Hyderabad, Thursday, April 2, 2015

Transcription

Indian
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RNI No: APENG/2010/35309
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Volume
Issue No: 183
No: 6
Horizon
English Daily
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Published from Hyderabad & New Delhi
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Hyderabad, Monday, July 6, 2015
RJD to protest
withholding caste
Census data: Lalu
Bojjala to take up
Section 8 with
Prez today
P-2
Price: 3.00
Hillary Clinton accuses
China of stealing
US secrets
P-8
P-5
College dean helping Vyapam
probe found dead in Delhi
Briefs
“Whiskey and some medicines were found near his bed.
Nothing had been visibly disturbed in the room, and no
external injuries were seen on his body,”
Ramdan Timings
Sahar - 4:14
Iftar - 7:00
EU could grant emergency
loans to Athens:
Martin Schulz
BERLIN, July 5 (IANS) Europe will not “desert” the people of Greece regardless of the
outcome of Sunday’s referendum and may
provide it emergency loans, the head of the
European Parliament said on Sunday.
Martin Schulz told Germany’s Welt am
Sonntag newspaper that the Athens government had manoeuvred the heavily-indebted
country “into a dead end”.
“Perhaps we will have to give emergency
bridging loans to Greece so that public service
can be maintained and needy people get the
money they need to survive,” he said.
“For that, money would be available short
term in Brussels,” the European Parliament
president said in the interview.
But he warned this would not be a lasting
solution. Greeks are voting in a tightly fought
referendum on whether to support the terms
of the country’s potential bailout deal with its
international creditors.
New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) Arun
Sharma, the dean of a medical
college in Madhya Pradesh assisting the police probing the
Vyapam scam, was on Sunday
found dead in a hotel room here,
police said. His body was found
at Uppal Hotel near the Indira
Gandhi International Airport.
He was on his way to Tripura as
a member of an inspection team
of the Medical Council of India.
Sharma, 64, whose college
is in Jabalpur, was assisting
the Special Task Force probing the recruitment scam in
the Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik
Pareeksha Mandal (Vyapam) by
providing documents on fake
medical entrance examinees
in the state-run college, police
said. Delhi Police declined to
comment on Sharma’s death.
“We have contacted his son.
He said his father was a sugar
patient. The family is on its way
to Delhi,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police R.A. Sanjeev.
The officer said the victim
checked into Uppal Hotel Saturday evening and wanted to be
waken up on Sunday morning.
When he did not respond
to the wake up calls, the hotel
staff suspected something was
wrong and called the police.
“The door to his suite was
broken into in the presence of
police. The dean was found on
his bed,” the officer said.
“Whiskey and some medicines were found near his bed.
Nothing had been visibly disturbed in the room, and no external injuries were seen on his
body,” he added.
The body has been sent for
autopsy. “We will await for the
autopsy report before we can
say what caused his death,” said
Sanjeev. The admission and recruitment racket in the Madhya
Pradesh Vyavsayik Pareeksha
Mandal (Vyapam) or the Madhya
Pradesh Professional Examination Board apparently involves
politicians, officials and businessmen.
More than 40 people associated with the scam have died
since 2013. The most highprofile death was of Shailesh
Yadav, son of Madhya Pradesh
Governor Ram Naresh Yadav.
Shailesh, 50, was found dead at
his father’s residence in the Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow on
March 25.
Police reviews security for
govt’s Ifthar party
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS):
Police personnel got ready to
make Ifthar party being hosted by the State government in
the city on July 12 a big success. The police organized a
review meeting at Haj House
at Nampally on Sunday on security arrangements for the
programs to be conducted in
100 mosques on July 12. Muslim religious heads, Imams and
representatives of mosques attended the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion,
ACB Director General A K Khan
urged the section concerned to
make the program a big success.
Stating that there was a chance
that women too may attend the
Ifhtar parties in July 12, Khan
suggested to police personnel to
see that there should not be any
stampede during the distribution
of saris to women. He asked the
Muslim elders to bring any loopholes and mistakes take place on
that day to the notice of police.
Hyderabad City Police Commissioner Mahender Reddy
said both Cyberabad and Hyderabad police wings would
work in tandem on that day
and asked the Mosque Committees to extend cooperation
in this regard.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh honoring family members of soldiers
who sacrificed their lives for the nation, at a rally in Modha village of
Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. PTI
Complaint against
Lalit Modi over tweets
defaming Pranab
New Delhi, July 5 (PTI) Rashtrapati Bhavan has filed a complaint
with Delhi Police against former IPL
commissioner Lalit Modi for posting “defamatory” tweets against
President Pranab Mukherjee and
his secretary Omita Paul.
The complaint sent to Delhi Police Commissioner from
the President’s Secretariat has
screenshots of June 23 and June
25 tweets annexed to it, besides
an 80-page file that Modi, being
probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged money
laundering, had attached to his
tweets.
The document shows a picture
of the President, his secretary
and businessman Vivek Nagpal,
who Modi alleged, had taken
favours from Mr. Mukherjee
during his days in the Finance
Ministry.
Modi had alleged that Mr.
Mukherjee, in his stint as Fi-
nance Minister, pushed the ED
to act against him after he raised
questions about the shareholding pattern in Kochi franchise of
IPL leading to the resignation of
Shashi Tharoor from the Union
Cabinet.
Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi has forwarded the complaint
to the Economic Offences Wing
(EoW) of Delhi Police for necessary action, official sources said,
adding no case has been registered so far.
Legal opinion is being sought
whether the case could be registered under Section 499 and 500
of IPC for criminal defamation
as the tweets intended to bring
disrepute to the President and
his office.
The other option available
with the Delhi Police could be to
approach a local court seeking
a restraint order for Twitter to
block the account.
HYDERABAD
WEATHER FORECAST
Max
Min
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FAJAR
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MAGRIB
ISHA
4:25
12:21
3:43
6:55
8:16
Shiv Sena was not born for
power, Uddhav Thackeray says
MUMBAI, July 5 (PTI) Shiv
Sena will get absolute majority
in Maharashtra one day if the
people of the state decide to
do so, party president Uddhav
Thackeray said here on Sunday.
“Shiv Sena was not born merely for power. If it is in Maharashtra’s destiny, then (one day)
people will say that they will give
power only to the Shiv Sena,”
Thackeray said.
“That day will come,” he said.
The Sena leader was speaking at
an event organized by his party
to distribute vehicles to unemployed Marathi youth, at Sewree
in South Mumbai.
“People didn’t give absolute
power to us in the last assem-
bly elections. However, I did not
say: ‘What next?’ I don’t do such
politics,” Thackeray said.
In a veiled reference to the allegations of ‘scams’ faced by some
BJP ministers, Thackeray said,
“Nowadays we see corruption
everywhere, in media, on TV”.
Meanwhile, Republican Party
of India (Athawale), one of BJP’s
ruling alliance partners in Maharashtra, also cautioned the Devendra Fadnavis-led government
to stay away from scams.
Will do everything possible to make India
innovation hub, says PM Modi in ‘Digital Dialogue’
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday promised
to do everything possible to make
enterprise and innovation easier
so that India emerges as an innovation hub and keeps pace with
the fast changing world.
“The world is changing, quicker
than ever before and we cannot remain oblivious to that. If we don’t
innovate, if we don’t come up with
cutting edge products there will
be stagnation,” he said in a ‘Digital Dialogue’, and added, “On the
part of the government, I assure
absolute support.” Responding to
numerous suggestions with regard
to digitalisation received through
the day on a specially-created platform on social media, Modi said,
“We are doing everything possible
to make enterprise and innovation
easier. We have covered substantial ground in the last 14 months
and want to do a lot more in the
future.”
He said his government wants
India to emerge as the innovation hub where the next big ideas
emerge, driven by the power of
technology. Exhorting people to
keep innovating as “innovation
is what will help us grow faster”,
the Prime Minister particularly
encouraged the start-ups, saying
they are “the engines of exponential growth, manifesting the power
of innovation”. He said that several
big companies of today are startups of yesterday. “They were born
with a spirit of enterprise and adventure kept alive due to hard work
and perseverance and today have
become shining beacons of innovation,” he noted.
To a question on challenges to
the road map of Digital India, Modi
said, “When we have taken up such
an ambitious initiative and that
too at such a large scale, there will
be several challenges.
Dayanidhi Maran
was evasive during
questioning; may be
called again: CBI
New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) Former Telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran was “evasive” during
his questioning by CBI in a case
of alleged abuse of his office in
getting installed high capacity
BSNL lines at his residences to
facilitate speedy transmission
of programmes to a TV firm
owned by his brother and could
be called again.
Highly-placed CBI sources
claimed the 48-year-old Maran,
who held Telecom and IT portfolio
in UPA-I from 2004 to 2007, was
“evasive on many points” during
his 22-hour questioning over three
days beginning last Wednesday.
The sources said his replies to
other points were being verified
and he may be called again for
questioning after the assessment has been completed.
Efforts to reach Maran for comments failed as he neither answered telephone calls nor replied
to text messages. Maran had told
reporters on Thursday outside
the CBI headquarters that he had
submitted documents collected
through RTI from MTNL and
BSNL, which he claimed, showed
he had not violated any norms or
guidelines of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
CBI had registered a case
naming Maran, the then Chief
General Manager (CGM), BSNL,
K Bramhanathan and then CGM
of Chennai Telephones M P Veluswami for allegedly entering
into a criminal conspiracy and
causing a huge financial loss to
the government exchequer.
In its FIR, CBI had said over
323 high data capacity lines were
installed at Maran’s residences
in Chennai and Delhi, but subsequent probe led to discovery of
over 770 such lines.The CBI began
its probe in 2011, nearly four years
after receiving complaints that a
‘virtual’ telephone exchange had
been configured at Maran’s house
for illicit use by Sun TV network
owned by his brother Kalanithi.
2
Indian Horizon, Hyderabad
City
News Brief
Dawat-E-Ifthar likely
on July 12
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): Telangana
Government is likely to deferred DawathE-Ifthar party as part of Ramzan festival to
Muslim Brethren on July 12 instead of previously set date of July 8.
According to informed sources, the government has deferred the date to a new
date for some reasons. Deputy Chief Minister Mahamood Ali reportedly said that
they have postponed the Ifthar party at
Nizam College to July 12, it is learnt. It may
be noted here that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has announced Rs 26 cr for
conducting the Ramzan festival across the
state. KCR also announced Rs 1,000 salary
to each of Imams and Mouzars of about
5000 mosques in the state and also offered
to distribute free clothes worth Rs 500 to
each of 1.95 lakh poor Muslims on the occasion.
KTR to launch e-Health
Center at Jadcherla
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): Health Minister, Dr C Lakshma Reddy today said that
Jadcherla in Mahabubnagar district will
soon get an e Health Centre. Participating in Harithaharam program at Jadcherla
town here on Sunday, the minister said
that IT Minister KT Rama Rao will launch
the e-health center. This center will be
linked with district hospital online to provide 24 hour medical services to the people. On becoming operational, the project
will sure prove handy as it caters to the
timely needs of the patients with doctors
giving suggestions and instructions on
keeping healthy, Lakshma Reddy stated.
Soon this type of facility will be extended
to all districts in a phased manner, the
minister noted.
Certificates verification
for lectureship from
July 8
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): Those who
have qualified in State Eligibility Test (SET)
-2014 can verify their certificates from July
8 to 17, according to sources. The SET is
meant for appointment of lecturers in universities and colleges across the state. The
verification of the certificates will be done
at the regional centers from 10.30 am to 5
pm, according to information.
