E-Paper : Mar 27 2015
Transcription
E-Paper : Mar 27 2015
FRONTLINE PRINTERS PRIVATE LTD 3 Kolkata kid cured in city 6 Oz media laments India’s flop show 7 ‘Modi one among world’s greatest leaders’ 8 Vishal & Rajini P Complete Printing Facilities under One Roof M-7, Thiru-Vi-Ka Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032. 2250 0111, 4202 1111 Chennai’s No 1 English evening daily since 1982 www.newstodaynet.com NATIONAL DAILY VOL. XXXIII NO. 110 FOUNDER EDITOR: T.R.R H CHENNAI H FRIDAY 27.3.2015 (EVENING) H OTHER STATIONS SATURDAY 28.3.2015 (MORNING) H 8 PAGES Rs. 4.00 H Vajpayee receives Bharat Ratna Regd. No., TN/CC(S) DN/223/15-17, RNI No: 33810 / 82 Reaching out rime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to the well-off people to give up subsidised cooking gas, and expressed his government’s resolve to reduce dependence on energy imports by 10 per cent by 2022. Sharing oil companies’ plans to increase piped cooking gas connection to one crore households from 27 lakh currently in the next four years, Modi said the decision to surrender LPG subsidy by 2.8 lakh consumers would result in a savings of Rs 100 crore. ‘I had made a small mention about giving up LPG subsidy. As many as 2.80 lakh people has responded positively...and this will lead to a saving of at least Rs 100 crore. This Rs 100 crore can be utilised for the welfare of poor,’ Modi said while speaking at the ‘Urja Sangam’ in Delhi. Since the government started the new scheme of direct benefit transfer (DBT) for cooking gas, several persons opted out of the subsidy scheme. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a leader par excellence who has worked tirelessly for the nation. Vajpayee is being conferred country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna today by President Pranab Mukherjee. ‘This a proud moment for the country and all of us. He a stalwart leader of the country. He is a leader of par excellence who has worked tirelessly in the interest of the nation,’ Jaitley said. Setting aside protocol, the President will visit Vajpayee’s Krishna Menon Marg residence in Delhi to confer the Bharat Ratna. ‘BAR’BARIC ACT Hours before the honour was confered on Vajpayee, Home Minister Rajnath Singh described the former Prime Minister as an international icon who is respected and loved by one and all Posing danger to motorists and passersby, iron bars used for construction are being transported on 100 Feet Road at Vadapalani. Photo: R THIYAGARAJAN Chain snatched at Nanganallur NT Bureau Chennai, March 27: An elderly woman was relieved off her seven sovereign gold chain by an unidentified biker at Nanganallur last night. According to police sources, Parvathy (70) was on her way to a temple in Nanganallur, when a biker snatched her gold chain and escaped. Following this, a complaint has been filed with the Pazhavanthangal police station. Court stops Sruthi from signing new movies New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today appealed to the well off people to give up subsidised cooking gas, and expressed his government’s resolve to reduce dependence on energy imports by 10 per cent by 2022. Sharing oil companies’ plans to increase piped cooking gas connection to one crore households from 27 lakh currently in the next four years, Modi said the decision to surrender LPG subsidy by 2.8 lakh consumers would result in a savings of Rs 100 crore. ‘I had made a small mention about giving up LPG subsidy. As many as 2.80 lakh people has responded positively...and this will lead to a saving of at least Rs 100 crore. This Rs 100 crore can be utilised for the welfare of poor,’ Modi said while speaking at the ‘Urja Sangam’ here. Since the government started the new scheme of direct benefit transfer (DBT) for cooking gas, several persons opted out of the subsidy scheme. Modi said that 12 crore bank accounts opened under the Jan Dhan scheme are being used for transferring subsidies directly to the consumers which has helped in plugging the leakages and effectively fighting corruption. ‘To fight corruption, if institutional mechanism, transparent mechanism, policy driven system can be put in place then we can prevent leakages. And this has been proved by cash transfer,’ the Prime Minister said. Referring to India’s 77 per cent dependence on energy imports, Modi said the effort should be to reduce it by 10 per cent by 2022, when India will celebrate 75 years of Independence. ‘We can reduce this import by at least 10 per cent in 2022. This 10 per cent we will produce ourselves and this should be our dream,’ he said. ‘If we become successful in reducing import by 10 per cent in 2022, by achieving 10 per cent growth in domestic production, then I can assure you that by 2030 we can reduce this import to 50 per cent,’ he added. Modi said the country needs to increase domestic output of energy to reduce dependence on imports. ‘Our target has to be higher, only then we can reduce the import... for that we have to make effort,’ he said, adding that the domestic energy companies should aim to become multinationals. Man kidnapped, assaulted at Royapettah NT Bureau Chennai, Mar 27: A man has filed a complaint with the police that he was allegedly kidnapped and assaulted by a group of unidentified men in Royapettah last night. According to police sources, Sunraj (42), a businessman, alleged that he was kidnapped by a group of four men, who beat him up for two hours before releasing him. Police suspect the involvement of a former Mayor in this case, and it is alleged that Sunraj took Rs 12 lakh from him, promising a new house. He is currently undergoing treatment and the police has registered a case. Former co-op staff held for swindling money Dindigul, Mar 27 (PTI): A former secretary of an agricultural cooperative society in the district has been arrested by the Economic Offences wing police for allegedly swindling Rs 67.89 lakh. Arivazhagan, former secretary of Vedasanthur Devinayakanpatti Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Society and a member of AIADMK from Kuttam, was arrested on a complaint from District Deputy Registrar Jesudasan, police said today. filed an Interlocutory Application in the Supreme Court on 18 November 2014, <I>inter-alia<P>, to restrain the government of Karnataka from proceeding with the construction of reservoirs at Mekedatu or any other new projects across the river Cauvery in Karnataka which are not contemplated and/or permitted in the final decision of the Tribunal, besides seeking orders to maintain status quo till the disposal of the Civil Appeals and the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board’, he said. Today’s resolution in Assembly assumes significance as it comes in the wake of a bandh call given by the Coordination Committee of the All Farmers Associations in Delta Districts condemning Karnataka government’s adamant attitude in this issue and urging the Centre to act on this issue fast. Several political parties, trade unions, traders associations have expressed their solidarity for the bandh. Dalmiya lauds Team India 3 held for murder of 16-year-old girl New Delhi, Mar 27 ((PTI): The disappointment of a semifinal exit notwithstanding, BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya today congratulated the Indian cricket team for its ‘stupendous’ World Cup performance, saying that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men put up an outstanding show. India, the defending champions, were knocked out of the World Cup following a 95run semifinal loss to Australia in Sydney yesterday. Dalmiya said despite the defeat, the team must be lauded for a seven-match unbeaten streak leading up to the last-four stage. ‘I congratulate the entire Indian cricket team for having played some outstanding cricket in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. They have indeed displayed some admirable skills while playing the game in its true spirit, and thereby, bringing joy to millions of cricket fans,’ DGET Give up subsidy: Modi to rich such unprofessional attitude is not repeated and to protect the interests of its various stakeholders, we initiated both civil and criminal proceedings against her’. Taking cognisance of the civil offence, a court in Hyderabad issued an injunction restraining her from signing any new movie until further orders. For the criminal offence, police have been instructed to investigate the matter, the release added. NT Bureau ing the importance of the issue, MPs belonging to all parties in Tamilnadu Chennai, Mar 27: should meet Prime Minister Narendra The Tamilnadu Assembly today Modi and hand over this resolution adopted a resolution urging the Cenand convey the concern of the people tral government to stop Karnataka of Tamilnadu to him. government from building a new dam The resolution comes just a few across Cauvery river at Mekedatu. days after Panneerselvam wrote a The House also regretted Cenletter to Prime Minister Narendra tre’s ‘inaction’ towards State AD U B Modi said, ‘I write this letter government’s repeated reN to bring to your attention the quests to form Cauvery repeated violation of the final Management Board and award of the Cauvery Water Cauvery Water Regula01 1 5Disputes Tribunal by government tory Authority to implement of Karnataka. Karnataka continues the final order of the Cauvery with its intransigent stand to construct Tribunal and to advise Karnataka not a reservoir at Mekedatu without obto proceed with its plans to construct taining any clearance from the govnew dams across Cauvery river. ernment of India, the Cauvery Water Further, the Tamilnadu Assembly Disputes Tribunal or the government also expressed deep concern and of Tamilnadu.’ protest over Karnataka government Quoting media reports, Panneerselallocating Rs 25 crore for preparing a vam said Karnataka had allotted funds to Detailed Project Report for constructprepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) ing a new dam at Mekedatu. to construct a reservoir at Mekedatu. Moving the resolution, Chief Minis‘The government of Tamilnadu has ter O Panneerselvam said considerU ter of actor Kamal Haasan, arbitrarily pulled out of their project citing dates clash as a lame excuse. ‘The dates were mutually discussed with her and schedules were planned around her convenience. Shooting commenced and the first schedule was completed and unexpectedly Sruthi conveyed through an email that she wanted to quit the project’. The production house further said, ‘with an intention of ensuring that q Cauvery: TN urges Centre to stop K’taka from constructing dam at Mekedatu 2 NT Bureau Chennai, Mar 27: Actress Sruthi Haasan, who walked out of a Nagarjuna-Karthi-starrer recently, has landed herself in trouble. The production house has initiated criminal and civil proceedings against her. They have managed to obtain an injunction from the court restraining her from signing any new movie until further orders. In a press release here, the producers Picture House Media, alleged that Sruthi Hassan, daugh- Assembly passes key resolution 6 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other senior Cabinet ministers will be present on the special occasion. Mamata congratulates West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed happiness over former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee being conferred Bharat Ratna and described him as a ‘truly great statesman’ who richly deserves this honour. ‘Happy that Atalji is being conferred Bharat Ratna today. ‘He is a truly great statesman who richly deserves this honour.I wish him well,’ the Trinamool Congress supremo, who served as a minister in the Vajpayee government, tweeted. