Sterling starting XI. “Aguero is a special player, a legend, have shrugged off that incident and could no longer contain City and the and Danilo against Bournemouth helped Manches- Aguero, City’s all-time leading and I am so happy when he plays good Guardiola believes he is getting better home side began to maraud forward. scorer, is reported to have held talks and he is scoring goals. I know the play- all the time. Aguero nodded home his second ter City register over 100 goals in the ongoing EPL with club owner Khaldoon Al Mubarak, ers who normally don’t play are upset, “With and without the ball he’s so header of the match before substitute season on Saturday. The win helped Guardiola’s but he showed no signs of unhappiness but all the team deserve to play.” aggressive and so intense. I like how Danilo ruthlessly finished from 12 yards side register their 17th consecutive victory. AGENCIES against Bournemouth as he scored twice Aguero’s first goal, a clinically taken clear it’s becoming — he knows when out with five minutes remaining. AGENCIES Had to raise the bar against Juventus keep pressure on Napoli, Milan clubs lose TURIN: Record defending a 1-0 lead to Sampdoria after just champions Juventus edged two minutes into the match, but Vettel, says Lewis Hamilton past Roma 1-0 to sit one point Allan scored the equaliser 14 behind Serie A league leaders minutes later, reports Efe. Napoli, who beat Sampdoria Sampdoria’s Fabio Quagli- 3-2 on a day which saw both arella converted a penalty in AC Milan and Inter Milan suf- the 27th minute to score the fer losses. second goal for his side. Napo- Central defender Medhi li’s Lorenzo Insigne levelled the Benatia put in his cross-bar score at 2-2 in the 33rd minute, rebound in the 18th minute while his captain Marek Ham- to decide Saturday evening’s sik netted the third goal four match at Turin’s Allianz Sta- minutes later to secure the 3-2 dium. Giorgio Chiellini headed home win. Hamsik became Miralem Pjanic’s corner-kick at Napoli’s all-time top scorer with Roma goalkeeper Alisson before 116 goals, surpassing Argentine Benatia smashed it at the cross- star Diego Maradona. bar before sliding the ball in for “It’s a fantastic achievement the lone goal. one-one situation after Benatia placed Roma. “We gave Roma quoted as saying by his club’s and I’m pleased that the goal Alessandro Florenzi hit failed to clear a through ball. encouragement when the match website. took me over the line and got the cross-bar for Roma off a With the win, Juventus looked pretty comfortable, but Napoli came from behind to us the win. Samp played very header while Patrik Schick failed have 44 points from 18 games, a 1-0 win is fine and gives us a seal the win over visitors Samp- well and it wasn’t easy for us to to score Juventus goalkeeper one point behind Napoli and morale boost,” Juventus chief doria at the San Paolo stadium impose ourselves,” Slovakian Wojciech Szczesny in a one- six points ahead of fourth- coach Massimiliano Allegri was in Naples. Gaston Ramirez gave Hamsik said. AGENCIES Real president says 2017 Real Madrid have not lost LONDON: Four-time For- he was quoted as saying by Sky doing well in the 2017 season. mula One world champion Sports on Saturday. “I would say I was more was club’s best year Lewis Hamilton said the 2017 “There’s no one else in my assured of myself this year. I the La Liga, says Marcelo season was a key year for him view or in my mirrors, it’s just think that comes from a lot of and he worked hard to raise him and it’s going to take every- different things. Getting older. MADRID: Real Madrid star the bar against arch-rival and thing to extract everything Confidence in your work ethic, defender Marcelo Vieira said Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel. from the car weekend in, week- relationships with the guys the defending champions have The 32-year-old Hamilton, end out. you’re working with,” the 2,610 not lost the ongoing season of who races for Mercedes-Amg “If I don’t he will and also career points holder said. the La Liga after registering a — finished the 2017 Formula he’s going to be consistent “We had a bullet-proof plan thumping 0-3 defeat against One season at the top with because he’s a four-time world and structure of how we were Barcelona. 363 points ahead of four-time champion so I’ve got to be even doing things, a new resurfaced Forwards Luis Suarez (54th world championship holder better and try to raise the bar positive energy in the team that minute), Lionel Messi (64th) Vettel — who ended the year every time,” Hamilton added. hadn’t been there for a while. and right-back Aleix Vidal with 317 marks. Hamilton who holds the Plus we were fighting another (90+3) scored once each to “My whole mindset was record for highest pole posi- team so we were super encour- hand Barcelona a comfortable there’s a four-time world cham- tions (72) — said he was aged to go that extra distance,” MADRID: The president of according to Real Madrid’s offi- victory at the Santiago Berna- pion we’re competing against,” assured from the beginning of Hamilton added. AGENCIES Real Madrid on Sunday said cial website. Real Madrid won beau here on Saturday. that with regard to the number its 12th trophy in the UEFA The victory helped the Cat- of titles won, 2017 has been the Champions League, the 33rd alan giants take a 11 points lead Victoria Azarenka to miss ASB Classic in Auckland best year in the Spanish club’s La Liga title, the European over Real Madrid and remain 115-year history. Super Cup, the Spanish Super stable at the top of the table. AUCKLAND: A custody dispute has Wimbledon in July because Florentino Perez made Cup and the FIFA Club World “It’s not lost,” the Brazilian prevented two-time Australian Open she cannot leave California