I won’t leave
Congress: Danam
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): Refuting reports that he was planning to join the ruling TRS, GHCC president Danam Nagender has made it clear that he would remain
in the party. He alleged that some leaders
in the party were trying to send him out
and giving false information to the party
high command.
Speaking to the media here on Sunday, Danam said apart from launching a
‘Padayatra’ in the Greater Hyderabad on
citizens’ problems, he would also tour all
Telangana districts to strengthen the Congress party. Referring to the exit of former
APCC chief D Srinivas, the former minister
said DS lost respect, which he received in
the Congress. He suggested to the ruling
party to give posts to students and stop
‘Operation Aakarsh’.
Warning Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao against dictatorial attitude,
Danam said KCR too would face the fate
of former chief minister Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy. “Everyone knows what Kiran
Kumar Reddy was doing now”, he said.
Throwing a challenge to TRS over GHMC
elections, Danam asked the Seemandhra
voters living in Hyderabad to give a fitting
verdict to the TRS.
One held for duping
youths
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): CCS Marketing
Intelligence Team here today nabbed one
K. Sathish alias Swamy alias Ravi at Punjagutta for collecting huge amounts from
innocent people and cheating them.
The police said the accused gave a false
advertisement in a Telugu newspaper offering Data Entry work at the rate of Rs
90 per page. When those interested in the
work called the accused on the given numbers, the accused asked them to deposit
Rs 3,000 towards security deposit. The
accused was carrying on his fraudulent
business from D. No. 101, Kranthisikhara
Apartments, 1st Floor, B-Block, Panjagutta, Somajiguda. The police also seized a
Lap Top of Sony make, three Samsung mobile phones, Andhra Bank Debit Card and
State Bank Debit Card, three notebooks
and a cash of Rs 95,000.
After collecting money, the accused
evaded their calls. While three of the victims approached police so far, enquiries
are been caused to know the details of
other victims, who were cheated by the offender.
Team led by G. Shankar Raju, Inspector, D. Prashanth, SI with staff cracked the
case and apprehended the accused under
the supervision of ACP Cyber Crimes, Dr
B.Anu Radha.
CPI condoles demise
of Chava
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): Communist
Party of India (CPI) Telangana State Council today expressed deep condolences over
the death of CPI senior leader and Telangana Peasants Armed Struggle fighter Chava Venkateshwara Rao (90) in Khammam.
In a pressnote, CPI national general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, CPI
national secretary Dr K Narayana, CPI
Telangana State secretary Chada Venkat
Reddy and Telangana Martyrs Memorial
Trust secretary Kandimalla Prathap Reddy
expressed condolences over the demise of
Chava and conveyed sympathy to the family members of Chava.
The CPI leaders stated that Chava
worked with party veterans like late Nallamala Giri Prasad, Razab Ali and Puvvada
Nageswar Rao for development of party
in Khammam district. They said Chava
worked for the development of Communist movements till his last breath. Chava
wished the unity of the CPI and CPM, they
added.
TDP slams KCR
for luring MLAs from
other parties
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): Launching a
scathing attack on Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, TDP today said
the former, instead of repenting for his
misdeeds of luring MLAs from other parties, was targeting the Opposition parties.
Addressing the media here jointly, Bojjala Gopalakrishna Reddy and Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu questioned KCR as to
how his party could secure 85 MLAs’ votes
where it has a strength of only 63 MLAs.
Who has given ministership to MLAs of
other party”, they asked.
Gali Muddukrishnam Naidu alleged that
there was a quid pro quo between TRS and
Jagan. Both KCR and Jagan were opposing
Pattiseema as they do not want water to be
made available to Rayalaseema, he said.
Taking a dig at Jagan, Muddukrishnama
Naidu said Jagan’s name can be listed in
Guinness Book World Records. As an Opposition leader Jagan was facing 11 cases
against him and was in jail for 16 months.
Jagan was meeting President Pranab
Mukherjee in a bid to get rid of the criminal cases. Jagan should raise Section 8 with
the President and protect the interests of
AP people, he added.
Telangana Tourism
announces special
packages for Godavari
Pushkaralu
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): The Telangana
State Tourism Development Corporation
has announced introduction of tour packages coinciding with the upcoming Godavari Pushkaralu. Christina Z. Chonghtu,
Managing Director of Telangana State
Tourism Development Corporation, in a
statement, has informed several packages
will be operated from Hyderabad to various destinations from July 13 to 25 for the
tourists/pilgrims, who intend to have holy
dip in sacred river Godavari.
The first one is a day long tour that covers Hyderabad-Dharmapuri-KondagattuVemulavada. It starts at 6 am and ends
at 9.30 pm. The second is between Hyderabad and Nizamabda-Basar temple.
While the third tour covers HyderabadKaleshwari via Warangal, the fourth one is
between Hyderabad and Bhadrachalam.
The corporation is planning some more
similar tours, according to TSTDC. Details
and other packages can be accessed on a
Toll Free no.1800 425 46464.
Monday, July 6, 2015
Peddapalli to
get 100-bed
hospital: KCR
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): Government
General Hospital at Peddapalli will soon be
upgraded into a 100-bedded hospital with
all basic amenities, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has said.
Planting a sapling at Peddapalli town in
Karimnagar district as part of “Telanganaku Haritha Haaram project” on Sunday,
the Chief Minister vowed to restore canals
through SRSP project. Alleging that precious
wood of the forests were looted as the previous government neglected the greenery that
led to ecological imbalance, KCR said this
would compel monkeys to stray into villages
and towns. The problem should go by active
involvement of the people in the massive afforestation program, KCR exhorted.
As part of the program, every house will get
four to six saplings to be planted, he said, adding that the government will not seek votes if
it failed to keep the promise of supplying potable waters to every household. The government has taken all steps to avoid power cuts,
he said, adding that steps would be taken to
release waters to the tail-end areas.
“To help the poor girls, widows and old
aged, we are implementing many welfare
schemes like Kalyana Lakshmi, Shaadi
Mubarak and pensions”, KCR noted. The
Government will release adequate funds for
rapid growth of Peddapalli town, he declared
amidst wild applause from the people.
Former Aam Aadmi Party leader Yogendra Yadav at the launch of Swaraj
Abhiyan-a programme where volunteers in every state will reach out to
farmers to understand their problems and establish a dialogue with them-in
Telangana on Sunday. (PTI Photo)
I will start Godavari
Pushkaralu on July 14: KCR
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today said
that he will participate in
Godavari Pushkaralu at
Dharmapuri on July 14.
He was participating in
Harithaharm program of
planting saplings at Dharmapuri in Karimnagar
district. KCR announced
Bojjala to take up
Section 8 with
President today
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): Disgruntled by the exposure of Cashfor-Vote scam, the Telugu Desam
government has decided to take
up the issue of Section 8 of Andhra
Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014
with President Pranab Mukherjee at
Bolaram here on Monday.
Speaking to mediapersons here on
Sunday, AP minister Bojjala Gopala
Krishna Reddy said they will appeal
to the President on the need for invoking Section 8 in Hyderabad, the
joint capital of two Telugu States for
10 years. “There are several issues that
compel us to demand for invocation
of Section 8. We will not relent on the
issue and make a strong pitch with the
President on the need to enforce this
section”, he remarked. Accusing the
Telangana Government of creating
problems for the AP government, Bojjala said there is a need for resolving
Digital 5K Run
held at Raahgiri
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): “Rahagiri
Day which is a street event, that provides citizens with the opportunity
to reclaim their streets, connect with
their community, celebrate their city
, completes today 25 weeks successfully. The Raahgiri Day was started on
January 18.
Digital 5K Run was organised on
Sunday by ITE & C Dept, STPI, Cykul,
Hyderabad Runners, HYSEA and
NASSCOM. Nearly 1500 people participated in the Run. Jayesh Ranjan,
flagged of the Run. Being the milestone day, Raahgiri witnessed huge
turn out on Sunday. Nearly 3500 people visited the Raahgiri Day.
Speaking on the occasion, Jayesh
Ranjan said the 5K Run would
spread to the new areas in the cityHe
also unveiled teaser campaign “Carfree Thursday Initiative”. He also
gave away appreciation certificates
to all those behind making Raahgiri
a huge success. The good old Sack
Race, the traditional rural game was
back with bang. Lot of IT folks had a
gala time with Sack Race. Also called
as gunny sack race, it is a competitive game. It is a traditional children
game. But, people of all ages played
the sack race. I had a gala time doing this informed Subba Raju of SLP.
It reminded me of my good old days
said Rajitha an IT employees.
the issues related AP Reorganisation
Act by sitting across the table.
He also alleged that Leader of Opposition Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, who was
adopting dual standards on Pattiseema
project should make his stance clear.
Jagan Reddy, while seeking waters to
Rayalaseema through this project, he
was deploring the same in Andhra region that Pattiseema will desert the Godavari region, he charged.
Reddy’s remarks assume significance in the wake of cash scam rattled
their government and threw them
in defence. While Chief Minsiter N
Chandrababu Naidu was infuriated
at his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao on the alleged phone
tapping and cash scam issues. In a bid
to corner the ruling party in Telangana, Chandrababu was pressing his
ministerial colleagues to the President for Section 8.
Rolling Cycle Tyres was another interesting street game drew lot of participation. What Club has announced
Grow Green Challenge. Jayesh Ranjan
started the challenge by planting a sapling. He nominated five more to plant
trees. The August Fest Team, which
organizes India’s largest Start Up Conference on August 29 and 30 created
awareness about the same. It is by far
the biggest conference on Startups,
said Adi Vemuru, a core team member.
It will have incredible talks by global
business leaders. 300 plus investors
are expected to participate. Fifty plus
investor companies, 50 plus start up
pitches and 40 plus short films will be
screened informed Adi.
Subba Raju Pericherla and team
of StartUp Leadership Program(SLP)
created awareness about their SLP
Program. A few employees of the Bank
of America performed a rock music.
Murali Nannapaneni of Hyderabad
Runners said idea behind organizing
Digital 5K Run was to create awareness about digital empowerment.
Cyberabad DCP Karthikeya also
graced the occasion. He presented
saplings to the winners of the quiz.
The Cyberabad Police had created
awareness about Haritha Haram, the
massive tree plantation initiative,
Government of Telangana has taken
up. They conducted quiz and gave
away saplings as prizes and also certificates. A lot of people participated
with great interest in the quiz
that he prayed the god for
statehood and will now
keep the promise of getting back to the area as the
chief minister to launch
the Pushkaralu on July 14.
I will announce the needed funds for development
of Dharmapuri on the occasion. KCR stated that MLA,
K Eshwar will soon be made
a minister. He appealed to
the people to make success
the greenery program by active participation.
Later, at Adilabad, the
Chief Minister launched
Gudem Lift Irrigation project at Dandepally mandal.
The project is taken up by
spending Rs 125 cr for lifting
of 3 tmc waters in the area.
Irrigation & CAD Dept
release 1227 cr for
Lower Penganga Project
Hyderabad, July 5 (IHNN): In the reference read
above, the Commissioner, P & D of Godavari Basin,
has requested the Government to accord administrative approval to Lower Penganga Inter State Project for utilization of 5.12 TMC of water for Irrigation
and Drinking needs in Adilabad District.
After careful examination of the proposal, Government hereby accord administrative approval to
Lower Penganga Inter State Project for utilization
of 5.12 TMC of water for Irrigation and Drinking
needs in Adilabad District for an amount of Rs.1227
crores(Rupees One thousand Two Hundred and
Twenty Seven crores only).