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah congratulated former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for receiving Bharat Ratna saying it was ‘an honour’ to serve under him. In a departure from tradition, the President will confer the Bharat Ratna on Vajpayee at his Krishna Memon Marg residence today. TAMIL NT Bureau / PTI New Delhi, Mar 27: President Pranab Mukherjee was set to confer the Bharat Ratna on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his Krishna Menon Marg residence later today. Hours before the honour was confered on Vajpayee, Home Minister Rajnath Singh described the former Prime Minister as an international icon who is respected and loved by one and all. ‘Our former Prime Minister Vajpayee is not only just an Indian statesman but an international icon who is respected and loved by everyone,’ Singh told reporters in New Delhi. Vajpayee is being conferred country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna on Friday by President Pranab Mukherjee. The Home Minister said it is a matter of immense happiness for the whole country that the former Prime Minister is being bestowed with the Bharat Ratna. ‘His personality, his oratory skill, his honesty and humility signify his greatness. He is a great human being,’ he said. Dalmiya said in a statement. ‘In spite of the disappointment due to the loss in the semi-final, the fact that the impending generation has showed the desired potential to take Indian cricket to greater heights is quite gratifying,’ he added. BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur also praised the team for its overall good performance. ‘Being present at the venue and having witnessed the match, I was privy to the excitement and joy that our Indian team brings to the spectators,’ Thakur said. ‘I take this opportunity to thank all our fans across the world and especially those who were present for the semifinal and supported Team India. The BCCI truly appreciates the sustained efforts of our team and congratulates them for their outstanding performance while upholding the values which have long embodied the game of cricket,’ he added. Namakkal, Mar 27 (PTI): A 16-year old girl was strangulated by a jilted lover and two others, including her school mate, at a village in the district, police said today. In a swift action, police arrested the trio late last night, hours after the murder came to light. According to police, the girl, a plus one student from Periyanmalai village, was missing after she left for school yesterday morning. Farmer killed by elephant in Erode Erode, Mar 27 (PTI): A 55-year old farmer was trampled to death by an elephant in a forest area in Burgur in the district, police said today. The body of Kulandaisamy of Kalvarai was found by cattle grazers in the Kalvarai forest yesterday, they said. The body had markings of elephant trampling and doctors at Anthyuir Government Hospital confirmed the farmer died in an attack by elephant, police said. 2 FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2015 City Centre CHENNAI Solution at the source TAKEN OVER New garbage collection system in Valasaravakkam V Branches of trees that have been cut and strewn over the sides of Sannathi Street, Valasaravakkam, block pedestrian movement. Photo: R Thiyagarajan alasaravakkam has been facing issues in collection of garbage from houses here. Garbage vans have been irregular for the past few months. However, the Corporation, in an initiative to make the zone a cleaner one, is planning to introduce source segregation of garbage soon. An official confirmed the news. ‘The Corporation has decided to give a Kuwait-based National Cleaning Company (NCC) a seven-year contract to clean up Valasaravakkam zone. Once given the job, NCC is expected to distribute two bins each to households. A green one will be for biodegradable waste and a blue one for non biodegradables. The agency will collect the waste right at the doorstep of the people’, he stated. Residents are happy with this development as they feel that this will result in the area looking cleaner than before. Uma, a resident of Valasaravakkam said, ‘garbage collectors here do a decent job. But if they are on leave, nobody comes to collect the garbage and they get piled up with a rotten smell hanging around the households. But now if there is segregation of waste with separate New waste bins that will be installed in the area. bins for them, it will be better for both the Corporation and the residents to maintain a neater neighbourhood. I hope this system does not wane off like other ideas before’. The main idea behind this I N PALA project is to VADA create a bin-less zone. Currently, in most places Welcome move The new seating arrangement will help senior people to stay comfortable.’ Officials erect new bus shelter in T Nagar R equirement of bus shelters at MTC stops across the neighbourhood is heightened during the summers. This time, the civic body has taken s o m e proactive measures in this regard. A new shelter was recently erected at the MTC stop on DuT raiswamy Road. Thanks to the local MLA V P Kalairajan, who took t h e initiative in erecting the shelter. Several complaints regis- t e r e d the concern of commuters time and again. Apart students of nearby schools, the facility is expected to bring a big relief to the number of shoppers from the nearby South Usman Road. Ramani, a resident of Baroda Street, said, ‘it is a timely action. The new R seating arrangement will A G help senior people to NA stay comfortable.’ He added that it is equally important for buses to halt at the stop, otherwise the purpose would be unserved. - NT Bureau A new shelter for MTC stop at Duraiswamy Road will be helpful to commuters. 05:30 PM Kalai Koil TV TODAY 06:00 PM Utchakattam 06:30 PM Idhu Pudhusu JAYA TV 07:00 PM News 04:30 PM Kollywood Gallery 07:30 PM Mohini 05:00 PM New Songs 08:00 PM Bhavani 05:30 PM Makkalin Mudhalvar 08:30 PM Romapuri Paandiyan 06:00 PM Suvaiyo Suvai 09:00 PM Odi Vilayadu Pappa 08:00 PM Deivam Thandha Veedu 08:30 PM Saravanan Meenatchi 09:00 PM Mahabharatham 09:30 PM Super Singer T20 10:30 PM Office 11:00 PM Kalyanam Mudhal Kaadhal Varai 11:30 PM Vazhakku Enn 18/9 RAJ TV STAR SPORTS 1 03:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 H/ls : Quarter Final 3: Australia vs. Pakistan 04:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 H/ls : Quarter Final 4: New Zealand vs. West Indies 05:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 H/ls : Semi Final 1: New Zealand vs. South Africa 06:30 PM Galatta Comedy 06:00 PM Mundhanai Mudichu 09:30 PM Madippakkam Madhavan 07:00 PM Ramayanam 06:30 PM Pasamalar 10:00 PM News Headlines 07:30 PM News 07:00 PM News 10:02 PM Kaliyugam 08:00 PM Hits 07:30 PM Nadhaswaram 10:30 PM Sirippu Varudhu 08:30 PM Akka 08:00 PM Deiva Magal 11:00 PM Kuthu Padalgal 09:00 PM Priyamana Thozhi 08:30 PM Vamsam 11:30 PM Telebuy 09:30 PM Poomagal 09:00 PM Priyamanaval 09:30 PM Vani Rani VIJAY TV 07:30 PM Mann Vasanai 10:00 PM Kavidhaiyae Theriyuma 10:30 PM English News 10:00 PM Sakthi 04:30 PM Cricket Extra : Post Show 08:30 PM Alaipayuthey 06:00 PM En Kanavan En Thozhan 09:00 PM En Iniya Thozhiye 07:30 PM ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 H/ls : Semi Final 1: New Zealand vs. South Africa 06:30 PM Puthu Kavithai 09:30 PM Gouravam 08:30 PM Cricket Legends 10:00 PM Koppium-Crime Time 09:00 PM Match Point : Semi Final 2: Australia vs. India 10:45 PM Tamil News 10:30 PM Azhagi 11:00 PM Thenkinnam 11:00 PM Veettoda Mappillai SUN TV KALAIGNAR TV 07:00 PM Kalyanam Mudhal Kaadhal Varai 03:00 PM Valli 04:30 PM Sirippu Varudhu 07:30 PM Aandaal Azhagar 03:30 PM Rajakaali Amman 05:00 PM Vinnai Thodu 05:00 PM S K Shoppe 05:30 PM Vellithira 06:00 PM Raj News 06:30 PM Thirai Vaanil 07:00 PM Sindhu Bhairavi 08:00 PM Karuthamma 10:30 PM Aandan Adimai Goura- IN HOME SONYPIX VALIYAVAN 06:19PM 09:00PM 11:41PM AGS Cinemas, INOX National, Abirami Mega Mall, Captain America: The First Avenger Iron Man Hollow mane HBO 06:16PM Star Trek Into Darkness Theatre 07:00 PM Cricket Legends S U D O K U MOVIES NOW PVR Cinemas, Sangam, AGS, INOX National, Hall, Rakki 07:15PM Dunston Checks In Multiplex, Abirami Theatres, 09:00PM Bean 10:50PM The Matrix Revolutions DRAGON BLADE STAR MOVIES Mayajaal, Escape Cinema, Devi Cineplex, Kamala Theatre, 07:00PM Behind Enemy Lines PVR Cinemas, Sangam, AGS, INOX National, Abirami 09:00PM Johnny English Theatres, 11:00PM Spider-Man 4 03:15 PM PSA World Tour 2015 : Canary Wharf Classic Men SF 2 04:30 PM Gillette World Sport 05:00 PM WWE Smackdown 07:00 PM Volvo Ocean Race : Sanya to Auckland 07:30 PM Gillette World Sport 08:00 PM ASP World Championship Tour 2014 09:00 PM French Ligue 1 2014/15 : Preview Show 10:00 PM WWE Smackdown TEN CRICKET 03:00 PM Cricket Classics : Pakistan vs. West Indies ’04 04:00 PM South Africa Tour of Sri Lanka 2014 H/ls : 1st Test 7 9 1 1 1 5 3 2 8 7 5 8 6 1 5 4 3029 11:36PM The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Mayajaal, Escape Cinema, Devi Cineplex, Kamala Theatre, TEN SPORTS 6 8 8 09:00PM Now You See Me CSK 11:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 H/ls : Semi Final 1: New Zealand vs. South Africa 06:00 PM Tri-Nation 2014 10:30 PM Late Cut Kamala Theatre, Udhayam Theatre, PVR Cinemas, Multiplex, Sri Ganga Cinema, Raj Theatre, Maharani 06:00 PM ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 H/ls : Semi Final 2: Australia vs. India 10:00 PM Cricket Legends IN THEATRES Woodlands Multiplex, Mayajaal Cinema, Sangam the bins are brimming with garbage until the Corporation garbage van comes to clear it. - NT Bureau The object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once: Easy nah? ANSWER TO SUDOKU 3028 (26.3.2015) 3 9 2 2 2 6 5 4 8 3 7 2 4 5 6 9 1 8 3 4 2 6 5 1 9 7 6 7 1 9 9 6 2 5 5 3 7 8 4 1 8 2 3 4 1 5 4 3 2 8 7 1 6 4 9 2 5 7 3 9 8 6 4 2 9 5 6 8 1 3 7 3 8 4 9 7 2 6 1 5 8 9 3 7 4 6 2 5 1 Around Town CHENNAI FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2015 Kolkata kid cured in city q DMDSC treats baby suffering from neonatal diabetes Cambridge English Language Assessment regional director (South Asia) T K Arunachalam presenting students with Business English Certificate at S A Engineering College, Chennai recently. City students get Cambridge certificates NT Bureau Chennai, Mar 27: Cambridge English Language Assessment (CELA), a part of University of Cambridge presented Business English Certificates (BEC) to students of S A Engineering College, Chennai recently. According to a press release, students received certificates from CELA regional director (South Asia) T K Arunachalam in presence of college director P Venkatesh Raja and principal S Suyambazhahan. In September 2014, a total of 719 students passed the BEC assessments. As many as 571 students took the Cambridge English: Business Preliminary (BEC Preliminary); 148 students took the more advanced level Cambridge English: Business Vantage (BEC Vantage). The BEC are globally recognised.and over 500 colleges in India have tied up with CELA to help students with job placements and prepare them to face an international business environment, the release said. NT Bureau Chennai, Mar 27: Ivana Das, a three-month-old baby from Kolkata, was diagnosed with diabetes 15 days after birth, while she was being evaluated for fever. Inspite of giving insulin injection four times a day, there was no improvement in the sugar levels. She was then referred to Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre (DMDSC) in Chennai. As the child had developed diabetes prior to six months of age, she was diagnosed and a sample was sent for genetic analysis by DMDSC. The results showed a mutation in the KCNJ11 gene, which is known to be associated with neonatal diabetes. Based on the results, the child was given a small dose of oral anti-diabetic tablet and reduced the dose of insulin. The blood sugar levels drastically improved after three days. Addressing mediapersons here yesterday, DMDSC chairman Dr V Mohan said, ‘This is an unique case that took place due to genetic mu- DMDSC chairman Dr V Mohan and vice-chairman Ranjit Unnikrishnan with three-month-old baby Ivana at a press conference in Chennai yesterday. tation. Making a genetic diagnosis of neonatal diabetes is of utmost importance. In the absence of genetic testing, many of these children would be incorrectly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and treated lifelong with insulin, unnecessarily.’ DMDSC head (Genetics) Radha Venkatesan said, ‘Gene defects can be identified through sanger sequencing machine. The baby underwent the test and we treated accordingly. The baby did not have any episodes of low sugar and we were able to completely stop insulin by day three and continue the tablets alone’ DMDSC recommends that children diagnosed with diabetes prior to six months of age undergo genetic testing to screen for mutations in the genes concerned with insulin secretion, This can avoid unnecessarily treatment with insulin as well as improve diabetes control in many cases. 