until a the remarks in the traditional Cup. Perez stressed that these was quoted saying by Marca champion Victoria Azarenka from dispute with her former partner Christmas message, just one trophies were claimed by the on Saturday. day after Real Madrid was club as “a result of everyone’s “I don’t believe in miracles, resuming her tennis career at the ASB over the custody of their son Leo is defeated 0-3 by La Liga leader togetherness and the values but in hard work. We played Classic in Auckland from January 1. resolved. Tournament director Karl Barcelona in El Clasico, reports that represent Real Madrid.” well in the first half today. But Azarenka notified organisers that she Budge said “there is obviously a fair Efe. “2017 is a year that we “We Madridistas are proud we then conceded the opener will be unable to play the tournament bit going on and unfortunately the Madridistas will never forget. It of our team and coach Zine- and had a penalty and red card Liga is the best football league the world and it’s hard to win. was a year in which the football dine Zidane. They are part of shortly afterwards,” Marcelo in the world and it is not easy This is sport and sometimes for “personal reasons”. The former result of that is that Victoria won’t be team won La Duodecima and Real Madrid’s legend and leg- added. to win every match. you win, while sometimes you world No 1 has not played since here next week.“ AGENCIES lifted five titles in total,” he said, acy,” he added. AGENCIES The 29-year-old also said La “LaLiga is the best league in lose,” Marcelo said. AGENCIES 16 mp Entertainment MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Monday, 25 December, 2017 ‘Shraddha’s role in ‘Saaho’ adds weight to the story’ Parents should not

We are very lucky to have her on board. Her character is not be gender biased: Priyanka Chopra just like coming and going or just there for the songs.” “The character is very important and adds a lot of weight to the story. It is one of NEW DELHI: Unicef Global Good- the most important characters will Ambassador Priyanka Chopra on The ‘Quantico’ star and UNICEF global in the film. She has some amaz- Saturday said she is a just an “instru- ing action sequences also. It is ment of change” and the real job of goodwill ambassador believes that a very strong character,” said empowering women is supposed to be Prabhas. done by the government and society. change will only be visible if the society The actor said he is At a Unicef event, the Bollywood and impressed by the amount of Hollywood star said though there is starts teaching boys to respect girls hard work and dedication nothing wrong in becoming a home- Shraddha is putting in to maker, young girls must be given their ensure that she does justice to rights and be allowed to choose their not happen if there are more daugh- the role. “Shraddha is a very career path. ters in the society”. “The sex ratio in hard-working actor and she “I am just an instrument of some states, I got to know about, is is very comfortable (on the change. I am neither government so low, which is so dangerous.” The sets). Most of the acto- nor am I Unicef. But I have voice, actor said the change will only be vis- res I have worked I have a platform which you people ible if the society starts teaching boys with have started have given me... Some change will to respect girls. “I would like to con- their career be done I am sure when so many of vey it to the parents that they should in South and you who are here will write about it,” not differentiate between their kids then shifted Priyanka said. on the basis of gender. to Bolly- The international star said she was “...Boys, when they walk on wood. Shrad- privileged in her upbringing, with roads, feel it is okay to tease a girl. It dha is already her parents being educated enough is because our society has taught us a Bollywood to allow her to carry on with her that ‘it is cool for a guy to tease a girl’. star, but she is desires, but not everyone shares a We need to teach the boys that real very dedicated,” similar destiny, and society must give man is someone who respects girl,” he said. the young girls their say and allow Priyanka said here. Shraddha, 30, them education. Priyanka greets a Syrian woman and The actor also praised govern- NEW DELHI: Baahubali star started shooting for some “Some people say ‘what her baby at UNICEF’s Makani Center in ment initiatives like ‘Beti Bachao, Prabhas says Bollywood actor of the action sequences for change I can make Amman, Jordan, on September 10, 2017 Beti Padhao’ – the Central govern- Shraddha Kapoor’s role in the film in Hyderabad. Prab- alone’, some say ment’s flagship scheme – and said if their upcoming film Saaho is has, who is currently in Los ‘we ourselves enough to eat, how can we contribute everyone lends his and her support extremely important and she Angeles, will be joining her don’t have to this cause’... To them I would say, if such a movement can become very has not been roped in only for around January 5 for a month- you can’t donate money, then donate big. “It our house and it is our respon- song and dance sequences. The long schedule.“The team has your compassion,” she said. sibility to clean it. We have nothing 38-year-old South actor, who till now shot for almost 40-45 Emphasising on the role of girls to learn from anyone. We are such will be working with a Bolly- days. We will start shooting in a household, Priyanka remarked a logical people. We run the tech wood star for the first time, said for the major action sequences on the “increasing number of old for the entire world. We can change Shraddha is the “best choice” soon. We are planning to age homes”, which, she said “might our society on our own.” AGENCIES for the role. release the film next year. But “I have never worked with a we will be able to finalise the Bollywood actor before and she exact date depending on the is the best choice for the role. progress,” he added. PTI ‘Still nervous to Taylor Swift helped a homeless fan shoot with Salman’, buy a house says Jacqueline able to ask a question, I was so nervous! Now I am asking questions, discuss- ing more things. He is always there to help and give advice. But it’s dur- ing the first initial shots, where I was like ‘why am I getting so nervous!’ I was freezing!” The previous two instal- ments had Saif Ali Khan as the main lead, but now Salman has replaced him. Remo D’Souza has taken over the project from direc-