The above amount shall be debited from the Head
of Account 4700-01-227-11-26/27-530-531. The
Commissioner, Planning & Development of Godavari Basin, Hyderabad shall take necessary action
accordingly.
This order issues with the concurrence
of
Finance(W&P)
Department
vide
their
U.O.No.6806/122/W&P/A1/2015, dated.05.06.2015.
Hijras demand
employment & protection
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): Demanding that the
State government provide employment and protection, Telangana Hijra Transgender Samithi staged a
dharna at Indira Park here on Sunday.
The transgender alleged that the Telangana and
Andhra Pradesh governments were not recognizing
the transgender community and not implementing
the Supreme Court judgment. They alleged that they
were subjected to physical attacks and brutalities on
over 60 transgender people in Hyderabad alone in
the last one year. The Hijras and transgender people
were fighting for their lives on the streets because of
discrimination and exclusion from all jobs, education, housing and all welfare measures. It was the responsibility of the government not to continue the
social exclusion of transgender people and support
the community by implementing the spirit of the
NALSA ruling and fully aid in the debate.
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President Pranab
Mukherjee visits Yadadri
President Pranab Mukherjee being presented a memento from Telangana
Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao during his visit to Sri Lakshmi
Narsimha Swamy Temple at Yadgirigutta district Nalgonda in Telengana on
Sunday. (PTI Photo)
President Pranab Mukherjee today paid a visit to
Sri
Lakshmi-Narasimha
Swamy temple at Yadadri
(Yadagirigutta) in Nalgonda
district and took part in the
special pujas performed to
the presiding deity.
The country’s first citizen was accorded rousing welcome by Endowment Minister Indrakaran
Reddy, Temple EO Geetha
and priests with “Poorna
Kumbham” amidst chanting of Vedic hymns. Governor ESL Narasimhan,
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, ministers
and others accompanied
the President in the ritual
that went on for about
a couple of hours at the
abode of Lord Lakshmi
Narasimha Swamy. Along
with his son and MP Abhijith Mukherjee, Pranab
offered silk clothes to the
presiding deity and also
had a darshan of the Goddess Lakshmi and Anjaneya Swamy.
The Chief Minister presented an attractive photograph of the Lord and
Yadadri
Development
Authority to the President and took blessing
by touching his feet. KCR
briefed Mukherjee of his
government’s plans to develop the temple on par
with Tirumala. Mukherjee,
who visited Tirumala temple in Andhra Pradesh last
3
State
week, is the fourth Indian
president to visit Yadagirigutta. First president
Rajendra Prasad visited
the temple in 1959 and
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
in 1963. Shankar Dayal
Sharma prayed at Yadgirigutta in 1995.
Only a few officials
were allowed to attend
the event as the police
top-brass of the State and
Centre spread security
blanket at the hill shrine.
Shops and other business
establishments remained
closed at the temple during the President’s stay.
Earlier, the President, who
is on southern sojourn,
has reached Yadadri by a
helicopter.
Kotha Majeru village
in the grip of a viral
fever epidemic
Machilipatnam, Jul 5 (PTI): Kotha Majeru village in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh is in
the grip of a viral fever epidemic as well as other
related infections, a senior health official said
here today.
District Medical and Health Officer R Nagamalleswari said that more than 150 villagers including children have been admitted to various
hospitals in the district.
Speaking to PTI, the official said that water
contamination might be the cause of the epidemic. “Today, we have set up a medical camp
in the village to monitor the situation,” she said.
Meanwhile, A private hospital from Vijayawada has sent its team of doctors to conduct a
medical camp in the village today.
Deputy Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly who is also the local MLA, Mandali Budha Prasad, rushed to the village and instructed
officials to take measures to tackle the situation.
Annual Day Function of Global College of Education, B.Ed held at Sir Syed
Conference Hall, Madina Education Centre, Mr.K.M. Arifuddin, Secretary,
address the students at Nampally, Hyderabad. Dr.K. Hymavathi, Principal,
Lecturers and Students are also present. (Photo: IHNN)
Toronto Varsity team visits Hyderabad to
shape future of Telangana children
Hyderabad, July 5 (NSS): A
four-member Team Attollo from
University of Toronto, Canada,
a Hult Prize Global Finalist
2015 arrived here for field testing and to impact over one million children below six years by
2020 in the State of Telangana.
Team Attollo was keen on building their Indian headquarters
at Hyderabad and approached
the Telangana government for
this support. They are currently
collaborating with Pratham and
Vikas High School in Hyderabad
for field testing.
Speaking to mediapersons
here on Sunday, Attollo cofounder Lak Chinta said the
Hult Prize Global is co-hosted
by Bill Clinton and Hult Prize
Foundations. The competition amongst the six remaining global teas will be held at
the Clinton Global Initiative
Conference on September 26 to
30, 2015. The judging panel includes Nobel Laureates, world
leaders and fortune 500 CEOs,
in the presence of 2,000 audience that includes President
Bill Clinton, he said.
Lak Chinta said children aged
three and under from poorer areas are often underexposed by
30 million words compared to
their counterparts in the affluent
countries. This can have an effect on their cognitive development that lasts into adulthood.
“Our product “Talking Stickers”
will help develop literacy and
vocabulary skills in children 0-6
years of age so that they can be
primary school ready and be
able to successfully reach their
cognitive potential. By using a
combination of picture books
with QR code stickers and a simple low cost-electronic reader,
Team Attollo’s solution allows
parents to teach their children
new words and increase vocabulary in a simple, low-cost and
effective manner.
With more than one million
children below six years living under poverty in Telangana
State, Attollo’s innovation will
help building and investing the
Burglary gang
busted; 3 held
Ira Singhal who got the First rank in the Civil
Services Exams 2014 in Hyderabad on Saturday.
(PTI Photo)
CPI to stage
‘Mahadharna’
on July 15
Alleging that Chief Minister
K Chandrasekhar Rao was
passing time only with assurances, the Communist
Party of India (CPI) Telangana State Council has said
it will organise a ‘Mahadharna’ at Indira Park on July
15 demanding that the State
government distribute land
pattas to the homeless poor.
After releasing a Mahadharna poster along with CPI
former MP Syed Azeez Pasha, CPI Greater Hyderabad
South Zone secretary E T
Narsimha, CPI-Telangana
State secretary Chada Venkat Reddy has alleged that
the Chief Minister was failing to fulfil the assurances
made during the elections.
He also alleged that KCR
failed to implement his assurance of construction of
“double bedroom” houses
for one lakh houseless poor
in Greater Hyderabad. He
suggested that the KCR
government call for an allparty meeting to discuss the
problems if there was any in
allotting land pattas to the
poor. He also made it clear
that the CPI would continue its fight on behalf of the
people till the government
solved the problems.
Azeez Pasha said KCR
was showering sops on the
people keeping the Greater Hyderabad elections in
view and made it clear that
the people would revolt
in case the Chief Minister
failed to fulfil the same.
The government, which
announced during the
Swatch Hyderabad program that it will allot Rs 50
lakh to each division.
Visakhapatnam, Jul 5 (PTI): An
alleged gang of burglars was busted here with the arrest of three persons, police said, adding that booty
worth Rs 3 lakh has been recovered
from the accused.
According to police, the trio of M
Chinna Naidu, K Chandrasekhar
and Nammi Srinu, was arrested
last night. The accused are involved in 11 house theft cases under different police stations in the
city, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-II) Dr G Ram Gopal Naik
told mediapersons here.
About 80-gm of gold ornaments,
silver items weighing around 2.7kg, and a motorcycle -- collectively
worth around Rs 3 lakh -- were
recovered from the accused, he
added. Police said that a resident of
Pendhurthy area on the outskirts
of the city had recently lodged a
complaint of a theft at his house
on June 20. As there was a series
of such cases in the city, a special
police team under the supervision
of the DCP (Zone-II) was formed to
nab the perpetrators.
The modus operandi of the accused was to do a recce of the
streets on motorcycles during
day time and identify the houses
whose residents were away. They
would then break into such houses
at night with one person keeping
watch outside, the DCP said. Police
said they hope to bust more such
gangs operating in the city.
Three children
drown at
Appikonda beach
Visakhapatnam, Jul 5 (PTI): Three
school students who had gone to
swim at the Appikonda beach, which
somes under the Steel Plant police
station limits, drowned in the sea today evening, the police said.
According to the police, six students,
who are children of Visakhapatnam
Steel Plant (VSP) employees, residing
in Sector 4 and 5 in the Ukkunagaram
Township, had gone to the beach in
future of Telangana children, he
said. “We believe, we can solve
the issue of poverty by empowering the underprivileged children of Telangana an opportunity to live and experience the
Golden Telangana. We are also
looking towards developing the
product locally in Hyderabad
for 10 million children globally.
Lak Chinta, born in Hyderabad
and trained as a neuroscientist,
has come back to give back to
his people, a hope for every parent for their children’s future.
If the State government likes to
collaborate, the Team Attollo
will deliver Talking Stickers to
over one million children under
the age of six years by 2020.
Man and his son killed
in clash between
two families
Kannada Actress Sanjana with the Kingfisher Derby trophy during its
unveiling at Bangalore Turf Club on Sunday. (PTI Photo)
12 held for
forging land
documents in AP
Anantapur, Jul 5 (PTI): Police today claimed to have busted a racket
allegedly involved in creating fake
pattadar passbooks (a land document) and arrested twelve persons.
The alleged forgery, which involves manipulating the entries of
land, ownership titles and details of
land valuation, runs into over Rs one
crore, a senior police officer said.
“Twelve gang members were arrested and more than 17,000 fake
pattadar passbooks were recovered
from them,” SP Rajasekhara Babu
told reporters here.
Police seized cash worth Rs 1 lakh,
a printer, rubber stamps of various
the afternoon.
While they were swimming, they
were caught in a strong current, which
took them deep into the sea. While
three of them managed to swim safely
to the shore with the help of fishermen, their friends drowned in he sea.
Police inspector B Venkata Rao said
that the six children who had gone to
the beach are students of Class VIII
and Class IX of DAV Public School in
VSP Township. Despite fishermen’s
warnings, students ventured into the
sea. After a few minutes, a big wave
surged towards them and carried
revenue officers, a four-wheeler and
a sickle from the accused who were
picked up from various places in the
district.
Police suspect the accused were
the part of a bigger syndicate also
comprising Village Revenue Officers
(VROs).
The SP said the accused could
have obtained loans from banks
through the forged passbooks or
even grabbed plots of land.
Pattadar passbook is a document
in the form of a small bound book
containing all details of land owned
by a person (pattadar) and is issued
by Revenue officials. The members
of the gang, who are operating
from the district headquarters,
are widely distributed in rural
areas, including Battalapalli and
Dharmavaram, he further said.
them deep into the sea, he said.
Noticing that the children are in
troubled waters, fishermen managed
to savee three of them, while the other
three drowned in the sea, he said.
The body of one of these three children was retrieved by the police and
local fishermen, while the bodies of
the two other children are still stated
to be missing, he said. The student
whose body has been retrieved has
been identified as Prasanna Kumar
(13), while those students whose bodies are missing have been identified as
Roopesh (14) and Akhilesh (14).
Hyderabad, Jul 5 (PTI): A 55-year-old man
and his son were killed, while his another son
was injured after a clash between two families
in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh today. The
incident occurred in Vasanthapuram locality of
Kovur mandal this afternoon, resulting in the
death of T Nageswara Rao and his son Nagaraju (20), besides injuring Rao’s elder son Murali,
Kovur circle inspector Ashokvardhan said. The
clash brokeout between close relatives due to
suspicion of an “affair” between two members
of the two families, the police inspector said,
adding Rao and his sons were attacked with
sharp weapons. “A police picket has been set
up and the situation is under control. A hunt
has been launched to nab the absconding accused. A case under Section 302 of Indian Penal
Code has been booked,” the police officer said.