3 Ratha yatra held NT Bureau Chennai, Mar 27: Jagadguru Sri Sankara Bhagavath Padhal Panchami Seva Trust, Postal Colony First Street, West Mambalam organised Sri Sankara Ratha yatra (Panchami day) on 24 March. A press release said, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, Director, S R Ramanan, presided over the yatra which went through various streets of West Mambalam and Ashok Nagar. Speaking on the occasion, Ramanan narrated the teachings of the Mahaperiyava. Trust founder Panchami Nagarajan organised the programme. He can be reached at 94447 57441. Postal dept sets target The Department of Posts has set a target of opening one crore ‘Sukanya Samriddhi Account’ during the financial year 2015-2016. ‘In order to meet the ever-growing demand , the savings bank counters in all the head post offices and 195 select sub-post offices under Chennai city region will remain open exclusively for opening of Sukanya Samriddhi Account on Sunday,’ said a release. Endowment Lecture E-READING OR ME-READING? q What do book-lovers prefer in this digital age N SAHANA AROORAN Chennai, Mar 27: Empty halls, deathly silence and dusty books. This is the condition of a number of bookstores across the city which are facing closure, due to the slow decline in visitors. It may be noted that a popular book store in Hyderabad, dating to the Nizam era, recently shut shop citing heavy losses. ‘It has become difficult to compete with online retailers’, the owner reportedly said. Walking into a book store and buying a book has become a rarity in this digital age, so to say. A recent survey found that more and more book-lovers have shifted to online reading, an activ- ity which has been popularised with the advent of e-books and reading apps. But can virtual books replace a hardcopy? News Today finds out. ‘While it is certainly far more easier to search and read a book on the internet, I personally feel that it is no match for ‘real’ reading’, says Aditi, a college student. A common complaint put forth is that one does not find all books online. ‘One major reason why people take to internet reading is because it ‘A book is a treasure, something that would always stay with us and be preserved for a lifetime. In earlier days, certain books would be passed on from one generation to the other, as a family tradition. That kind of importance, sadly, is no longer given to books, as people are hardly interested in buying them’ is perceived to be free of cost. But most of the times, the desired book will not be available in the PDF format and one might have to pay to download the same. This defeats the very purpose of reading on the internet’, adds Aditi, Also, many argue that e-books are for those who read to kill time, and that those who are really passionate about reading would always want to take home, a brand new book of one’s favourite author. ‘A book is a treasure, something that would always stay with us and be preserved for a lifetime. In earlier days, certain books would be passed on from one generation to the other, as a family tradition. That kind of importance, sadly, is no longer given to books, as people are hardly interested in buying them’, feels Venkatesh, a book-lover. One of the major causes that has led to the lackadaisical approach towards ‘real’ reading is the growing popularity of apps like Kindle, which help one read on the move with e-readers vouching for its benefits. ‘It is no surprise that virtual reading is preferred in today’s f a s t paced l i f e . A n d with various websites that encourage readers to form communities and rate or review books, the activity has become far more interesting’, feels Shruti, a city-based professional. All said and done, if the current digital trend continues, future generations might never experience the simple pleasures of life, such as having a hard-bound book in hand, turning one page after the other and placing one’s favourite bookmark in it! Madras S c h o o l of Social Work will organise its 20th ‘Mary Clubwala Jadhav Endowment Lecture’ on Saturday at its campus at 4 pm. Gamesa Wind Turbines Pvt Ltd chairman and managing director Ramesh Kymal will deliver the lecture on ‘Renewable Energy Prosperity of the Nation and the Role of Professional Social Workers.’ The institute will also award Integrated Rural Community Development Society (IRCDS) and women’s Education and Economic Development Society (WEEDS) for rendering best humanitarian services. Traffic awareness campaign Thozhan, an NGO will organise a traffic awareness campaign at various signals in T Nagar and other parts of the city on 29 March. For details, contact Sabarivas at 98849 66613. Meditation session The Art of Living Centre will organise a free meditation session on 2 April at 6 pm in 13A/6A, Umapathy Street. For registration, contact 98407 89742. It is an world! q More people prefer shopping using mobile devices, says study Rotary Club of Chennai Towers presented vocational service awards to people from various sections of society at a function at T Nagar in Chennai yesterday. Percussionist Viku Vinayakaram was presented Life Time Achievement Award. Additional Director General of Police J K Tripathy and Rotary District Governor Nominee, RI 3230 R Srinivasan participated. Brain dead woman donates organs NT Bureau Chennai, Mar 27: A 37-year-old woman’s family took the decision of donating her organs after she was declared brain dead at a private hospital in the city on Thursday. The deceased Parameshwari, hailed from Cuddalore and was a tailor. She had children and was ill for the past few days. She was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Cuddalore and had a brain stroke. She was referred to Global Hospital on 25 March. On Thursday, the doctors declared the patient as brain dead. Later, the doctors at the hospital counselled the family to donate her organs saying the it can save many lives. Agreeing to it, the family donated liver, kidney and heart valve. Her kidney was donated to Fortis Malar Hospital, liver was given to Global Hospital and heart valve to Madras Medical Mission. SANGEETHA R Chennai, Mar 27: Whether you are intent on keeping a check and taking control of your daily calorie intake, or choose to listen to unlimited soundtracks or have ever missed out your favourite television show or are a shopaholic. There is no worry, it seems. There is an app for almost everything now! Over the past few years, the popularity of smartphones has grown steadily and so far there are no signs of a slowdown as companies keep developing software and features. Popular apps have truly revolutionised the mobile phone industry, it can be said. According to Vyshnavi, a citybased software professional, ‘Smartphone users are moving away from so called ‘traditional’ towards web browsing online in favour of mobile apps platform’. ‘People have moved towards more instant communication in the form of messaging app. These are gaining momentum among people of all age groups and are popular as they are more convenient and cheaper than text messaging’. Over the past few years, the popularity of smartphones has grown steadily and so far there are no signs of a slowdown as companies keep developing software and features. Popular apps have truly revolutionised the mobile phone industry Also, apps that have ruled for years have now been losing ground to newer ones. Those introduced for cricket buffs and some by ecommerce firms to enable shopping online are among recent crowdpullers. The ‘special days’ or ‘end of season’ sale have attracted internet shoppers, but some organisations have more to offer for customers through mobile phones now. ‘An online retail firm’s ‘Big app sale’ for three days, offered big discounts on various products for customers who shop through its mobile app while the same wasn’t available on the website. Those wanting to buy at lower prices need to download the app’, said Karthik a college student. ‘Online retailing has grown at an enormous rate, catering to an ever-increasing diverse base of internet users. Also, mobile applications have gained relevance because it allows the users to stay logged in all the time and also the shopping is quicker compared to doing it through the website’, he added. Meanwhile, Gizmobaba.com, a portal for all kinds of gizmos and gadgets, in a recent study, said transactions made with mobile device had increased from a mere 10 per cent to a whopping 50 per cent this year. It also said customers found transacting with their mobile devices rather convenient and safer. Further, the report said transactions made by women had increased to 40 per cent compared to the 20 per cent last year. Women are increasingly buying online from an array of products both for themselves and for purposes of gifting to others, it added. Another trend as per the study is the growing sales from remote towns of the country. Only a year ago, the share of sales from small towns was a meager 10 per cent, which has rapidly escalated to 30 per cent this year and is expected to go up further. With an increasing number of users choosing relatively new apps, this does not mean that mainstream apps are dead and buried. It is only that the users are using these networks less than before. Blend 4 FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2015 WHAT WH AT NEWS NEW NEW EWS S TODAY TODA TO DAY DA Y PRINTS PRIN PR INTS IN TS IS IS NEWS NEWS THAT THA THA HAT T COUNTS COUN CO UNTS UN TS FIGHTING FIRE CHENNAI C L ICK PIC Time to move on I t looked good as long as it lasted. India’s campaign in the World Cup at the back of a disheartening display in the Test and ODI series Down Under, raised the expectations of the fans, especially after the team went through the league phase unbeaten. After another emphatic win over Bangladesh in the quarterfinals, M S Dhoni & Co lined up for (yet another) encounter against the Aussies. However, the losses in the previous months preceding the showpiece event were forgotten and there was a lot of hype about India’s chances. The defeat in the semifinals at the hands of Australia came without much of a fight, which probably disappointed fans more. As with a defeat in the World Cup, the exit from the 2015 championship saw people in the country react, on rather expected lines, and there was outrage and verbal attacks on the players. Virat Kohli’s girlfriend Anushka Sharma was also picked on with some saying her presence was a distraction for the team’s star batsman. What happened in the nation after the Indian team was unceremoniously bundled out of the 2007 tournament in the Caribbean is still fresh in the minds of many. The country’s sport fans often tend to get overly jingoistic and react in an unsavoury manner after not-so-good performances in big events. There was an outpouring of ‘feelings’ after the Mitchell Starc got the final wicket to send the 2011 champs out of the Cup, paving way for a trans-Tasman final on Sunday. There were ‘experts’ taking potshots at the Indian team in the aftermath of the loss and blaming Anushka for Virat’s failure probably stuck out like a sore thumb. What was worse was that security was beefed up at Dhoni’s residence in Ranchi as the defending champ’s challenge went pear-shaped. The fickle-minded fans were at it again. Heaping praise and deifying sportspersons, especially cricketers is the norm in India as is ‘crucifying’ them in the event of failures. This shows that sportslovers haven’t matured as yet. Wins and losses are part of every sport and have to be taken that way. The entire nation went bonkers after Dhoni slammed Nuwan Kulasekara to seal the World Cup in 2011 but the cricketers have come under the pump after what has been a good but not a great campaign in the showpiece event held Down Under. For a bunch of cricketers, who have been on the road since November 2014 and endured more downs than ups before this tournament arrived, the exit will give them time to take their minds off the game, albeit briefly, as the IPL caravan is set to begin in a couple of weeks time (8 April to be precise). The same team was picked on after the Test series loss to Australia and the insipid performances in the tri-series. Once the World Cup started, Dhoni’s team was a transformed one and they humbled one rival after the other before the Aussies derailed the title defence. A lot of credit is due to the ‘Men in Blue’ who rose above expectations and were anointed favourites after claiming six straight wins in the league stage. Rather than look at the negatives, it is time to consider the positives and look ahead. Also, there is bound to be speculation about Dhoni’s ODI future and he did take a jibe or two at the media during the post-match interaction but a decision is best left to him. Meanwhile, it wouldn’t be an understatement to say that the fans’ disappointment (of the WC exit) would last only till the IPL kicks off! Taapsee Pannu @taapsee Those that are close to you : You can actually hear their voice as you read their texts on mobile .. na ? We all love you Dhoni! Your name will be etched in the heart n mind of millions. Team India we welcome you back. We are proud of u all. Germanwings crash wasn’t just suicide ‘Co-pilot wanted to destroy the aircraft’ FRENCH ALPS: Reports from multiple sources now claim that Andreas Lubitz, a 28-yearold German co-pilot, deliberately crashed Germanwings flight 9525 in the French Alps on 24 March, killing himself, 144 passengers, and five crew members. According to French prosecutor Brice Robin, it appears that Lubitz ‘wanted to destroy the aircraft’, although a motive has yet to be identified. After Lubitz reportedly locked himself in the cockpit alone, he ‘manipulated the buttons of the flight monitoring system to activate the descent of the aircraft,’ Robin announced at a 26 March press conference. This apparently requires a conscious effort, which has led many to conclude that the pilot’s intention was suicide. ‘French Alps plane crash treated as suicide and mass murder by copilot,’ according to EuroNews, on 26 March. ‘Apparently he had burnout, he was in depression,’ reported the Daily Mail. But not everyone agrees with telling the story