MUMBAI: She first worked with LOS ANGELES: Pop star Taylor for health and safety reasons and Salman Khan in Kick in 2014 and four Swift’s fans revealed on ‘The Swift we lost everything. To add to the years later the duo are set to reunite for Life’ app that the singer helped stress, during this time Matthew Race 3, but Jacqueline Fernandez says her fan purchase a house after she (her boyfriend) lost his job,” the she still gets nervous while working was homeless for eight months fan wrote in the post. with the superstar. Race 3 is the third during her pregnancy. Waw attended one of the film in the action franchise. Stephanie Waw, whose user- “Look What You Made Me Do” Apart from Salman and Jacqueline, name is @WawStephanie on the songstress’ concerts in England the new entrants to this popular series app, shared the heartwarming and said,”(Taylor) told me she are Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah and Saqib story with other fans and also wanted to give me the money Saleem. Only Anil Kapoor has been shared photos of herself with the back for my ticket that night. retained, who has been part of the pre- grammy award winner and of the What she actually did was help vious two instalments. new house. us buy a home and all I needed for “I was still as nervous during my “I’ve been contemplating my baby. She told me ‘I want you first shot with Salman as I was when tor duo Abbas-Mustan. The 32-year- posting this story for a while. I’ve to be able to enjoy your I was during ‘Kick’. It’s crazy, but it old actor is happy to be working with finally decided to tell you all what little girl, happened, may be because that’s the team, who she has already worked Taylor did for me. What many of not have his energy. I am sure once we shoot with before. you don’t know is that for eight to worry a little bit more, I’ll be calmer,” said When asked if there will be a lot of months of my pregnancy I was about Jacquline. The Judwaa 2 star said the action in the film, Jacqueline says, “We homeless.” all this equation between her and Salman has are going to push the limits with the She continued, “Long story stuff.’” undergone a massive change over the action this time.” Race 3 is scheduled short our first flat was condemned PTI years. “During ‘Kick’, I was not even to release next year on Eid. PTI

LONDON: Actor Niall Horan He’s not my Luke Skywalker: ‘I was probably believes he was the “worst-dressed man on the planet” when he was in One Direction, and though he has since made the worst-dressed some fashion blunders he has hailed his style as “Classic American rock”. The 24-year-old singer has claimed he Mark Hamill on ‘Last Jedi’ man on the planet’ had no sense of fashion when he was in the group, which embarked on a hiatus in 2015, LOS ANGELES: Actor Mark alongside Harry styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Hamill has said that he did not Tomlinson and Liam Payne, and despite like the direction his character experimenting with various garments, on of Luke Skywalker went in The reflection, he has realised he was not able Last Jedi. to pull off certain outfits, reports femalefirst. Hamill reprised his role in co.uk. the eighth chapter of the “Star Speaking to Esquire magazine, the Wars”, helmed by Rian Johnson, “Slow Hands” hitmaker said: “A while ago and said that he was not keen on I was probably the worst-dressed man on director’s vision of what happens the planet. Obviously some people can to the character that Hamill has pull it off, and some people can’t. I hap- lived since 1977’s original film pen to be one of those people that can’t. and knows so well. But I was 16 and 17, so you kind of let your- “I said to Rian, ‘Jedis don’t self get away with that. When we were in the give up.’ I mean, even if he had band, it was something that I never really a problem, he would maybe take view posted by Spanish-lan- walker. He’s not my Luke Sky- thought about. You could obviously tell that a year to try and regroup. But if guage movie site SensaCine walker, but I had to do what Harry was probably into it a little more than he made a mistake, he would try recently. Rian wanted me to do because me at the time; it was something that he and right that wrong. Hamill also said that fran- it serves the story well,” Hamill focused on more than I did,” he “So, right there we had a fun- chise creator George Lucas said. added. IANS damental difference, but it’s not would have handled Luke’s story The film, which stars Daisy my story anymore. It’s some- in a different way. Ridley, John Boyega, late body else’s story – and Rian “Well, in this version, see I’m Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac needed me to be a certain way talking about the George Lucas and others, has been to make the ending effective. Star Wars. This is the next gen- lauded by the critics. That’s the crux of my problem. eration of Star Wars, so I almost However it has also Luke would never say that. I’m had to think of Luke as another divided fans on certain sorry,” Hamill said in an inter- character. Maybe he’s Jake Sky- plot points. PTI