Two people killed
in accident
Machilipatnam, Jul 5 (PTI): Two people were
killed in a hit and run incident in Krishna district, a police official said here today. According to the Inaguduru police, V Nagaraju (24)
and Ankamma (20) were travelling in a motorcycle early on Sunday morning, when an
unknown vehicle rammed into it. The victims
succumbed to serious injuries and died on the
spot. Both the victims belong to Machilipatnam, the police said.
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4
South
Short Takes
Marriage assistance
distributed
Virudhunagar, Jul 5 (PTI): Tamil Nadu Revenue Minister R B Udhayakumar and Special
Schemes implementation project Minister K T
Rajendra Balaji today distributed marriage assistance to the tune of Rs 4.29 crore to 897 beneficiaries under “Thalikku Thangam” (Gold for
mangalya sutra) scheme here.
Udhyakumar said Tamil Nadu stood first
in the distribution of welfare schemes for the
people. There were fourteen welfare schemes
being implemented in the state and every
household was benefitted under one scheme
or the other,he said. Balaji said the Government’s schemes like free cattle schemes aimed
at economically developing poor people.
Nigerian students
taken into custody for
assaulting conductor
Bengaluru, Jul 5 (PTI): Six Nigerian students
were taken into custody today for allegedly
assaulting a bus conductor following an altercation between them over travel passes. “We
have taken into custody six Nigerian students
for assaulting a bus conductor who asked
them to produce their travel passes,” Deputy
Commissioner of Police (Central) Sandeep
Patil told PTI here. The refusal of the Nigerians to produce passes resulted in a verbal duel
between them and the conductor after which
the latter was assaulted, Patil said. Police have
registered a cased based on the complaint by
the conductor and driver of the bus, Patil said.
Glass door at Chennai airport collapses
Dutch students develop
solar-powered family car
Chennai, Jul 5 (PTI): In yet another such
instance, a glass door at the airport gave way
here, but none was injured, officials said. The
incident happened at Gate No 2 of domestic
arrival area, generally used for VIP movement,
they said. Puducherry Governor Lt General
Ajay Kumar Singh was among those who had
to pass through the area. With the incident
happening prior to his exit, he waited briefly
and then proceeded out, officials said.
Since the inauguration of the Rs 2,000 crore
airport complex in 2013, instances of glass
panels breaking or false ceilings giving away
have become a regular affair here.
Madurai Jul 5 (PTI): The new chariot of Sri
Sundararaja Perumal temple at Alagar kovil
near here will be rolled out on its trial run before the Adi Car festival on Monday, according
to the temple Executive officer-in-charge K
Chelladurai. The new car had been made at a
cost of Rs 85 lakh. Vishwa Brahmana Seer Sri
Subwana Theertha Prabhu met the carpenters.
Rs 62 lakh worth gold
biscuits seized
Kozhikode, Jul 5 (PTI): As many as 20 gold
biscuits totally weighing about 2.33 kgs and
valued at Rs 62.21 lakh were seized from a
passenger who arrived at the nearby Karipur
airport from Dubai today, Air Customs Intelligence officials said.
The gold biscuits were concealed under the
floor mat of the aircraft, Air Customs Assistant
Commissioner J Anand Kumar said. On suspicion, one V A Harish (35) of Kasargod who
was seated near the hidden gold biscuits was
questioned and he admitted to the crime. He
was arrested, Kumar said.
Panneerselvam inaugurates
feast at famous Pandi Kovil
Madurai, Jul (PTI): Tamil Nadu Finance
Minister O Panneerselvam today inaugurated
the feast at the famous Pandi Kovil, a border
deity of this city, organised to mark the victory of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa from the R
K Nagar assemby constituency. The feast had
been arranged by AIADMK workers, Speaking
on the occasion Panneerselvam said Jayalalithaa had achieved a great victory in the byelection whith a huge margin. Minister for Cooperation Sellur K Raju said Tamils all over the
world were celebrating Jayalalithaa’s victory.
Smuggled cigarettes seized
Suspicious foreign
dhow intercepted off
Kerala coast
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 5 (PTI): A suspicious foreign fishing ‘dhow’, seen off the
Alapuzha coast, was intercepted by the Coast
Guard and brought to Vizhinjam here today.
A 12-member crew from Iran who were in the
dhow have been taken into custody by Kerala
police and are being interrogated.
A Coast Guard official told PTI that the interception was based on intelligence inputs from
central and state agencies, including Kerala
police. Satellite phones, which are prohibited,
were found in the dhow. Vizhinjam police said
interrogation of the crew was going on and the
examination of the dhow was in progress.
Police conducts
Storming Operation
Chennai, Jul 5 (PTI): In its weekly ‘Storming Operation’ conducted by the City Police
here last night, 106 persons were nabbed for
drunken driving. The City Police carry out the
weekly excercise to nab offenders and wanted
persons besides conducting vehicle checks as
part of their crime-prevention activities.
On Saturday night, similar ‘Storming Operation’ was held across the city in which 707
persons were detained for suspicion and another 106 persons for drunken driving, a City
Police release here today said. Meanwhile, the
Video Piracy Cell of the police nabbed a ‘key
offender’ involved in producing pirated DVDs
and CDs of newly released films. The VPC
held Daulat Basha on Saturday and recovered
DVDs of new releases including Kamal Haasan-starrer ‘Papanasam’ and ‘Romeo Juliet’
and porn movies, the release said.
Coimbatore, Jul 5 (PTI): Customs officials at
the airport here today seized a huge quantity
of foreign cigarettes from a passenger coming Rs 1 crore gold seized
from Sharjah. On suspicion on the movement from passenger
of Abudan, a native of Madurai, the official
searched his baggage and found 1,880 packets
Chennai, Jul 5 (PTI): Gold worth Rs one crore
of Dunhill cigarettes, police said. The value of was seized from a 35-year-old man who arrived
the seizure was about Rs.50,000 and further in- at the international airport here from Doha toterrogation was on, they said.
day. Siraj was found concealing three kg of the
precious metal in his body, airport officials said.
Three arrested for stabThe passenger has been detained, they said.
bing bus conductor
Madurai, Jul 5 (PTI): Three persons who allegedly stabbed a conductor of a running bus
were arrested today, police said. They said
Dharmaraj, who is working at Tiruparankunram bus depot, was stabbed by the three persons at Pazhanganatham when he asked them
to buy tickets last night. The conductor was
rushed to the Government hospital here.
District committee member
removed from party
Coimbatore, Jul 5 (PTI): Senior CPI(M)
District Committee member T K Selvaraj was
today removed from primary membership of
the party for indulging in anti party activities.
Selvaraj remained aloof from party activities
for the last four months and found indulging
in anti-party activities, party District Secretary
V Ramamurthi, said in a release here.
Selvaraj was instrumental in getting crores
worth Government contract works for his
son, which was against the principles of the
CPI(M), the release said.
External Affairs Committee
to visit Kerala capital
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 5 (PTI): The External Affairs Committee (EAC) of Parliament,
chaired by Shashi Tharoor, MP, will visit here
tomorrow as part of their tour to three states.
Fourteen MPs and the officials from Lok
Sabha Secretariat will visit the Regional Passport Office (Passport Seva Kendra) and the
office of Protector of Immigrants (PoE), both
coming under the Ministry of External Affairs,
a release said here today. The committee will
also hold discussions with the representatives
of MEA, Regional Passport Office, Police, Postal, CPWD authorities, agencies involved in the
implementation of Passport Seva Project, the
representatives of MOIA and PoE Office on the
functioning of the above institutions, it said.
The MPs who are part of the delegation are
Arka Keshari Deo, Anantkumar Hegde, Jose
K Mani, Magantti Venkateswara Rao, Mohammed Salim, Mamtaz Sanghamita, Ram
Swaroop Sharma, Sharad Tripathi, Chhedi
Paswan, Satyavrat Chaturvedi, Ram Kumar
Kashyap, DP Tripathi and Pavan K Varma.
BJP president meets party
core group leaders
Bengaluru, Jul 5 (PTI): BJP
President Amit Shah today met
party core group leaders of
southern states and discussed
about the preparations for the
next assembly elections.
“Our national president met
the core group leaders of the
southern states to discuss the
upcoming election and preparations,” BJP National General
Secretary Muralidhar Rao told
reporters here at a day-long
‘Maha Sampark Abhiyan’ meeting of the party’s office-bearers,
legislators and MPs from southern states here.
Rao said the focus of Shah’s
speech was on expansion and
strengthening the party in the
south and capacity building of
its leadership.
“The entire speech of the party president was on organisation expansion, strengthening
and capacity building of party
leadership. This has been the focus of today’s exercise,” he said.
The Maha Sampark Abhiyan
was attended by district presidents and state-level officebearers of Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Puducherry.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala will
be going for assembly elec-
BJP National President Amit Shah with party leaders Ananth Kumar and B S
Yeduyurappa during the Maha Sampark Abhiyan in Bengaluru on Sunday. (PTI Photo)
tions in 2016.
“Shah stated that for party
expansion and its consolidation in the south it is very important to place before people
the achievements of the Centre and take party’s ideology to
them,” Rao said.
To address the problem of absence of party offices at district
levels of the southern states,
Shah talked about the party’s
plan to set up district offices by
December 2016, he said.
“The party will create infrastructure by December 2016
where each district will have
party office. We want to set up
this infrastructure because this
is the weak area, particularly in
the south,” he said.
Shah said that after providing
infrastructure, the party would
conduct training programmes
of its fifteen lakh workers.
“We are planning to im-
Undue benefits of Rs 156 crore
provided to IT companies: CAG
Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 5
(PTI): Comptroller and Auditor
General (CAG) has found that due
to absence of guidelines, IT parks
under Information Technology Department in Kerala, extended undue
benefits amounting to Rs 156.90
crore to 11 major co-developers.
CAG in the audit report for the
year ended March 2014 of land issues in three IT parks also said
nearly 64 per cent of land provided
for IT development across the state
still remained unutilised since 1990.
The audit was conducted covering the period April 2009 to March
2014 to examine the allotment
and utilisation of land in IT parks
-- Technopark, Thiruvanatha-
puram, Info Park, Kochi and Cyber Park, Kozhikode.
The audit observed various irregularities such as absence of
standardised procedures, dilution
of terms of agreement in the allotment of land to co-developers.
In Technopark Phase II, land to
two major IT companies were allotted at subsidised rates without
any basis, resulting in short recovery of Rs 22.53 crores.
Similarly, neither the rule or criteria to govern fixation and collection
of lease rent were stipulated nor the
agreements prescribed a uniform
rate of lease rent to be paid by codevelopers, resulting in undue benefits to some of them.
part training to 15 lakh party
workers - without training
the party will become an
electioneering machinery, in
which BJP is not interested,”
Rao said quoting Shah.
“Mere winning of elections
and mere electioneering is not
the focus of the party. The party
should work towards political
transformation and social empowerment,” he added quoting
the party president.
Constable arrested on charge
of facilitating gold smuggling
Kochi, Jul 5 (PTI): Busting an international racket
involved in gold smuggling, Customs officials today arrested a Kerala police constable, who worked on deputation as immigration official at Kochi International
Airport here, for allegedly facilitating the illegal trade.