as a suicide. ‘When you are responsible for 150 people, I don’t Mysterious warm layer discovered in Venus data collected by the Venus Express probe. ‘We measured temperatures at altitudes of 90 to 140 kilometres,’ said Denis Belyaev of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) and the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. BERLIN: Germany’s aviation association BDL has announced plans to introduce a two-person cockpit rule after it emerged that the co-pilot on a Ger- WASHINGTON: Researchers in the US have created a flapping robotic wing that can recover from mid-air collisions. By examining the wings of birds and bats, the researchers at Stanford University, have created a mechanism that could allow drones to easily squeeze between obstacles, such as branches of a tree, and fully recover after accidental hard impacts. When it comes to flying, birds such as pigeons and swallows can morph their wings until they are tucked close into their body, allowing them to pass through gaps. VOICE MAIL Fair is the word Sir, In many communities where child marriage is practised, girls are not valued as much as boys - they are seen as a burden. The challenge will be to change parents’ attitudes and emphasise that girls who avoid early marriage and stay in school will likely be able to make a greater contribution to their family and their community in the long term. Where poverty is acute, giving a daughter in marriage allows parents to reduce family expenses by ensuring they have one less person to feed, clothe and educate. Many parents marry off their daughters young because they feel it is in her best interest, often to ensure her safety in areas where girls are at high risk of physical or sexual assault SHRIRAM, By email ADDRESS YOUR LETTERS TO : The Editor, News Today, 85, Mount Road, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032. or e-mail to : letters@newstodaynet.com / newstodaydaily@gmail.com An undated image taken from Facebook of Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz. call it a suicide,’ Robin told reporters. ‘If a person kills himself and also 149 other people, another word officer Andreas Lubitz deliberately flew the plane to a lower altitude. We know also that the plane wound up crashing into a mountain. The question Robin has not answered is how he knows the co-pilot had that end in mind. We know the plane was commanded down to a lower altitude after reaching 38,000 feet. We do not yet know why. We know the Captain, identified in web postings as Patrick Sonderheimer, left the cockpit and was unable to get back in. We do not know that he tried to enter using the door passcode or that the door was blocked The evidence so far shows first officer Andreas Lubitz deliberately flew the plane to a lower altitude. We know also that the plane wound up crashing into a mountain should be used not suicide,’ added Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr in a statement on 26 March. Lufthansa owns Germanwings. The evidence so far shows first In their study, the researchers created one of the first mechanisms in which the morphing of the wing was completely passive, requiring no actuation to fold or unfold, making the wing much lighter and more reliable. The robotic wing was modelled on bat and bird wings and was made using carbon fibre and Mylar film. Similar to a bird wing, each of the two robotic wings had a wrist joint, which were custom built using a 3D printer. The pin joint connected the arm wing and the hand wing. The arm wing attached to the body of the robot at the shoulder joint, which initiated the flapping. The complete wing set had a wingspan of 400 mm and a length (chord) of 80 mm. manwings flight deliberately crashed after being left alone. The announcement was made by the federation’s chief Matthias von Randow, a BDL spokeswoman said. The new policy would require two crew members to be in the cockpit at all times. The second person could be a flight attendant if the pilot or copilot has to exit the cockpit in flight. Separately, the head of Germanwings’ parent company Lufthansa, Carsten Spohr, said the two-person cockpit rule would be discussed at an industry meeting to be attended by the Federal Aviation Office (LBA). The meeting will focus on ‘ways that could in the short term help increase security’ on planes, Spohr told German public television ARD. The Canadian government and several European airlines, including easyJet and Norwegian Air Shuttle, announced that they were introducing the ‘rule of two’ on all their flights. Oldest remains of processed food discovered BEIJING: Chinese archaeologists have discovered the oldest processed wheaten food remains in the country, indicating the people ate bread-like food 2,600 to 2,900 years ago. ‘Our team has used infrared scans to screen the food remains, which were discovered in pottery wares unearthed from Yanghai Cemetery,’ Yang Yimin, associate professor of the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said. The oldest processed wheaten food remains were unearthed in north Pilots need regular medical attention: UN Montreal: Pilots must have regular mental and physical check-ups, the UN world aviation body has said, after it emerged that a Germanwings first officer deliberately crashed his plane killing all 150 on board. All pilots are required to ‘undergo a periodic medical examination (by a doctor who is trained in aviation medicine) that includes both a physical and a mental assessment,’ the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said in a statement. beyond the normal locking function. All we know is that the cockpit voice recorder shows he tried to enter by knocking. Aviation association seeks ‘rule of two’ New wing to stop drones collisions Amitabh Bachchan @SrBachchan MOSCOW: Scientists have discovered a warm layer in Venus’ atmosphere, the nature of which is still unknown. The researchers made the discovery when compiling a temperature map of the upper atmosphere on the planet’s night side based on the Smoke billows from a building in New York’s East Village neighborhood at the scene of a large fire and a partial building collapse. In the other photograph, people help firefighters try to contain a fire at a petrol station in Lagos, Nigeria. China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. ‘The ingredients were mainly flour made from barley and millet. It was also mixed with lactobacillus and yeast,’ he was quoted as saying to state-run Xinhua news agency. The food was made in a period between China’s Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC) and Spring and Autumn Period (722-476 BC), he said. Yang said the discovery showed wheat became an important staple food in Xinjiang for that period. Food decomposes quickly and is rarely found at archaeological sites. ‘If there is any concern from this medical screening then a further, more specialized, assessment can be undertaken that may include neuropsychological testing,’ the UN agency added. French authorities said the copilot of the Germanwings fl ight appeared to have slammed his Airbus A320 into the French Alps on Tuesday. The 28-year-old initiated the plane’s descent while alone at the controls and refused to open the locked cockpit door for the captain, who was believed to have gone to the toilet. His motives are yet unexplained. Stampede kills 10 Hindu pilgrims DHAKA: At least 10 Hindu pilgrims, including seven women, were killed and several others injured in a stampede during a holy bath in the Old Brahmaputra River outside Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. ‘Most of the victims were aged over 50 years...Seven women were among the dead in the stampede during the ‘Astami snan’ at Langalbandh, Narayanganj,’ a police official said. He said around 30 devotees were also injured and they were rushed to nearby medical facilities for treatment. Rouhani keen to push Iran’s N-deal LAUSANNE: Iran’s president appealed to the leaders of Britain, France and Russia to seize an ‘exceptional opportunity’ to strike a nuclear deal, as negotiators raced against the clock in Switzerland. ‘We are acting in the national and international interest and we should not lose this exceptional opportunity,’ Hassan Rouhani told British Prime Hassan Rouhani Minister David Cameron by phone, the NEWS MAKER over Iran’s nuclear activiof the day presidency said. ties, also spoke to RusRouhani, whose 2013 sian President Vladimir election led to the biggest effort in Putin and France’s Francois Hollande. years to end the decade-old standoff ‘Hope was expressed for suc- cess at the new round of talks in Lausanne,’ the Kremlin said in a statement, while noting with ‘satisfaction the progress’ made over previous weeks of talks. Hollande, ‘while insisting on Iran’s legitimate right to use peaceful nuclear power, insisted on the need to work towards a lasting, robust and verifiable agreement,’ the French presidency said. But highlighting the difficulties of talks that resumed in Switzerland today between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Rouhani also said Iran wants all sanctions lifted. Enterprise CHENNAI CARE India’s initiative for women NT Bureau Chennai, Mar 27: CARE India organised a CEO meet, titled, ‘Celebrating Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality at the Workplace’, in the city recently. According to a press release, the event, which saw the participation from more than 15 companies, was aimed to have United Nation’s Women Empowerment Principles (UN WEPs) signatories on board to reiterate and celebrate a stronger commitment to gender equality within their companies and share ‘best practices’ on corporate leadership in promoting equality of the genders. The participating corporates and SMEs engaged in an interactive session on the issues of sexual equality while empowering women at work and exploring solutions to overcome the same, based on WEPs. Most of the participating corporates present to share their experiences on women entrepreneurship and their vow to make their companies gender sensitive workplaces, were WEPs signatories, including Sulekha, L&T, CETAS, Sundaram Group, Computer Age Management, Pink Papaya Foods, Saksoft, Groom India- Naturals, Manipal Group, Sutherland, Allsec Technologies and eNoah iSolution India Pvt Ltd. The project worked to promote gender balance, ensuring that the corporates should provide a favourable work environment for women while adopting WEPs. The efforts are concerted to reduce discrimination and inequity towards women in private sector by advocating promoting gender equitable policies and practices. US & India to make business easy Washington, Mar 27 (PTI): US and India are planning to launch negotiations to sign a high quality bilateral investment treaty to create an enabling business environment in India, a senior American diplomat has said. ‘With India now having concluded its own model bilateral investment treaty (BIT) framework, we are poised to be able to engage with the Indians and commence in negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty’, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal said. There are ongoing conversations between the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) Office, the Department of State and our Indian counterparts There are ongoing conversations between the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) Office, the Department of State and their Indian counterparts on launching into BIT negotiations on launching into BIT negotiations, Biswal told US lawmakers during a Congressional hearing. ‘We want to make sure that any bilateral investment treaty is very high quality, high standard that reflects the expectations of our companies and the best practices Wipro to celebrate Earth Hour NT Bureau Chennai, Mar 27: Wipro will be observing World Earth Hour tomorrow by turning off their non- essential light and conducting interactive employee and customer engagement session. According to a press release, Wipro will participate in the campaign by turning off electricity across campuses globally, for a minimum of one hour (8:30 pm to 9:30 pm local time) on 28 March 2015. Earth Hour is an annual event held globally to encourage individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off their supplementary and dispensable lery shows, held annually by UBM India’. GJIIE 2015 Chennai saw participation from 300 exhibitors, as compared to 265 in 2014. These exhibitors included retailers, artisans and wholesalers from all over India and international markets who showcased their product offerings ranging from gold, diamonds, pearls, gem stones, silver and allied machinery products. In addition to Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and other potential II and III tier cities in India, the exhibition had representation from Turkey, Dubai, Hong Kong and Thailand. GJIIE 2015 also had the Machinery Section (a GJIIE first), which was