Customs sources said 28-year-old Febin K Basheer, while working as Immigration Assistant under Intelligence Bureau (IB) from 2011 to April 2015,
allegedly helped Naushad -- the kingpin of the racket which is suspected to have smuggled 1500 kgs of
gold from Dubai through the airport in 16 months.
Febin, who had returned to Kerala police’s A R Camp
after completing his service, was summoned to Customs
office today before being arrested, they said. Two of his
relatives have also been taken into custody by the Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch of Customs.
The customs team headed by K N Raghavan and Deputy Commissioner Palaniyandi, which busted the racket,
believes that Febin allegedly got Rs eight crore during
the period for facilitating smuggling at the airport.
TN requests
Centre to increase
Hajj pilgrims quota
Chennai, Jul 5 (PTI): Tamil Nadu government
today requested the Centre to increase its quota
of Hajj pilgrims for this year and sought Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in this
regard. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa told the
Prime Minister that the state Hajj Committee
has received 15,032 applications for this year’s
pilgrimage, but it had been “allotted 2,585 seats
only” by the Hajj Committee of India.
“As per the guidelines for Hajj 2015, out of the
quota,1,699 pilgrims have been selected under
the reserved category,while 886 seats have been
utilized for the general category pilgrims. This
leaves 12,000 disappointed applicants,” she
said in a letter to Modi.
Earlier, the Centre had released additional
seats over and above the quota, enabling a
larger number of pilgrims from Tamil Nadu to
perform Hajj--3,696 in 2013 and 2,858 in 2014,
she said in the letter which was released by the
state government. “The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India may be requested
to release additional quota for Tamil Nadu to
enable more pilgrims to perform the Hajj this
year,” she told the Prime Minister.
TN’s first environment
friendly bio-toilet
commissioned
Madurai, Jul 5 (PTI): Tamil Nadu’s first environment friendly bio-toilet has been commissioned at Kappalur Panchayat in the district.
The bio-toilet was introduced under a state
government scheme to eradicate open defecation. Kappalur was chosen as the first village to
have the facility, an official release said.
Border Security Force display their weapons during an interaction
with civilians “Know Your Army” at Cubbon Park in Bengaluru on
Sunday. (PTI Photo)
Steps taken to check
diseases: Minister
Mangaluru, Jul 5 (PTI): Health
Department was takingnecessary
steps to check the spread of communicable diseases in Dakshina
Kannada district, Karnataka Health
Minister U T Khader said here today.
People need not panic over reports
of malaria and dengue as the department had initiated measures for disease control. Rapid action teams had
been formed and nodal offiers appointed in all taluks in the district to
monitor the teams, he told reporters.
Action would be taken against
officials, doctors and nurses if any
lapse was found on their part in providing treatment to patients with
communicable diseases, he said.
Khader said four deaths had been
so far reported from the district due
to dengue and malaria. In all the
cases, the patients were admitted to
the hospitals only after their condition worsened, he said, adding, fever should not be ignored and early
treatment was required.
The minister said Dakshina Kannad district, situated on a river bank
and which received heavy rains, was
prone to diseases like dengue and
malaria unless proper measures
were taken by people to see that
their living surroundings were clean.
The Health department had also
issued directions to the urban development authorities, corporations
and panchayats to ensure cleanliness in their areas. Fogging machines were being used in different
places and special teams had been
formed for this.
Indian Horizon Hyderabad
OROP protest stays,
meeting with Parrikar likely
New Delhi, July 5 (IANS)
Protests over delay in
implementation of the
promised ‘One Rank, One
Pension’ scheme continued for the 21st day in the
national capital with a relay hunger-strike by 75 exservicemen on Sunday.
“A meeting with Defence Minister Manohar
Parrikar is expected in
the coming week, and the
protesting ex-servicemen
hope to reach a breakthrough,” Group Captain
V.K. Gandhi (retd), Indian
Ex-Servicemen Movement
general secretary, told
IANS.
“We are hoping to meet
the minister this week,
whenever he gives us
time... We are hopeful of a
positive outcome from the
meeting,” the retired Indian Air Force officer told
IANS.
Parrikar had earlier this
week called the protesting
RJD to protest withholding caste Census data: Lalu
Patna, July 5 (IANS)
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
chief Lalu Prasad on Sunday announced that his
party would compel the
Bharatiya Janata Partyled central government
to make public the castebased Census data.
The former Bihar chief
minister said people of
the country have right to
know the details of castebased Census and the
Narendra Modi-led government should make the
data public soon.“Centre
should make the caste
ex-servicemen and said
the ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) file had come
back from the union finance ministry.The minister had said complications
around implementation of
the OROP have been sorted out now.
However, no date for
the implementation of the
scheme was given.
The veterans started
their protest on June 14,
and a relay hunger-strike
began from June 15.
Omar congratulates J&K candidates
who cracked civil services
Srinagar, Jul 5 (PTI)
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar
Abdullah today congratulated the candidates from
the state who qualified
the UPSC civil services examinations, saying their
hard-work against all odds
provided inspiration to the
youth here.
“I congratulate the successful UPSC candidates
from the state. Their individual stories of struggle
and hard-work against all
odds provided inspiration
not only to the youth of the
state but also for policymakers who should endeavour to facilitate youth
empowerment,” Omar said
here.
Nine candidates, including three women,
from Jammu and Kashmir
cracked the Indian Ad-
Deeba Fahat (R) with her mother after qualified the
prestigious UPSC Civil Service examination, at their
residence in Anantnag District of South Kashmir on
Sunday. PTI
ministrative Services (IAS)
exams, the results of which
were declared yesterday.
The former chief minister
lauded 22-year-old candidate, Athar Amir-ul-Shafi
Khan from south Kashmir’s
Anantnag district who is
the youngest of the lot from
the state.
“22-year-old Athar’s success should be a beacon of
inspiration for our youngsters. His success should
inspire many teenagers,
school students and college students to strive for
excellence,” Omar said.The
National Conference (NC)
working president said the
hard-work of those successful candidates who had
been affected by the floods
last year was inspiring.“The
stories of hard-work and
dedication by these youngsters are inspiring. It is the
duty of policy-makers to do
everything necessary to facilitate the growth and empowerment of our youth
and the trend of growing
success in UPSC exams by
our candidates is certainly
a shot-in-the-arm for that
cause,” he said.
He said it was equally
important to encourage
those who tried their best
but could not make it to the
UPSC list this year. “They
should not be disheartened
but should rather treat this
as an opportunity that motivates them to work harder
and never give in,” the NC
Working President said.
He also congratulated all
the candidates from other
states of the country who
qualified the exams.
census public instead of
withholding the data on
numerical strength of different castes,” Lalu Prasad
said while addressing his
party workers here to celebrate 19th anniversary of
the RJD.“People have right
to know it and every caste
should know its strength
and weakness in terms
of population and other
things,” he said.He warned
the Modi government that
RJD would not remain silent if the central government delayed making public the data on numerical
Assam, Meghalaya losing Rs 700
cr to illegal cigarette trade
Guwahati, Jul 5 (PTI) Assam
and Meghalaya are incurring
revenue losses to the tune of Rs
700 crore every year due to illegal trade of cigarettes, which
are manufactured locally as
well as are smuggled from the
neighbouring nations.
According to senior officials in Assam and Meghalaya
governments, almost 23 crore
of illegal tax-evaded cigarette
sticks are sold in these two
states every month.“Assam is
the trading hub as well as the
biggest and fastest growing
market for illegal cigarettes in
North East.Over 200 million
illegal cigarettes are supplied
to the state every month. Consequently, the government
suffers an annual tax loss of
around Rs 600 crore,” a senior
official in Assam’s Finance Department told PTI.
? ?The illegal trade consists of tax-evaded domestically produced cigarettes and
contraband cigarettes, which
are smuggled from other
countries including neighbouring nations, the official
added.?Similarly in Meghalaya, a senior government official said the state is losing Rs 90
crore of revenue annually due
to trading of around 3 crore illegal cigarettes every month.
strength of the poorest of
the poor, marginalised and
downtrodden sections of
the society.“Prime Minister Modi should explain to
people as to why the caste
data was withheld,” he said.
Lalu Prasad said RJD
and its allies the Janata DalUnited (JD-U), Congress
and National Congress Party (NCP) would raise this isRJD chief Lalu Prasad addressing party workers dursue in the upcoming Bihar
ing the 19th foundation day of the Rashtriya Janta Dal
assembly polls.
party in Patna on Sunday. PTI
Declaring that he along
with the party workers Prasad urged the party and express their opposiwould take out a march leaders and workers to join tion to withholding of the
in Patna on July 13, Lalu the march in large numbers caste Census.
Journalist covering Goa ‘examining’ pardon for
Vyapam scam
convicted former minister
cremated
Panaji, July 5 (IANS) The Goa article grants powers to the state
New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) Journalist Akshay Singh, who died dramatically in Madhya
Pradesh while covering the Vyapam scam, was
cremated here on Sunday, with Congress vice
president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal attending it.His body was
brought from Jhabua on Sunday morning. He
was in Madhya Pradesh to do a story on the recent deaths related to the Madhya Pradesh Vyavsayik Pareeksha Mandal (Vyapam) scandal.
The journalist’s family and friends attended the
cremation at the Nigambodh ghat.
Other political leaders who attended the cremation included Delhi Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia, Congress leader Ajay Maken
and Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay.
Kejriwal and Gandhi also spoke with the
journalist’s family.On Saturday, Akshay Singh
was in Meghnagar in Jhabua to talk to the family members of scam-accused Namrata Damor,
who herself was found dead under mysterious
circumstances.Jhabua Superintendent of Police Abid Khan told IANS that Akshay Singh and
his two colleagues interviewed the family for
around an hour, after which the journalist suddenly fell ill.
BJP offers sops to voters in
Bihar ahead of council polls
Patna, Jul 5 (PTI) Apparently sensing that the outcome
of legislative council polls on July 7 may set the tone for
the Assembly polls in Bihar later this year, the BJP today
rained sops, including hikes in various allowances to representatives of three-tier panchayati raj institutions.
The NDA in the event of being elected to power in the
Assembly polls will double monthly allowance for the
ward members of gram panchayat to Rs 1000 from Rs
500 announced by the incumbent JD(U) government,
former Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said in a statement.
In addition, the ward members will be entitled to a
bicycle each and a handpump will be installed on their
recommendation in the villages, he said.
The monthly allowance for the ward members of the
urban civil bodies too will be doubled from the amount
announced by the present government, Modi said.In an
allurement to mukhiyas, the senior BJP leader said the
NDA government would raise their monthly allowance
to Rs 4000 from Rs 2500 proposed by the JD(U) government, while the deputy mukhiyas monthly allowance
will be raised to Rs 2000 from Rs 1200.
The monthly allowance of pramukhs too will be hiked
to Rs 12,000 against Rs 10,000 proposed by the state
government, while the deputies of pramukhs called as
‘up-pramukh’ will get Rs 6000 against Rs 5000 proposed
by the incumbent government, the former deputy chief
minister said.The zila parishad chairpersons’ monthly
allowance will be hiked to Rs 16,000 against Rs 12,000
proposed by the state government and the deputy chairpersons of zila parishad will get Rs 12,000 from Rs 10,000
announced by the incumbent government, he said.
5
Nation
Monday July 6, 2015
governor to “grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions
of punishment or to suspend,
remit or commute the sentence
of any person convicted of any
offence against any law relating
to a matter to which the executive power of the State extends”.
Pacheco, a former archives
and archaeology minister,
whose party is part of the ruling
BJP-led coalition government in
Goa, was jailed on June 1 after
the Supreme Court upheld his
conviction in the 2006 case, in
which Pacheco was accused of
assaulting a government employee.The minister is currently
jailed at Sada sub jail in Vasco,
located 40 km south of Panaji.
Besides the 2006 assault case,
Pacheco is also being tried for
a wide range of criminal cases
which include culpable homicide, bigamy, assault and extortion.
government is “examining” a request from the partner of former
minister Francisco Pacheco,
who is serving a six month sentence following his conviction
in an assault case, seeking the
latter’s pardon.Chief Secretary
R.K. Srivastava told IANS on the
sidelines of a media function
here on Saturday that he had
received the application for pardon forwarded to his office by
Goa Governor Mridula Sinha.
“We have received (the petition). I am examining it,” Srivastava told IANS, a day after
the state Bharatiya Janata Party
president Vinay Tendulkar
rooted for a pardon for Pacheco,
on grounds of good behaviour
in prison.The pardon application has been filed by Pacheco’s
partner Viola, who has requested the governor to grant pardon
to the former minister under article 161 of the constitution.The
BJP-PDP coalition ensure
Left to jointly
transparency at all levels: Dy CM contest Bihar
elections
Jammu, July 5 (PTI) Jammu man” Singh said.He said corrupt
Artists perform during 100 years celebration of ‘Gitanjali” at Netaji
Indoour Stadium in Kolkata on Sunday.
PTI
Bringing back
Dawood is a
matter of doing,
not talking: Jyoti
AHMEDABAD, July 5 (PTI): Union
Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on
Sunday said the issue of bringing
back underworld don Dawood Ibrahim to India was a “matter of doing
and not talking.”To a query by reporters here that the Centre wants to
bring back Dawood to India, but his
aide Chhota Shakeel has reportedly
said the government cannot nab
him, Jyoti said much more has been
spoken on the issue.“This is a matter of doing, not talking,” she further
said.
Notably, senior advocate Ram
Jethmalani had recently stated that
Dawood, a key accused in the 1993
Mumbai serial blasts, was willing to
surrender to Indian authorities but
Sharad Pawar, the then Chief Minister heading a Congress government
in Maharashtra, had rejected the
offer.However, the NCP chief had
yesterday said that Jethmalani had
contacted him over Dawood’s willingness to surrender.
BJP MP’’s kin held
for trying to hold
panchayat illegally
Muzaffarnagar, July 5 (PTI) A relative of
Union minister Sanjiv Balyan was today
arrested and later released after he tried to
hold a meeting here without permission
from district authorities.
Rahul Kutbti, said to be the cousin of
Balyan, had announced to hold a panchayat
in his attempt to improve the relations between Hindu and Muslim communities.
But district authorities in Shahpur had
refused to grant the permission.
Today, Kutbi came with some
supporters?and tried to hold a meeting.
He was arrested and taken to police station
from where he was later released.The district had witnessed large scale riots in 2013
between the two communities.
and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh today said
the government has ensured
transparency and a corruptionfree administration at all levels.
Addressing a religious gathering at Hiranagar in Kathua district today, Singh added, “Care
has been taken to ensure equitable developmental of all three
regions of the state.”
Singh said during a short span
of four months, endeavor has
been made to provide a hasslefree government approachable
to all sections of society irrespective of caste, creed, religion and
region.“Our government is working for the benefits of common
Girl killed in
Bengal, rape
suspected
Kolkata, July 5 (IANS) A seven-year-old girl was allegedly
abducted and killed by a man
in West Bengal and police suspect she was raped before being
strangulated, an officer said on
and tainted officials have been
shunted out of the government
and it would be a continuous
process.
He also asked people to proactively involve themselves in the
process so that menace of corruption is eradicated completely.
Referring to the new recruitment
policy, the Deputy Chief Minister
said this would fast-track employment in government sector
and benefit a number of unemployed and educated youths.He
said government is also making
efforts to invite corporate sector
to invest in Jammu and Kashmir
which will also help generate employment opportunities.
Sunday.The incident took place
on Friday night in North Dinajpur district’s Rarira village.
Police arrested the accused
on Saturday after locals discovered the body and informed
them.
“We have arrested the accused. He was presented before
a court today (Sunday) which
New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) The
CPI-M and five other Left parties
on Sunday announced that they
will jointly contest the coming
Bihar elections “as an independent, united bloc”.
The decision was taken by
the Communist Party of IndiaMarxist (CPI-M), Communist
Party of India (CPI), Forward
Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist
Party (RSP), Communist Party of
India-Marxist-Leninist-Liberation and Socialist Unity Centre of
India-Communist (SUCI-C).The
meeting was attended by Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat
from CPI-M, Sudhakar Reddy
and D. Raja from CPI.
remanded him to police custody for five days,” Superintendent of Police Syed Waquar
Raza said.
“Until the autopsy reports
come, we cannot say if the girl
was raped. Prima facie, it appears the victim was subjected
to sexual assault before being
strangulated,” Raza said.
Darjeeling landslides: Toll hits 34,
rescue operations continue
and were feared dead, an
official said.“The body of
45-year-old Ramesh Rai was
recovered from 8 Mile area
in Kalimpong,” Darjeeling
district magistrate Anurag
Srivastava said.He said rescue and relief operations, in-
cluding the search for those
missing, continued but inclement weather and fresh
landslides were hampering
the process.
“The landslides have affected around 3,000 people.
We are running 33 relief
camps across the district,”
Srivastava addedThe National Disaster Response
Force (NDRF), the Sashastra
Seema Bal (SSB), the state
disaster management department and the army were
jointly carrying out rescue
work while the General Reserve Engineering Force was
working on a war-footing to
restore snapped road-links.
26 hurt in clashes after undertrial
lynched by guards in UP jail
Saturday evening. Agitated with
his act, the jail guards assaulted
Yadav, who later died at the district hospital, he said.
When the inmates came to
know about the undertrial’s
death, they clashed with the jail
guards and indulged in violence,
the SP said, adding 26 people,
including six policemen, were
injured in the incident. Police
lobbed tear gas shells, used water cannon and fired rubber bullets in a bid to control the situation, which was brought under
control in some time, he said.
The SP said that the matter is
under investigation.
Siliguri/Kolkata, July 5
(IANS) With the recovery of
one more body on Sunday,
the toll in the landslides
in West Bengal’s Darjeeling hills rose to 34, while
at least 10 more people remained on the missing-list
JAUNPUR July 5 (PTI): An
undertrial lodged at a district jail
here was beaten to death allegedly by prison guards for harassing a female colleague following
which the inmates clashed with
jail officials injuring 26 people,
including six policemen.
Superintendent of Police
Bharat Singh said that the inmate, Shyam Kumar Yadav, had
harassed a female jail guard on
6
EDIT
Indian Horizon
Monday July 6, 2015
Modi’s positives should not
be swamped by negatives
BY AMULYA GANGULI
Monday July 6, 2015
Indian education should start reforms
with a clear vision of history and the
modern life challenges
We must admit frankly and honestly that India is suffering for the
lack of right decisions taken under the pressure of nationalism or
revivalism. Thus, we are loosing even the slight touch we could
keep with the modern technology that had made strides elsewhere
and Indian universities perhaps will not ever touch them with the
policy and speed they have chosen. Even it is doubtful that what
technological progress inventions are making and how our over
enthusiasm of saving cultural heritage has kept us blind and ignorant of the modern progress elsewhere. We will start today with
evaluating the medium of English as medium of instruction selected and trying to impose English and trying to impose it at the
child`s early stage education and before he is able to understand
the basic concept in life. All over the world, everyone starts early
education in mother tongue and at a later stage, when the child is
able to understand the basic concept of life, child`s mother tongue
S
o, even as the economy is certified
by the Reserve Bank governor to
be on the mend, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to take
the country into a digital age with more
e-governance, it is the daily stumbles of
ministers and mandarins that are attracting greater attention.
While these missteps may be difficult
to prevent, given the casual manner in
which rules tend to be flouted by the
rich and powerful, a prompt and decisive
intervention from the highest levels will
be an effective counter to the impression that the government is being overwhelmed by various problems.
The prime minister’s decision to step
into the rumpus caused by the deplaning
of passengers in Leh, Ladakh, to accommodate VIPs is a sign that the norms are
being tightened.
But there has to be more such steps
at a time when the various controversies range from la’affaire Lalit Modi to
the mysterious deaths of the accused
and witnesses associated with a scam in
Madhya Pradesh to the holding up of an
international flight so that a member of a
chief minister’s staff can fetch his passport from home or the non-submission
of e-tenders (even as e-governance is being hailed) by a Maharashtra minister for
the purchase of fire extinguishers.
Collectively, the drip-drip of allegations can erode the government’s image. It will not be until the economy
reaches a high plateau of an 8-9 percent
growth rate, or the prime minister’s fabled penchant for enforcing discipline
begins to visibly bear fruit on more than
one occasion, that the government will
be able to breathe easily. The only success which the government has been
able to achieve so far is to prevent a
major communal flare-up. This accomplishment cannot but disappoint Congressmen like Mani Shankar Aiyar who
was hoping for a “Godhra moment” to
tarnish Narendra Modi’s name. Related
to this achievement is the government’s
success in taming the saffron hotheads.
As a result, the incidents of ‘ghar wapsi’
and ‘love jehad’ have tapered off, suggesting that a stern message is all that
is needed to bring the doctrinaire elements to book.
What is curious, however, is why the
government has been unwilling to take
pre-emptive action against the fundamentalists so that they will not be able to
queer the pitch to start with.
Had that been done, much of its image problems could have been avoided.
The anticipatory steps might have been
expected since the umbilical connections between those in the government
and the extremists outside would have
warned the former what to expect.
Yet, we have the instances of madrasas
(Muslim schools) being downgraded in
Maharashtra or the National Investigative Agency’s lawyers being asked to go
slow on Hindu militants, which cannot
but reinforce the perception of the government being guided by the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Arguably, by the time the economy
picks up and the daily gaffes are curbed,
the next general election will not be far
away. In the meantime, the state elections in Bihar, Assam, West Bengal and
elsewhere, apart from the various byelections, may not always yield results
in the BJP’s favour, thereby denting its
confidence. Since the run-up to a general election is not the time to take what
may be unpopular decisions, whatever
the government has to do on the economic front has to be done now. If any
“bitter medicine” is to be administered,
as the prime minister said right at the
beginning of his tenure, this is the time
for it to be given. But as long as the government continues to grapple with the
various controversies, any movement
even on ushering in governance via mobile phones, as Modi promised, or ensuring Swachh Bharat, let alone on the
economy, will be tentative.
What the fate of the Congress in the
last general election has shown is that
the government must always be proactive about its plus points. Otherwise,
an accumulation of negative impressions can be fatal.
As is known, the poverty reduction under the Manmohan Singh government
was the fastest in the country’s history.
This was stated by none other than the
present government’s chief economic
adviser, Arvind Subramanian. Notwithstanding this remarkable achievement,
the Congress crashed to its worst defeat
in its history simply because the many
scams, big and small, undermined the
party’s and the government’s credibility.
If the Modi government wants to avoid
a similar outcome, it will have to match
its performance with promise. And the
promise is not only the one on economic
growth but also on transparency in official functioning based on trust and credibility. However, trust cannot be gained
by rejecting a Right to Information (RTI)
application seeking details on the former
cricket impresario, Lalit Modi’s passport.
Nor can it be enhanced if a minister
of state in the external affairs ministry
accuses those seeking such information
as conducting a “supari” (contract) operation. This was the point which L.K.