hosted in association with MSME & BIS. This section had over 80 machinery manufacturer exhibitors and saw the participation from Germany, Italy and Japan in addition to local counterparts. The machinery section also conducted workshops and seminars during the three days. lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday of March. Wipro will also run an online employee and customer engagement campaign where the respondents have to answer various questions related to energy conservation. Each correct answer will add an additional second to the duration for which the electricity will be turned off beyond the mandated one hour. In addition to this, Wipro EcoEnergy will also dim the website www.wiproecoenergy.com for the entire day. In the course of this initiative, Wipro is looking at saving over 500 kWh. Mumbai, Mar 27 (PTI): About 54 per cent of health insurance policy holders self initiate the buying process of the health cover, according to a survey. ‘More than half of the owners (54 per cent) selfinitiate the purchase process’, according to Max Bupa Health Insurance Pulse 2015. However, only 40 per cent health insurance policy renewals were self-initiated by the owner, it added. Max Bupa Health Insurance Pulse 2015 study was conducted among over 1,500 respondents in metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and tier I and II cities in states like Hyderabad, Punjab and Rajasthan. The study also revealed that there is a shift in age groups of health insurance buyers, with 32 years emerging as average age of health insurance purchasers across cities. In terms of gender related All permits of four companies are expiring in 201516 period data services in line with the best service providers in the world’, Reliance Industries CMD Mukesh D Ambani said. Airtel made successful bids worth Rs 29,130.2 crore in 23 circles, which include 10 service areas in 900 Mhz band, six in 1800 Mhz and seven circles for 3G spectrum, according to auction details released on Thursday. Spectrum in 900 Mhz held by Airtel through six American companies bring cutting edge technology and best practices and are highly sought after in terms of investment and partnership in India, but they face certain impediments, she said. ‘The focus on the bilateral investment treaty has long been as a mechanism to create the kind of enabling environment that provides the framework for greater ease of investing in and doing business in India’, she added. Responding to questions on challenges being faced by companies like Amazon, she said e-commerce was a developing field within India in terms of how to deal with the issues of internet commerce and the tax implications. Mumbai, Mar 27 (PTI): Lack of original content is restricting the growth of animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector in the country, industry veteran A K Madhavan said on Thursday. The country has to be satisfied doing only lower-rung work of offering services, without creating original content, he said. ‘We still don’t know how to tell stories and that is the biggest problem being faced by the industry’, he said, adding we need to come up with original scripts for animation films. ‘India predominantly has been in hire mode or in services job when it comes to the AVGC sector. It’s only in the last couple of years that India is trying to create intellectual proper- There is a shift in age groups of health insurance buyers, with 32 years emerging as average age of health insurance purchasers across cities findings, an increasing number of women are becoming the sole decision makers in buying health insurance (55 per cent). Almost two third of them are not aware that new born and in-laws can be covered under health insurance, the study said. Doctors’ advice (50 per cent) also is a key reason for health insurance purchase, followed by rise of lifestyle diseases (33 per cent), tax planning (31 per cent) and age (31 per cent), it pointed out. The study said consumers seek day care treatment (41 per cent), loyalty or renewal benefits (40 per cent) and new benefits like maternity (34 per cent) as licences was put up for auction. Idea retained 900 Mhz airwaves in nine circles that came up for renewal and also made successful bids in seven other service areas. Vodafone defended the premium airwaves in seven circles while wining fresh spectrum in another one. In the case of RCom, seven permits came up for renewal but it could defend the 900 Mhz airwaves in two circles only. However, RCom won spectrum across 18 telecom circles, which include 11 service areas of 800 Mhz band and five in 1800 Mhz as well. All these permits of four companies are expiring in 2015-16 period. Bharti Airtel MD and CEO for India and South Asia Gopal Vittal in a statement said, ‘We have secured a 20-year roadmap and have a strong platform to lead the Digital India story. However, the auction design and the scarcity of spectrum have resulted in exorbitant bids to secure the spectrum’. New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI): Oracle on Thursday announced plans to expand its sales team in India by adding 300 executives as the tech giant targets the growing market for cloud services in the country and the Asia Pacific region. The US-based firm will hire a total of 1,000 people in sales for the Asia Pacific region. Oracle’s recruitment efforts will primarily focus on growth in Australia, China, India, Korea and ASEAN countries. However, there are roles being created across the region, the company said in a statement. ‘Oracle on Thursday announced signifi cant recruitment plans that will add 1,000 new employees to its sales force across Asia Pacific (APAC). Nearly 300 of this specialised sales force for Cloud will be recruited in India’, it added. The expansion will help equip Oracle to drive growth and support demand for Oracle Cloud solutions across the region, the firm said. What affects animation sector? ties on the space’, Madhavan, who has launched his own animation and visual effects company, Assemblage, said on the sidelines of FICCI-Frames here. Even though a KPMG report has valued the animation, VFX and post-production industry in India at Rs 44.9 billion in 2014 from Rs 39.7 billion a year ago, Madhavan said adding it is very small compared to the developed countries. He said one of the main reasons for this is that people associate animation with children and not the family. Madhavan, who quit as chief executive of Crest Animation Studios to start up on his own, said there is a potential for growth for the sector. KPMG has projected that the CAGR ‘Health is wealth for 54% Indians’ Spectrum auction: Gainers, losers New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI): Three leading telecom players Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea retained and expanded their holding in premium 900 Mhz, but RCom lost its holding in the same band in five circles. Meanwhile, RIL’s telecom arm Reliance Jio Infocomm, which holds 4G spectrum across the country, also bagged airwaves in 800 Mhz and 1800 Mhz bands which would enable it to boost 4G offerings with voice services. ‘Jio’s seamless 4G services using proven multiband LTE technology and supported by our large spectrum footprint will provide superior user experience for voice, video and that we have gleaned from our engagements around the world’, she said. ‘We believe that that will clear the path for greater ease of dispute resolution, addressing issues of taxation and other things that impede investment in India’, Biswal said. 5 Oracle expands sales team Plan bilateral investment treaty Aim to sort out tax issues GJIIE 2015 draws to a close NT Bureau Chennai, Mar 27: The 11th edition of the three-day mega B2B gem and jewellery extravaganza, the Gem & Jewellery India International Exhibition (GJIIE 2015), drew to a close. A press statement here said, the exhibition held at the Chennai Trade Centre from 20 March to 22 March 2015, was inaugurated by actress Esha Deol, in the presence of UBM India acting managing director Yogesh Mudras, MJDMA - GJIIE chairman Rajesh Vummidi and MJDMA president Jayantilal Chalani. Speaking on the occasion, Yogesh Mudras said, ‘The overwhelming industry response towards Gem & Jewellery India International Exhibition (GJIIE) 2015, further validates the industry need for such a large trade platform to tap the potential of South India’s market, for both exhibitors and visitors. GJIIE Chennai, co-hosted with MJDMA, is one of the five successful pan India jewel- FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2015 significant features in their health insurance cover. ‘Health insurance consumers are evolving from being price conscious to being value conscious with majority of them preferring family health plans over individual coverage and opting for a sum insured of is Rs 6-7 lakh. We have also observed that the most common sum insured individuals opt for is Rs five lakh and Rs 10 lakh in case of a family cover. In fact, there has been a two-fold increase in the claims from the segment with a ticket size of over Rs 10 lakh since last year’, Max Bupa head-Marketing Anika Agarwal said. Foreign Trade Policy likely on 1 April New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI): The government is likely to unveil the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) on 1 April, which is expected roll out incentives to boost exports. ‘We are trying to unveil the new FTP on 1 April. It will be aligned with Make In India, Digital India, ease of doing business and India’s free trade pacts with its partner countries’, a commerce ministry official said. The much-delayed FTP may include sops for labour incentive sectors like leather and handicraft. It is likely to talk about ways to enhance the country’s services exports, the official said. The foreign trade policy, which is usually announced in April, provides guidelines for enhancing exports with the overall objective of pushing economic growth and generating employment. of animation and VFX industries will grow by 16 per cent during next five years. ‘Unlike feature films, animation characters have got long self-life and the sector doesn’t have any language barrier as you can dub the same animation film in a number of languages. Also, it doesn’t have any geographical barrier. The AVGC industry’s revenue comes from merchandise too’. Given the potential the sector offers, both infrastructure and skill development works are taking place in a big way simultaneously and several players are involved in it. One such entity is Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corp (KINFRA), which is into various activities, including film and video services. I, C.A.ANTOO, Son of Thiru Anthony,C.V., born on 5th April 1971(native district: Trichur-Kerala), residing at Old No.28, New No.11, 6th Main Road, Jawahar Nagar, Chennai-600 082, shall henceforth be known as ANTO. C.A.ANTOO PUBLIC NOTICE Public Notice is hereby given to public in general on behalf of my client Mr.G.RAJMOHAN, S/o. Late A.G.Ganapathi, residing at No.11/14, 145th Street, Anna Nagar, Tanjore-6, The property bearing S.No.86/2A, Madampakkam Village, Tambaram Taluk, Kancheepuram District, measuring an extent of 61cents, SRO Tambaram was purchased by my client’s father from Govindammal, by way of Sale Deed dated 20.12.2004, registered as Document NO.8895/2004 at SRO Tambaram, After the death of my client’s father, my client, is in peaceful possession and enjoyment of the above said Property till this date. But unfortunately the above said original sale deed along with original documents (i) 1903/2004, (Power of Attorney) (ii) 3825/1981 (Sale Deed) and Patta (No.694)misplaced while taking xerox in the Redhills Bus terminus on 21 .03.2015. Since the above said original documents are lost, any person who has found shall contact me at the address mentioned hereunder within 7 days from the date of publication of this notice. Public hereby cautioned not to deal with above said immovable property with any person whomsoever except with my client and further if any transaction done (or) made in respect of the property is not binding upon my client. N.ANANDAN & M.SANJEEV KUMAR Advocates 58, Law Chambers, High Court Buildings,Chennai -104. Cell: 98412 13375. IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS (Testamentary & Intestate Jurisdiction) O.P.No. 127 of 2015 In the matter of Indian Succession Act, of XXXIX 1925 AND In the matter of Last Will And Testament of Late L. Saradha 1. V. Varadarajan, S/o. Vadivelu Gounder, No. 140, M.G. Road, Villupuram, Villupuram District, Pin - 605602. 