Advani made when he recalled how he
resigned when a momentary shadow was
cast on his reputation with the mention
of his name in a hawala transaction.
Considering that the octogenarian
leader is expected to indicate the marg or
path which the party should follow, his
advice should not be ignored.
IANS
we adopt as medium of institution, which the child needs for understanding wider aspects of life. Even English should have been introduced much later and certainly not before the child understand his/
her own cultural values and related concepts of life. All the reforms
MPs say parliament canteen
subsidy can be done away with
BY SREEPARNA CHAKRABARTY
in English language have gone through in America and other countries in the commonwealth the English language is not suitable for
early education even for the children, whose mother tongue is English and English offers many hurdles. Indians were forced to learn
English to help the British administrators in running the country,
as they had earlier to learn Urdu to communicate with Indians, as
Urdu had already become a common language of India and both
for education, administration, commerce and Judiciary were using
Urdu most conveniently all over India. The British were apprehensive of not having the chances of establishing the superiority of ruling class by replacing Urdu with English what damage it has done
to the progress of India is not properly assessed upto this date .
The Indian government made the fundamental mistake in
making Hindi as a national language because it was well-known
to the government and rulers that this will not be accepted anywhere in India except the Hindi speaking small belt. The second
mistake which they made was to adopt English for administration
and this created the mess, both in the administration as well as in
education. The basic misunderstanding was that Hindi language by
U
nder fire for gorging on cheap
food at the Parliament House
canteen, many MPs feel the subsidy being given can be done away with
as it was only creating a “bad press”.
An RTI query had recently revealed
that the government faced a loss of
around Rs. 14 crore (over $2 million) in
2013-14 because of subsidy at the more
than half-a-dozen canteens in the parliament complex. Most members of parliament IANS spoke to said an issue was
being created out of nothing over the
subsidy as most government canteens
provide similar benefits.
“I think the amount of money being
spent on subsidizing the food is creating
much bad press. It is something which
can be done away with,” Sikkim MP P.D.
Rai (Sikkim Democratic Front) told IANS.
A policy decision should also be taken
to do away with all kinds of subsidies
being given in government institutions
across the board, he added.
“This aspect has not been explored
yet. There are numerous Public Sector
Undertakings (PSU) and other government institutions which offer subsidized food at their canteens,” he said.
CPI-M member from Kerala M.B. Rajesh
told IANS: “I don’t know why people are
making such a hue and cry about it. It
is not only the MPs but also other peo-
ple like journalists and parliament staff
who eat at the canteen. If taking away
this subsidy is the solution to all issues,
then it is ok.” “We are wasting our time
on silly issues,” he added. An MP can at
present have a three-course lunch at the
parliament canteen for a mere Rs. 38.
The canteens were much in news lately
when Prime Minister Narendra Modi
walked into one of them for a simple
vegetarian lunch.
The low prices at which MPs and other
designated people can feed themselves
have not been revised since 2010 by an
authorized committee headed by TRS
MP Jithendra Reddy.
Reddy was not available for comment.
However, BJP MP Arjun Ram Meghwal
told IANS: “The prices are revised every
three-four years. We will discuss it in the
committee and the government can take
a decision.”
The subsidy has been in place since
1952. The canteen facilities are also
availed of by the Rajya Sabha secretariat,
the Lok Sabha secretariat and the media.
Privately, however, many MPs maintain that the situation is much overrated.
Meghwal said: “Some of the MPs stay
alone, they have to eat when parliament
is in session.” According to Rajesh, the
problem is that most Indians think all
MPs are very rich. “In the public mind,
only one category of MPs are there, those
who are very rich. Fifty percent of MPs
are like that, but some others like us are
also there who are not rich,” Rajesh said,
adding that outside parliament, there are
many more richer people, who get bigger
subsidies. (An MP’s salary is Rs.50,000
per month plus other perks.)
“There is a thinking that rates at the
parliament canteen are very cheap. But
the fact is that quality is also like that
(nothing to write home about),” he added. Many MPs claimed they don’t eat at
the parliament canteen at all. “I only take
lunch at the parliament canteen. All my
other meals are at home,” Rajesh said.
A very senior MP, who didn’t want to
be named, said apart from MPs, there
were many others who are dependent on
the parliament canteens.
“There are more than 9,000 employees of parliament who benefit from the
canteen facilities,” the MP told IANS.
He added that parliament doesn’t even
function for 100 days per year and it was
unfair to say that huge losses were being
accrued due to the subsidy.
Whatever the arguments might be, the
fact remains that a look at the menu of
the parliament canteens shows why they
have come under the public eye. Yellow
dal, considered to be the poor man’s
food in India, costs just Rs.1.50 for a single bowl, while a bowl of kheer costs only
Rs 5.50. Similarly, a small fruit cake is for
Rs 9.50 and a helping of fruit salad is for
Rs 7. At the higher end, a chicken curry
costs Rs.45 and the newly-introduced
Hyderabadi biryani - an improvement
over its predecessor - costs Rs.51.
Delhi government to install jammers at exam centres
BY GAURAV SHARMA
that time had not acquired the status of a literary language. Hindi
had many dialects and they tried to make it a national language
adopting the pattern of Urdu. Certainly Hindi diction has its own
charm and it shins for feminine conversational medium but, once
it is used as an educational and literary language, they had to take
in limitless Sanskrit words and various literary formulas. Sanskrit
itself had gone through number of changes and those changes into
various dialects of every region. There were several forms in Hindi
or great books. To make it an state academic and literary language
and adopt it for science and technology, let us be very frank to admit that Urdu should drop the habit of using Arabic and Persian
words, rather than adopting the first Indian culturally free flown
terms from Indian source or retain the terms as it is used all over
the world in various languages commonly. This is the first step to
take for starting reform in Indian education system. The other steps
we will suggest in our other editorials or articles in course of time.
IANS
T
he AAP government
has decided to install
jammers to prevent
cheating with the help of
high-tech electronic gadgets in examinations held for
Delhi government jobs. The
growing use of electronic
devices in written tests has
the city government worried over the possibility of
incompetent candidates entering the government.
"After successfully using
the jammers in a clerk-level
exam on a pilot basis a couple of months ago, the Delhi
Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) has decided to use the device in its
critical exams," a government official told IANS. Set
up in 1996, DSSSB conducts
written tests and interviews
for middle and lower level
jobs in the state government and civic agencies.
A mobile phone jammer is
an instrument used to prevent cellular phones from
receiving signals from base
stations. When used, the
jammer effectively disables
cellular phones. It transmits
on the same radio frequencies as the cell phone, disrupting the communication
between the phone and the
cell-phone base station in
the tower. "Nowadays students are using technology to pass exams which is
the other facet of technol-
ogy. You remember 'Munna
Bhai MBBS', don't you,"
added the official. "Munna
Bhai MBBS" is a Bollywood
movie in which the protagonist - a local goon - is shown
taking a medical exam with
the help of a tiny earphone.
"Applications have been invited from various service
providers of phone jammers," an official said. According to the tender, the
agency will have to ensure
that sufficient number of
jammers are supplied and
installed to block cell phone
and blue tooth services at
the exam centre. Another
requirement is that jammers work with or without
electric supply for the entire
duration of the exams without any technical fault.
Various gadgets are available in the market that can
be customized to fit into
salwar-kameez sets, sports
bras, jackets, shirts and
regular buttons. In May, the
Supreme Court had directed
the Centre to install phone
jammers at exam centres to
prevent paper leaks and other malpractices.
The directive had come after alleged cheating in the All
India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT). Many aspirants had sim
cards stitched to their shirts
and had blue-tooth devices.
Over 350 calls were made to
the various exam centres.
Readers Response and contribution Welcome
IANS
Monday July 6, 2015
The state of higher
education in India
The craving to control the best
institutions predates Irani and even
her predecessor, the highly educated
polymath Kapil Sibal
BY RAVI MENON
W
hen Smriti Irani was chosen to be India’s Minister for Human Resources Development in Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, sceptics immediately pounced on her lack of formal education. Many
felt otherwise, for she is feisty, energetic and articulate and
these qualities, it was felt, would more than make up for
her dubious academic qualifications. Has she shattered
these high expectations? Are her oratorical skills being fritted away? Combativeness is a strength but not always. She
should get off the back of centres of higher learning like
the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA)
and other schools of excellence. And what indeed is the
state of higher education in India?
The Congress party’s Mani Shankar Aiyar and the historian Ramachandra Guha have written extensively on Irani’s failings and the trend seen since her appointment of
creeping ‘saffronisation’ of education. Many readers may
contest the use of the expression ‘saffronisation’ in this
context, for it means different things to different people
and to some it might seem as an attempt to devalue, deride
and mock the glory of ancient India.
The study of Sanskrit at the expense of German made
headlines recently and Irani’s combativeness was put
to good use, as there are scholarly essays that argue that
learning Sanskrit can be of great value in computer programming and coding. Ancient India has much to teach
modern India and Shashi Tharoor wrote an excellent article extolling the virtues of ancient India but stressing the
need for a healthy dose of scientific temper while reading
these scripts from antiquity.
Sadly it is this recent obsession with Hindu exceptionalism that clouds a fuller understanding of India, modern
or ancient. India’s higher education system is impressive
but only on paper; though the third largest in the world
behind the United States and China, it sadly lacks internationally recognised schools except for a few. And even
these appear only in the top 100 or 200, barring the Indian
Institute of Science Bengaluru, which ranked 22nd in 2014,
the IIMA, which was ranked 7th by the Financial Times in
2011 and the University of Calcutta, ranked 38 in 2005. Incidentally, this was the first multi-disciplinary university
in modern India, established in 1857.
The trends seen world-wide show a close linkage between higher educational institutions and research bodies, whether in the private or public domain. There is an
umbilical connection here as research drives the surge for
excellence and it is a two way process; both sides benefit.
India, though an early entrant to scientific research, concentrated heavily on establishing and funding autonomous
institutions that until very recently were completely isolated from universities or seats of higher learning. Countries
like Taiwan and South Korea, much later entrants, did not
make these mistakes and are way ahead of India.
Autonomy is another key mantra in spawning world famous universities. W.R. Niblett, Professor of higher education, University of London notes that “The first justification of university autonomy lies here; if any subject is to
be studied in a way as to yield truth and insight … it must
be studied not just instrumentally but autonomously and
this applies to business management and veterinary science”. How does this square with Irani’s drive to throttle
the IIM’s autonomy granted to it years ago?
The IIMs, and in particular IIMA, need our special attention. The IIM Bill 2015 that Irani is vigorously championing and is the cause of a flurry of debates and public
activism requires close scrutiny. First, the two oldest IIMs,
Calcutta and Ahmedabad, and others that followed, were
created as autonomous institutions for the very reasons
put forward by Professor Niblett.
They are publicly funded to an extent but they have always been out of reach of the Indian University establishment and that is precisely the reason why they do not have
degree awarding rights. Consequently these institutions
hand out diplomas but in no way has that dimmed the
prestige and recognition conferred on its alumina.
Why then would these institutions give up their hard
earned rights? The IIM Bill 2015 has some merits but at the
heart of this draft legislation is the overweening craving to
control and wield influence on these institutions. And to
be fair to Irani this predates her and even her predecessor,
the highly educated polymath Kapil Sibal of the Congress
party, who was attempting to do the same thing. Recently The Hindu newspaper thundered in its editorial ‘Give
IIMs their freedom’ and questioned the purpose of this bill
pointing out ominously that the word ‘regulate’ finds repeated mention in the bill. IIMA was formed in 1961 and
the book ‘The IIMA Story’ by Praful Anubhai tells us how
it was born, who were the key players and what has made
it synonymous with success. Its founding fathers were two
famous Gujaratis — Vikram Sarabhai and Kasturbhai Lalbhai — and IIMA was one of the first public-private partnerships in education in India. Would a prime minister who
takes such enormous pride in his Gujarati roots let any
harm come to this prized asset? Will Irani, one of Modi’s
storm troopers, be asked to step down?