2. Smt. Santha, W/o. Ethirajulu, No. 27/1/1, Muthuvel Layout, K.R. Road, Villupuram, Villupuram District, Pin - 605 602. ...Petitioners. All persons claiming to have any interest in the Estate of the above named Deceased L. Saradha., who died on 24-02-2013 resided at No. 140, M.G. Road, Villupuram, Villupuram District, Pin - 605 602. are hereby cited to come and see the proceedings on 13.04.2015 before the Learned Master sitting in Original Side of High Court of Judicature at Madras on of Letters of Administration. Dated at Chennai on this the 24th day of March, 2015. (K.ARIVALAGAN) Assistant Registrar, Original Side -1,I/C High Court, Chennai - 104. Mr. S.UDAYAKUMAR, Advocate No. 102, Additional Law Chambers High Court Buildings, Chennai - 600 104. Read Every evening PUBLIC NOTICE My client Mr.Vasanthraj Naick, S/o. Mr.Subbappa Naick, resident of No.41, Flat No.112, D.L.F. Garden City, O.M.R., Chemmancherri has lost his original Sale Deed dated 10.11.2006, Document No.14060/ 2006 at Joint II S.R.O., Chengalpattu and copies of parent documents pertaining to vacant Plot No.732, Maraaimalai Nagar Co-operative Maha Nagar Phase II, comprised in Survey No.104/ 2 In Panangottur village, Chengalpattu Taluk, Kancheepuram District measuring 2400 Sq. Feet. If anybody found the original, please return to my client. In case, anyone misuses the said original, It will not bind upon my client. A.SENTHIL KUMAR, Advocate, 352, Addl. Law Chamber, High Court, Chennal-104. 6 FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2015 Sports Oz media laments India’s flop show Australian team comes in for praise Sydney, Mar 27 (PTI): Restrained in their criticism of the Indian cricket team, the usually aggressive Australian media was in celebratory mode as it focussed on lavishing praise on Michael Clarke’s men for ousting the World Cup defending champions with a comprehensive semifinal triumph. Chasing a stiff target of 329, India were all out for 233 in 46.5 overs and the media here said that the likes of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (65) and Virat Kohli (1) failed to inspire their team when it mattered the most. ‘If India were going to have any chance of chasing down Australia’s target, it was going to come down to one of Dhoni or Kohli to go the distance but neither managed to,’ a Indian shuttlers sizzle New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI): Rising Indian shuttler H S Prannoy scripted the biggest upset of the day at the Yonex Sunrise Indian Super Series, stunning top seed and World No.2 Jan Jorgensen of Denmark to enter the quarterfinals of the $ 275,000 event, here yesterday. Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth also won their respective matches to make it to the last-eight stage. But it was Prannoy’s high-voltage encounter that saw some spectacular strokes, a contentious line call and India coach Pullela Gopichand losing his cool, even as the 22-year-old player came out with flying colours with a 18-21 21-14 21-14 win over the All England finalist at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. In the adjacent court, Saina Nehwal defeated birthday girl Ruthvika Shivani Gadde 21-16 21-17 but not after the national champion posed a few questions to the All England finalist, especially in the second game where she was leading 13-10 at one stage. Later in the day, Srikanth saw off Japan’s Kento Momota 21-12 15-21 2115, while RMV Gurusaidutt prevailed over young Sameer Verma 18-21 21-19 21-18. Among other Indians in fray, Commonwealth games champion Parupalli Kashyap paid for his series of errors as he went down 17-21 11-21 to China’s Xue Song in the pre-quarters. Indonesia Masters winner Prannoy, who had beaten Jorgensen in 2013 Japan Open, played a fast paced game and went neck-and-neck with Jorgensen 17-17 before the Dane marched ahead. The Indian was finding it difficult to counter Jorgensen’s better forehand returns. The Australians humbled India to set up a final clash with neighbours New Zealand. report in the Daily Telegraph said. ‘There was hope for India for as long as MS Dhoni was still at the crease, but in the semi-final of the World Cup the Indian skipper simply gave up. Dhoni, possibly playing in his last ODI after his shock retirement from Test cricket recently, top-scored for India City Sports Myneni bites the dust NT Bureau Chennai, Mar 27: Top-seeded Indian Davis Cupper Saketh Myneni came a cropper against fifth-seeded Russian Ivan Gakhov, losing in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the MCC-SR Subramaniam Memorial ITF Men's Futures tennis tournament here yesterday. Ivan Gakhov, who beat Saketh 6-3, 7-6 (1) and faces local player N Sriram Balaji in the semifinal. The other semifinal Tennis would be between V M Ranjeet and Vijay Sundar Prashanth. In the doubles semi-finals, top seeds Sriram Balaji and V M Ranjeeth comfortably beat Akash Wagh and Anvit Bendre in two easy sets while the popular Sood brothers -- Chandril and Lakshit -- defeated fourth seeds Nikky Poonacha and P C Vignesh in straight sets. Results: Main draw singles: Quarterfinals: V M Ranjeet bt Antoine-Michel Alexeev (Sui) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Vijay Sundar Prashanth bt M Descotte (Arg) 6-1, 6-0; N Sriram Balaji bt Yannick Thivant (Fra) 4-6, 6-4, 2-1 ret; Ivan Gakhov (Rus) bt Saketh Myneni 6-3, 7-6(1). Doubles: Chandril Sood/Lakshit Sood bt Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha/ Vignesh Peranamallur 6-4, 6-3; N Sriram Balaji/Ranjeet bt Anvit Bendre/Akash Wagh 6-2, 6-4. Kerala Police wins Kerala Police defeated South Central Railway (SCR) 25-18, 2512, 25-20 in a women’s match at the P John Memorial all-India volleyball tournament on Thursday. Other results: Men: TN Police bt ICF 25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 26-24; Western Railway bt Rajasthan 20-25, 25-20, 25-10, 25-18; SRM University bt Income Tax 25-20, 15-25, 25-20, 17-25, 15-13. Women: Southern Railway bt Western Railway 25-19, 25-22, 25-15. On Wednesday: Men: SRM bt Karnataka 20-25, 25-19, 2522, 19-25, 15-8; Indian Bank bt Income Tax 31-29, 25-19, 25-18. Women: Kerala Police bt Southern Railway 25-17, 26-24, 21-25, 25-16. Cricket camp Blue Sky CA will conduct a coaching camp for boys and girls in the age group 6-16 from 15 April to 31 May at St Paul's HSS, Vepery. For details contact V G Lakshmi Raj at 9841790992. with 65 before being run out by Glenn Maxwell. ‘It was a superb throw, but Dhoni seemed to retire halfway down the pitch. There was no dive, no lastditch attempt to make his ground, he simply ran straight down the tunnel. And with him vanished India’s last sliver of hope,’ the report said. The report quoted former England captain Kevin Pietersen as having expressed surprise to Dhoni not even sliding his bat to reach to his crease. ‘I don’t know what Dhoni was doing here -- he could have made it. Absolutely he could have made it,’ Pietersen said. Another newspaper Sydney Morning Herald also described Dhoni’s innings as ‘bizarre’. ‘Any questions over whether Australia’s total of 328 for 7 would be enough were answered, although the nerves did not subside until Dhoni’s bizarre 65 was brought to an end. Daria Gavrilova defensive skills. Venus Williams began her 16th appearance at Key Biscayne by beating qualifier Urszula Radwanska 6-3, 6-2. Radwanska’s sister, Agnieszka, won, as did former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. Juan Martin del Potro, playing for the first time since 15 January, lost in the first round to Vasek Pospisil, 6-4, 7-6 (7). Del Potro had been sidelined with a lingering left wrist injury. ‘I don’t feel frustrated,’ del Potro said. ‘I have to take the positive things on my comeback. The score doesn’t matter for now.’ Ranked 97th, Gavrilova cracked the top 100 this week for the first time. She’s making a comeback from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in 2013. Del Potro, who won the 2009 US Open, had wrist surgery a year ago and played in just four tournaments Sex talk stumps Clarke Sydney, Mar 27 (AFP): Australia captain Michael Clarke was momentarily stumped by a bungled question which appeared to be about his sex life as he celebrated World Cup semi-final win over India. Clarke, who had just led the co-hosts to a crushing 95-run win against the defending champions, was facing the media at the post-match press conference at the Sydney Cricket Ground, when he was asked to comment on ‘the tremendous sex’ he had enjoyed since taking over as captain. The embarrassed reporter quickly corrected himself, telling Clarke he had meant to say ‘the tremendous success’. ‘How well do you know me?’ Clarke asked the journalist as man-of-the-match Steve Smith, who was sitting next to him, laughed. ‘It’s a question for my wife,’ said the skipper. Australia will face trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in Sunday’s final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Michael Clarke Downcast Dhoni seeks changes to ODI rules Melbourne, Mar 27 (PTI): A staunch critic of the ICC’s fourfielder theory which has led to regular run-riots in one-dayers, India cricket captain Mahendra Singh feels the current rule should be changed as it heavily favours batsmen. With lack of a seamer-all-rounder, Dhoni’s struggle was evident yesterday when his fifth bowler -- left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja -- failed to check the flow of runs in the lost World Cup semifinal against South Africa. Dhoni has time and again made it clear that India’s bowling has been affected by this rule of not having more than four fielders outside the 30-yard circle. ‘It’s my personal opinion, I would like them to change it. In the history of cricket, we have not seen double hundreds in ODIs and now in three years’ time you see three double hundreds (actual number is six) being scored,’ the Indian captain said. From India only, there are four double hundreds in ODIs with Rohit Wins for TN, Hyderabad Kochi, Mar 27 (PTI): Tirumalasetti Suman’s blistering 93 off just 61 balls set up Hyderabad’s 82-run win over Andhra in the South Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Trophy here yesterday. In another match, Tamilnadu edged Kerala by two wickets with four balls to spare after overcoming a shaky start. Gavrilova sends Sharapova packing Key Biscayne, Mar 27: Maria Sharapova is 0-5 in Key Biscayne finals. This year her loss came at the start. Seeded No. 2, Sharapova was upset in her opening match Thursday night by wild-card Daria Gavrilova, 7-6 (4), 6-3. The 21-year-old Gavrilova, who was born in Moscow and is based in Australia, earned her first victory over a top-10 player with a poised, aggressive effort before a near-capacity stadium-court crowd. Sharapova said she went into the match knowing little about Gavrilova. But Gavrilova was well acquainted with the Siberia-born Sharapova. ‘I have been dreaming about beating Maria since I was probably 12, when I saw her win Wimbledon,’ Gavrilova said. ‘She was my idol. She was just huge in Russia.’ Sharapova lost serve four times, struggled with her return and found herself in a succession of long rallies, thanks to the 5-foot-5 Gavrilova’s CHENNAI in 2014. His ranking has fallen to No. 616, and his rustiness showed against Pospisil, to the disappointment of a partisan stadium crowd rooting for the Argentine. Del Potro said he felt fine physically after the match. He said his wrist is not yet 100 per cent, but it’s improving week by week. Venus Williams, seeded 16th, lost serve three times and committed 21 unforced errors but still advanced in barely an hour. The typically windy weather on the island required an adjustment, she said. Aside from Williams, American women went 0-3, with Madison Brengle, Christina McHale and Varvara Lepchenko losing. Wozniacki, seeded No. 4, beat Brengle, 6-0, 6-1. No. 9 Andrea Petkovic swept McHale 6-2, 6-2. No. 28 Lepchenko was eliminated by Kaia Kanepi 6-2, 6-4. Sharma being the owner of two, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag having one each. Among others, Chris Gayle and Martin Guptill have scored a double ton each. ‘A lot of people might say that a lot of dot balls that are being bowled because of that extra fielder inside. If that’s the case (logic), rather than having the option of keeping fielders outside, you might as well bring all 11 inside the circle to have more dot balls,’ Dhoni said taking a dig at the ICC rule with straight face. Dhoni didn’t take a backward step while calling the rule a ‘harsh’ one. ‘I feel the rules are slightly harsh. Maybe slightly more harsh on the spinners, who like to deceive the batsmen with their flight or perhaps like to challenge them. Now you have these all batsmen playing sweeps, reverse sweeps and all these different shots, and they have an advantage. Dhoni defended an under-fire Virat Kohli for his indiscreet shot selection in the semi-final clash. Asked if Kohli’s shot selection was reflective of the pressure on him, Dhoni batted strongly for his deputy. M S Dhoni Smith’s golden summer goes on and on Sydney, Mar 27: Steve Smith’s golden summer just keeps on getting better. Australia’s new run-scoring machine just can’t seem to do any wrong and now he’s off to the World Cup final. Smith has been piling on the runs and breaking records all summer long. And on Thursday, in one of the biggest matches of his blossoming career, he did it again, scoring a match-winning century in the World Cup semi-final against India. Smith’s 105 was a composed and perfectly-constructed innings. He came to the crease early after Australia lost David Warner in the fourth over and quickly settled the host nation’s nerves. The 25-yearold reached his fourth straight half century at the World Cup in 53 balls then his hundred off 89 balls, which he brought up with a six and a four off successive balls. He departed soon after but the job had been done. Australia went on to post a massive total of 328 for 7 and India could only manage 233 in reply. ‘We thought 330 was around par. We knew we had to bowl and field well,’ Smith said after being named man of the match. ‘The boys did a terrific job tonight. Bring on Melbourne.’ Australia will play New Zealand in the final in Melbourne on Sunday. For Smith, his century continued his amazing run of form with the bat this summer. In the four-Test series against India, which started in November, he scored a century in every match. In the months leading up to the World Cup, he also scored one- Steve Smith day international centuries against South Africa and England before notching his first World Cup hundred on Thursday.And for good measure, he also pulled off a brilliant piece of fielding, running out Ravindra Jadeja with a direct hit. Smith’s extraordinary run has coincided with his surprise promotion to the Australian captaincy. When regular skipper Michael Clarke hobbled out of the first test against India with a hamstring injury, Smith was given the nod as Australia’s 45th test skipper and hasn’t looked back. ‘It’s nice to contribute to a few wins. Mixed Bag CHENNAI FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2015 A STATESMAN qV Vajpayee to be honoured with country’s highest award NT Bureau Pres President Pranab Mukherjee will confer Bharat A Ratna Award on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence in New Delhi later today. Mi Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and a select group of senior Ministers and party leaders w will be present. Awards EARLIER DAYS E Vajpayee was b born on 25 December, 1924, in Gwalior, Madhya Prades Pradesh to Krishna Bihari Vajpayee and Krishna Devi. As a te teenager, Vajpayee was jailed briefly for opposing B British colonial rule. He flirted with communism b before choosing to support the Rashtriya Swamya Swamyamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Jan Sangh. He also als dropped out of law school to run an RSS magazine in the early 1950s. Later, he tran transcended his political roots in the RSS to em emerge as the moderate voice of the BJP. TMC extends support to ryots’ bandh call NT Bureau Chennai, Mar 27: The Tamil Manila Congress (TMC) will join the State-wide bandh tomorrow, called by farmers’ association across Tamilnadu, protesting Karnataka’s move to build a dam across river Cauvery. This was decided after a meet attended by various farmer associations and political parties, including TMC. Farmers’ bodies in Tamilnadu met Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, and sought the government’s support for the same. In a press release, announcing the TMC’s participation in the bandh, the party president G K Vasan said, ‘As per rules for water rights for riparian States, which is something followed worldwide, it is mandatory that every bit of agricultural land must receive water for cultivation. And Karnataka government refuses to let the 192 tmc-ft reach Tamilnadu, which is contempt of court, as their government ignores the orders of Supreme Court’. ‘Karnataka government’s decision to construct dams across certain regions along Cauvery is outrageous, and to express the opposition and protest against this move by Karnataka, also to urge the Central government to deny nod for such projects and to make Karnataka release the specified amount of water, the bandh has been called for on on 28 March’. FIRST PM FROM BJP Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first person from the Bharatiya Janata Party to become the Prime Minister of India. He was sworn in as Prime Minister for three times - 1996, 1998, 1999. However, the first two times, the number 13 proved unlucky for him. Vajpayee was conferred Padma Vibhushan in 1992 in recognition of his services to the nation. He was also conferred the Lokmanya Tilak Puruskar and the Bharat Ratna Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant Award for the Best Parliamentarian, both in 1994. Earlier, the Kanpur University honoured him with an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in 1993. Political career Vajpayee was Prime Minister of India from 16-31May, 1996, and then again from 19 March, 1998 to 13 May, 2004. With his swearing-in as Prime Minister after the Parliamentary election of October 1999, he became the first and only person since Jawaharlal Nehru to occupy the office of the Prime Minister of India through three successive Lok Sabhas. Vajpayee was the first Prime Minister since Indira Gandhi to lead his party to victory in successive elections. 7 Noted Parliamentarian Vajpayee has been a Member of Parliament since 1957. He was elected to the 5th, 6th and 7th Lok Sabha and again to the 10th, 11th 12th and 13th Lok Sabha and to Rajya Sabha in 1962 and 1986. In 2004, he was to Parliament from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh for the fifth time consecutively. He is the only Parliamentarian elected from four different States at different times - UP, Gujarat, MP and Delhi. His legacy as Prime Minister is a rich one that is remembered and cherished even a decade after his term ended. It included the Pokhran nuclear tests, astute and wise economic policies that laid the foundations of the longest period of sustained growth in independent Indian history, massive infrastructure projects such as those related to development of national highways and the Golden Quadrilateral. Few Indian Prime Ministers have left such a dramatic impact on society. ‘Modi one among world’s greatest leaders’ q Obama dropped for second year in a row from Fortune’s annual list New York, Mar 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi have been named among the 50 greatest leaders in the world by Fortune magazine in its annual list of ‘extraordinary’ men and women transforming business, government and philanthropy. Modi is ranked 5th on the 2015 roster of ‘World’s Greatest Leaders’ with Satyarthi coming in at the 28th spot. The list has been topped by Apple CEO Tim Cook. A notable exclusion from the list is US President Barack Obama, who has not been named in the list for a second year in a row. Fortune said that ‘faced with difficult circumstances’ domestically and globally, Obama has ‘surrendered’. On Modi, Fortune said the Indian leader has ‘actually’ begun to deliver on his election promises and is ‘making genuine progress’ in his efforts to make India more business-friendly and less regulated, addressing violence against women, improving sanitation and ‘patching up relations with other Asian countries and the US’. On Modi, Fortune said the Indian leader has ‘actually’ begun to deliver on his election promises and is ‘making genuine progress’ in his efforts to make India more business-friendly It said there is still a ‘long way to go’ and fully achieving Modi’s goals will require ‘reforming India’s powerful, widely corrupt bureaucracy.’ Fortune noted that Modi has put the bureaucrats on notice and has been taking action where he can. He has also greatly simplified the procedure for getting a visa to visit India, symbolically lowering the status of bureaucrats and raising that of potential outside investors, it added. ‘Modi still faces such huge challenges as privatizing India’s vast portfolio of state-owned businesses and deregulating labour markets. But simply by declaring those as goals, Hit-and-run case: Court to record Salman’s statement Mumbaim, Mar 27: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has reportedly reached a sessions court in Mumbai to record his statement on the 13-year-old hit-and-run case in which he allegedly ran his vehicle over pavement dwellers. A person was killed and four others were injured. Salman has been ordered to personally appear before Additional Sessions Judge D.W. Deshpande to record his statement under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on the evidence and sequence of events in the case. The development follows the closure of submission of evidence against the actor by prosecutor Pradeep Gharat and is the crucial stage in the ongoing day-to-day re-trial before the final arguments begin. The processional deity of Kasi Vishwanathar Temple at West Mambalam in Chennai was taken on rounds on Adigara Nandi as part of Brahmotsavam celebration. As part of annual 10-day Panguni Uthiram festival, special pooja was performed to the temple flag at Sri Siva Subramania Swamy temple in Veludaiyanpattu, Neyveli on Wednesday. Dornier crash: Body of third officer found Panaji, Mar 27: Rescuers today recovered the missing body of Lt Abhinav Nagori from the fuselage of the crashed Dornier-228 maritime surveillance aircraft. Flight data recorders have also been recovered from the fuselage and search and rescue operations have been called off. Lt Nagori’s body, meanwhile, is being brought to Goa. Lt Nagori was among the three crew members of the ill-fated Dornier-228 aircraft which crashed into the Arabian Sea near Goa earlier this week. While the body of Lt Kiran Shekhawat was found on Thursday, Commander Nikhil Kuldip Joshi was rescued alive when the crash happened on Tuesday night. he has seized control of the national agenda and sent a message that it’s time for all of India - not just its infotech services sector - to join the 21st century,’ Fortune said, citing forecasts by the IMF that India will be growing faster than China in the next couple of years. On Satyarthi, Fortune said while he had been ‘overshadowed’ by last year’s other recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize Malala Yousafzai, Satyarthi has led the global fight against child labour for more than three decades. It said no one has done as much to prevent child labour as he has. Tamilnadu State BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan distributing sweets to cadres at Kamalayam in Chennai today, to celebrate the country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna being conferred on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Senior BJP leader L Ganesan is present. Indian Coast Guard Director General Vice Admiral HCS Bisht called on Tamilnadu Governor K Rosaiah at Raj Bhavan in Chennai today. ‘Kiwis up against Aussie brawn’ New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI): With New Zealand at the cusp of World Cup glory, former captain Martin Crowe has said the Black Caps will have to dig deep into their resources if they have to beat Australia as it will be a ‘high emotion’ title clash between the trans-Tasman rivals. New Zealand go unbeaten into the title clash in Melbourne on Sunday and even though the Brendon McCullum-led side has won all their eight matches on home shores, playing in Australia would certainly test their true mettle. Crowe believes that Australia will certainly be a tough opposition to match. ‘It’s the unknown. Nobody played at MCG, probably only Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum, I am not sure. But they will have to dig in their reservoir of resources, their own own resilience and that’s where they are playing their game from,’ Crowe told <I>PTI<P> in an exclusive interview ahead of the World Cup final. ‘I don’t think the grounds are going to have too much of a difference but up against Australia it’s certainly going to be a high fever emotion in cricket’s silicon valley,’ he said. The Kiwis have got the better of Australia in the league stages when they edged past the Kangaroos by one wicket in a low-scoring thriller at Eden Park, Auckland, but Crowe still feels that the Michael Clarke-led side is a hard nut to crack. ‘I mean Australia bring a very powerhouse kind of game. It’s a lot of brawn and they are very bullish about it,’ said Crowe. It will also be a battle of pacers when Trent Boult, leading the wickets pack in the showpiece event with 21 from eight matches, and company, lock horns with the likes of Mitchell Starc (20 wickets), Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood. Crowe has a lot faith in the ability of Kiwi fast bowlers. ‘New Zealand have got a lot more skill in the fast bowling department, with their fast swing,’ he said. Despite the presence of spinners like Daniel Vettori and Glenn Maxwell in the respective sides, Crowe opines spin will not play much of a part at the MCG. ‘Spin played a huge part in this World Cup, but MCG is a big ground and I don’t think spin will dominate proceedings. And even if it does the New Zealand side have been able to meet up all the challenges so far,’ Crowe said. Remind him of the 1992 World Cup campaign, when they lost to eventual winners Pakistan in the semi-finals, Crowe says that cricket has come a long way in 25 years. ‘Different time, different era, different conditions, different rules, different everything. The game is played at a much faster pace, the rules favour the batsman. So it’s not possible to compare the fact that they have gone one further than 1992. They have broken the semi-final barrier and now they are on the verge of something pretty special,’ said the former batsman. Dharmasena to officiate in WC final Dubai, Mar 27 (PTI): Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena and England’s Richard Kettleborough were today appointed onfield umpires for the ICC Cricket World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand on Sunday in Melbourne. ‘Kumar Dharmasena and Richard Kettleborough will be the two on-field umpires,’ the ICC said in a statement. Sri Lanka’s Ranjan Madugalle was named the match referee for the high-octane clash between the trans-Tasmanian rivals. While Australia beat India by 95 runs in their semifinal clash, New Zealand got the better of South Africa in their last-four stage match. The match official appointments are as follows: March 29: Australia v New Zealand, Melbourne - Ranjan Madugalle (match referee), Kumar Dharmasena and Richard Kettleborough (both on-field umpires), Marais Erasmus (third umpire), Ian Gould (fourth umpire). 8FRIDAY 27 MARCH 2015 , CHENNAI Licensed to post without prepayment under WPP. No. TN / PMG / (CCR) / WPP-470 / 15-17 SYDNEY/NEW DELHI: A pall of gloom descended on the Indian dressing room after the team’s campaign in the World Cup came to an agonising end here Thursday, and the pain of losing the semi-finals engulfed the entire cricketcrazy nation that was left grief-stricken. Disappointment was writ large on the faces of players and their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni after they succumbed to pressure against the clinical Australians, who decimated the defending champions by 95 The lowdown after the highs runs to romp into the finals and break a million Indian hearts. While Dhoni and his men managed to put up a brave face at the post-match presentation ceremony, many broke down at the Sydney Cricket Ground and miles away from the hallowed turf. Angst was also one of emotions on display in a country that lives by the cliche ‘cricket is religion and cricketers are God(s)’. A man reportedly broke his television set in Ranchi, the hometown of Dhoni, while a few of them were learnt to have burnt the posters of their favourite icons. While a family in the capital has gone into mourning cancelling a planned weekend celebration, in Mumbai and Kolkata, supporters of the Men in Blue were seen consoling each other with a hug after the defeat. The Indians in Australia and back in India had planned their Sunday keeping the grand finale in mind, only to see their hopes being dashed by this loss. ‘I had planned a leave on Sunday hoping to watch the match in the comforts of my home. I begged my boss to grant me leave... now I am feeling shattered, so badly Umesh Yadav’s dismissal brought the curtains down on India’s World Cup challenge. President, PM laud team President Pranab Mukherjee lauded the Indian cricket team for its brave showing despite being knocked out by Australia in the semifinals of the World Cup in Sydney. ‘Well played Team India, better luck for the next World Cup; Congratulations Australia on an excellent game,!’ Mukherjee wrote on his Twitter handle. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had words of praise for the cricketers and wrote on his Twitter handle: ‘Victory & defeat are a part of life. Team India played great cricket throughout the tournament. We are proud of them.’ Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, too, supported the team. ‘Team India had worked real hard. They played quality game today,’ Sonowal said. I wanted them to win,’ said Trisha, a young journalist. Shiny, a software professional, also had her plans chalked out in advance. ‘After such a great run, losing in this manner was something we could never imagine. It is definitely a very sad moment for all of us,’ she said, flanked by her team members. Similar was the reaction of Debolina and Shoumik, a doctor couple. It was not only the youngsters but the elderly ones were also affected by the reverse. The build-up to the mega event had raised more apprehension than hope amid rumours of all not being well in the dressing room, but the team’s stunning turnaround after the winless Test and ODI campaign Down Under raised hopes of a second successive world title. ‘I don’t know whether I will live to see India win an ODI World Cup title again, the most prized achievement in cricket,’ said 79-year-old Gulshan Lal Khanna, a retired professor. In an engrossing semifinal clash, four-time champions Australia rode on Steve Smith’s classy 105 to post an imposing 328 for 7 before bundling out India for 233 in 46.5 overs to set up a summit clash with trans-Tasmanian rivals and co-hosts New Zealand in Melbourne on Sunday. After a dream run which saw them win seven matches on the trot, India’s quest for a second successive World Cup title was finally thwarted by the formidable Australians, who outplayed Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s bravehearts in every department at the fully-packed SCG. — PTI The final will be played at Melbourne on 29 March (Sunday) Laver’s willow connection WAIPAWA (NEW ZEALAND): Few cricket fans have heard of James Laver, even though the master craftsman’s bats -- likened to ‘Stradivarius in willow’ -have graced the innings of legends such as Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting. Laver works in relative anonymity in the hamlet of Waipawa on New Zealand’s North Island, hand-carving bats for his boutique Laver & Wood label while also supplying some of the world’s top players. But elite batsmen inevitably have lucrative endorsement contracts with major manufacturers, so the bats he makes for the stars appear with the sponsor’s name on, rather than Laver’s. Laver explained he has an understanding with major manufacturers that he can James Laver talk about retired players who have used his blades, but not those who are still playing. The result is polite evasiveness when trying to determine the level of Laver’s involvement in Sunday’s Cricket World Cup final between New Zealand and Australia. Can he confirm his bats will be used in the decider at the Melbourne Cricket Ground?: ‘Yes’ Can he say who will be using them?: ‘No,’ he replies with a twinkle in his eye. “But they’ll be on both sides.’ ‘People often ask if I get frustrated that my name’s not on there but it’s not like that,’ he said. ‘I know my bats will be used in a World Cup final regardless, and that’s quite cool, in a way.’ Drifts of wood shavings reach knee high in the corners of Lavers’ factory, where bats of every kind line walls and shelves -from rough-hewn ‘clefts’ of imported English willow, to split, battle-scarred blades sent by clients around the world to be replaced. After one half-formed bat has gone through a mechanical press -- two tonnes of pressure to compress the wood and harden the face -- Laver administers a quick ‘thwack, thwack, thwack’ with a mallet. — PTI ‘India apart, Asian sides disappointed’ KARACHI: Former Pakistani cricketers rued the failure of any Asian team to make it to the cricket World Cup final after Australia beat India by 95 runs in the second semifinal in Sydney on Thursday. ‘It is the first time since 1987 that we don’t have an Asian team in the World Cup final and it shows just Vaibhav in Stanley’s film S S Stanley of April Madhathil fame will return to direction with a movie to be produced by filmmaker A R Murugadoss. Interestingly, it would have Vaibhav playing the hero. Says Vaibhav ‘I have also signed projects with Vision how much work needs to be done by teams in the south Asian region to catch up with the changing face of cricket,’ Pakistan’s former captain Rashid Latif said. He said while India had managed to reach the semi-finals because their players had benefited from playing in Australia since the last four months but other Asian teams disappointed in the World Cup. ‘I think the foreign players particularly those from New Zealand and Australia have changed their approach to limited overs cricket because of their continued exposure in the IPL. Which is why we see these two teams in the final,’ he said. I Medias of Aranmanai fame and Kushbu Sundar C’s Avni Cinemax.’ ‘I am a director’s actor. Years of hard work are paying dividends and I am glad that I am in the orbit of glory’. — NT Bureau Former Test batsman Muhammad Yousuf admitted that Asian teams now need to change their way of playing limited overs cricket. ‘It goes without saying a lot has changed since when we played. The sort of attacking batsmanship we see nowadays from Australian and New Zealand batsmen has to be emulated by our players as well. The mental approach has to change,’ he said. He did not agree that having the World Cup in New Zealand and Australia benefited the hosts. ‘I don’t think pitches or conditions matter that much now. It is just that the finalists have improved in the last four years.’ Vijay Sethupathi turns cop V ijay Sethupathi and Ramya Nambeesan acted together in Pizza. The movie was a huge hit. Now the duo are at it again. For an untitled movie to be produced by Wansun Pictures and di- rected by Arun Kumar of Pannayarum Padminiyum fame, Vijay Sethupathi will pair up with Ramya Nambeesan. The movie is a cop’s story and Vijay Sethupathi plays a police officer. Horror time for Srikanth S owcarpettai, the next venture of Mynaa producer John Max, is Srikanth’s first horror thriller. Moreover, he also dons his first dual role with the flick. ‘It’s the first time I’m doing a double role. I’m also trying my hand at the horror and thriller genres with Sowcarpettai. Its very different from the usual chocolate boy and romantic roles I’ve done so far. So I’m really kicked that director Vadivudaiyaan saw another facet inside me and will be bringing out a very aggressive and hitherto unseen look.’ The film is touted to be a full blown commercial flick and Srikanth will be teaming up with Vivekh again. The shoot starts in the first week of April in Chennai. — NT Bureau Former Test opener and coach Mohsin Khan said that losing the semi-final was a setback for Indian cricket. ‘There was this feeling India could beat Australia as they were on a roll but I think the Australians showed more intent and purpose and withstood the pressure better than the Indians,’ he said. — PTI Dinesh Krishnan cranks the camera while music is by Nivas K Prasanna. Producer Shan Sudharshan, says, ‘It will be a gripping entertainer. Shooting will commence shortly’. — NT Bureau What is Araathu about? A ctor Vishal’s next film is titled after Rajinikanth’s 1983 blockbuster Paayum Puli. This is the second time Vishal has named his movie after Rajinikanth’s film. Last year, Vishal’s thriller Naan Sigappu Manithan was also named after a Rajinikanth film. The makers of Paayum Puli announced the title on Twitter on Thursday. Being directed by Suseenthiran, the movie features Vishal as an undercover policeman in Madurai. The film, which is said to be based on a true story, also features Kajal Aggarwal and Samuthirakani in important roles. — NT Bureau Vishal &X-Files Rajini is back OK Kanmani pushed to 24 April M ani Ratnam’s O Kadhal Kanmani will be releasing on 24 April and the news has been confirmed by Prime Media who will be distributing the film in USA. Produced by Madras Talkies, O Kadhal Kanmani has music by AR Rahman and already the Mental Ma- nadhil song was a big hit. The film has Dulquer Salmaan, Nithya Menon, Prakash Raj, Leela Samson, Lakshman, Ramya Subramanian, Kaniha and many others to its star cast.Studio Green will be releasing O Kadhal Kanmani in Tamilnadu. — NT Bureau Director Vincent Selva, who made films like Priyamudan, Youth and Jithan, has changed his name as Piriyamudan Shelvaa. Now the director is gearing up with his next venture Araathu. Araathu is scripted based of true story set around North Madras.’It will be rustic. It carries a cute subject and I had balanced both love and war in equal proportion’, he says. Vijay Karthick plays the male lead and Champi is cast opposite him. Dangamari fame Viji is penning and crooning two songs. SK is cranking camera and music is by Sandeep Chowta. — NT Bureau Published by K. Balakumar on behalf of News Today Media (P) Ltd., from 85, Mount Road (GST Road), Guindy, Chennai 600 032 and printed by him at Frontline Printers Private Ltd., M-7, Thiru-Vi-Ka Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai 600 032. 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