COURTESY : GULF NEWS
7
OP-ED
GREECE SHOULD VOTE FOR THE RULE OF LAW
Today’s referendum is first, second and third about whether the country wants a chance to save itself
BY PHILIP STEPHENS
G
reece cannot win from Sunday’s referendum.
Rejection of the terms demanded by the country’s creditors would accelerate the slide into
economic chaos and, more than likely, exit from the
euro. A vote of no-confidence in the Syriza government’s negotiating strategy — a “Yes” vote as framed
by obscure language of the referendum — would maroon Greece in political no-man’s land. Greek Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras would be stripped of all authority, but it is not at all obvious how, or by whom,
he would be replaced.
Even by the eccentric standards of Syriza, Tsipras’
latest antics have been extraordinary. Rejection of the
Eurozone’s bailout conditions was followed by the
coup de theatre of the referendum. As the government defaulted on an International Monetary Fund
(IMF) payment and banks began to run out of money,
an abrupt reversal saw Tsipras suggest he could call
off the vote and accept the creditors’ terms with only
small adjustments. No deal. So in a second volte-face
he denounced his interlocutors as “sirens of destruction” and blackmailers.
Which is it Tsipras? An argument between borrower
and creditors about the detail of pension cuts and tax
increases or an attempt by “extremist conservative
forces” in Berlin and beyond to shackle Greece in permanent penury? Even now, the prime minister struggles to make up his mind. As one weary European
official has been heard say, negotiating with hardline
ideologues is always challenging; finding common
ground with adolescent ideologues is impossible.
Those who want to see Greece return to prosperity
within the European Union (EU) will hope for a ‘Yes’
vote in today’s plebiscite, even if it is not much more
than the lesser of two evils. Syriza claims that a ‘No’
vote would force the Eurozone back to the negotiating
table. Wrong. Other Eurozone governments do not
feel in any way bound by it. Why should they? Trust
has evaporated. Tsipras has never quite grasped that
other nations too have democracies. A ‘No’ would be
taken as a decision to return to the Drachma. Europe,
as well as Greece, would be greatly impoverished by
the emergence of another failing state in the Balkans.
No one, though, should imagine that by defying
Syriza and voting ‘Yes’ Greece will be mapping out a
shortcut back to sustainable growth and rising living
standards. Greece’s destiny is in its own hands. Sure,
it needs debt relief. Only last week the IMF said that,
at a minimum, sustainability requires significant extension of debt maturities. But none of this can be
unconditional. Debt write-offs might provide immediate relief, but ultimately would be worthless without radical reform of the state. So the real argument
should be about sequencing.
Above all else, a sustained Greek recovery requires
the application of the rule of law. Curiously, before
this year’s election, Tsipras was promising just that:
A drive against the oligarchs, cartels, clientelism and
corruption that have long disfigured Greek society
and suffocated enterprise. As things have turned out,
Syriza has preferred to look after its own clients. His
many twists and turns have driven Tsipras’ interlocutors to despair, but what has most dismayed them has
been the absence of a serious effort to clean up governance. The striking thing about the conditions set out
in the Eurozone’s last, rejected, bailout plan was how
many of them were about governance: Measures to
improve transparency in decision-making, confront
price-fixing, deter corruption, stamp out fraud and,
to put it simply, enforce the law. These are reforms
calculated to serve the people of Greece. Is it really
blackmail to ask Athens to clamp down on tax evasion
or to ban the price-rigging that forces citizens to pay
at least twice as much as need be for vital medicines?
The rest of Europe can take no comfort from
Greece’s predicament. Fair as it may be, blaming
Syriza does not solve anything. German Chancellor
Angela Merkel says she cannot recall when Europe
last faced such challenging times. She is right. The
threats are not just from Grexit, from the waves of immigrants crossing the Mediterranean or the terrorists
making Europe their target. The continent has been
witnessing at once a collapse of confidence and a
deep erosion of what used to be called solidarity.
Travelling around Europe these past few months
I have heard finance ministers and central bankers insist that the Eurozone would ride out a Greek
exit. They would say that, of course, but I think they
believe it. What such judgements miss is the cumulative impact, the psychological shift that would
follow even a partial failure of the EU’s most ambitious integration project.
Among most of the political elites there remains a
conviction that the future belongs to the EU’s model
of shared sovereignty. And yes, Grexit may well accelerate the pace of integration within the Eurozone
so as to create an economic alongside the monetary
union. But public moods across the continent have
soured. Cooperation has become consciously transactional and governments far more reluctant to locate
their national interests in broader mutual advantage.
For all that Tsipras has sought to make the precise
question incomprehensible, today’s referendum is
first, second and third about whether Greece wants a
chance to save itself. The consequences of its choice,
though, will reach well beyond Athens.
Will Ahmadinejad come in from the cold?
Any breakdown in Tehran’s current negotiations with the P5+1 may present the newly-formed party Yekta
with a golden opportunity to campaign on an egalitarian economic platform
BY SHAHIR SHAHIDSALESS
L
ast month, a group of former cabinet ministers,
former members of parliament and other former officials close to Iran’s former controversial
president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced the
formation of a party called Yekta, meaning Unique,
but also an acronym for ‘Comrades for the Effectiveness and Transformation of Islamic Iran’ in Persian.
Iran’s Ministry of Interior, controlled by President
Hassan Rouhani’s camp and the moderates who are
fierce opponents of Ahmadinejad’s camp, declared
the formation of Yekta “illegal” unless the party gets
permission from and registers with the ministry.
However, founders of Yekta maintained that their
group was not a formal party. They asserted that
Yekta was a front that pursued a specific discourse
and sought “to impact all the [political] issues of the
country”. According to Hamid Reza Haji Babaie, former minister of education under Ahmadinejad and
temporary spokesman of Yekta, the front’s purpose is
“rooted in the discourse of Imam [Ayatollah Khomeini] and the Leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] which is
the duty of all who believe in the Guardianship of the
Jurist to follow”.
Members of Yekta who, according to their opponents, “are driving in the dark with their headlights
off”, do not want to incite anyone at this point. They
realise that strong sensitivities remain against Ahmadinejad, mainly among the middle class in large
cities. Publicly, they seek to avoid associations with
Ahmadinejad, fearing that early revelation of such a
connection may have dire political consequences.
The conclusion of Ahmadinejad’s second term in
2013 left Iran economically and politically bankrupt.
Furthermore, the country’s domestic political environment was immensely securitised. The landslide
victory of Rouhani, one of the leading members of
the moderate camp in 2013, left observers with the
impression that Ahmadinejad’s return would be
unimaginable in the near future. Apparently, Ahmadinejad himself is not convinced of this. Heshmatollah Falahat Pisheh, a former member of the
parliament and renowned Iranian political analyst,
alluding to the formation of Yekta, recently said that
Ahmadinejad has crafted a mechanism to become
active in Iran’s politics. “Undoubtedly, Ahmadinejad
has plans to return as president,” he asserted. Falahat
Pisheh added, “Some of Ahmadinejad’s advisers posit
that by gaining a popular base through promotion
of a populist agenda, he could attract the support of
some Principalist [conservative] factions, representing a significant political shift [in Iran].”
Ahmadinejad left office on bad terms with many
Principalists. Interestingly, however, the head of one
Principalist faction in parliament, Gulam Ali Haddad Adel, a close ally of Ayatollah Khamenei (Haddad
Adel’s daughter married Mojtaba Khamenei, the son
of Ayatollah Khamenei), now says that the Yekta can
help unite the Principalists.
Ahmadinejad rose to power in 2005 almost out of
nowhere. His rise was primarily attributed to two factors: First, his widespread support from the Principalists and their grassroots supporters in opposition to
moderates/reformists. Second, middle class urbanites that were attracted to his slogans about social and
economic justice, as well as war against corruption
and economic monopoly. Ahmadinejad was never a
Principalist, hardliner, conservative or revolutionary.
His agenda was to grab power exclusively and to stay
in power. He was a perfect Machiavellian who possessed an endless thirst for power.
In pursuit of his goal, he embarked on a multidimensional plan. Domestically, he would attack
moderates and reformists, thus seeking to eliminate
his most threatening rivals. At the same time, he
bought the support of hardliners and the Supreme
Leader who, although unlike hardliners does not
consider talks with the Americans a red line, does
seek a more robust foreign policy and also opposes Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami’s
conciliatory foreign policy.
Internationally, Ahmadinejad pursued a dual approach towards foreign policy. He publicly attacked
the US and Israel to gain popularity within Iran’s
conservative circles and also outside Iran, within the
Islamic world. He sought political clout in the Islamic
world so that America could not ignore him. At the
same time, he made overt but veiled suggestions
towards rapprochement. Covertly, he would make
more significant efforts towards rapprochement with
the US. The logic behind this strategy was that if he
covertly succeeded in striking a deal with the United
States, he would then proclaim success publicly. Following the revelation, he would launch a propaganda
campaign claiming that the deal was due to his courageous and aggressive stance, making him a national
hero who was able to bring America to its knees.
According to Barbara Slavin, journalist and Iran expert, former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice
told her in early 2006: “We were getting pinged in a lot
of places, from the United Nations, to Baghdad and
the Afghan capital, Kabul, with messages saying the
Iranians wanted to talk.”
In a conciliatory effort unprecedented since the
Islamic republic’s formation, Ahmadinejad wrote a
congratulatory letter to US President Barack Obama,
which went unanswered. He also offered to meet
Obama in his interview with Larry King in 2010. As
explained in the book co-written by this author, while
he publicly attacked the US, a former US official said:
“I have met Mashaei [Ahmadinejad’s confidante]
eight times seeking an opening to talks and relations
between Iran and the US.”
Ahmadinejad was hopeful, until the very end of his
presidency, that he could establish strong, grassroots
support by bringing the US-Iran conflict to closure and
securing an end to sanctions against Iran. Responding to the question of how Ahmadinejad could regain
popular support, Pisheh contends: “By invoking justice and working on the low-income portion of Iran’s
society, especially at a time when people’s living and
economic hardships are not yet resolved.” There is a
hidden factor in this argument and that is the fate of
nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 (US, Britain,
France, Russia, China plus Germany). If the talks succeed, after years of isolation, the reasonable easing
or removal of sanctions will lay the foundation of an
economic boom in the aftermath of a nuclear deal.
Governments, industrial giants, entrepreneurs, traders
and marketers are eying a wealth of opportunities in
Iran’s huge and untapped frontier market.
Holistic approach for Smart Cities mission:
Need for a reference framework
BY SUJAYA RATHI AND
SHRIMOYEE BHATTACHARYA
W
ith the simultaneous launch of
the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation
and Urban Transformation (AMRUT),
Housing for All and the coveted Smart
Cities Mission (SCM) on June 25, 2015,
it was a landmark day in the evolution
of India's urban agenda. The message of
convergence emerging from the common launch of all three programmes
will hopefully be sustained in the future
while implementing them. The Smart
City guidelines seek the convergence of
different schemes like AMRUT, Swachh
Bharat Mission (SBM), National Heritage City Development and Augmen-
tation Yojana (HRIDAY), Digital India,
Skill Development, Housing for All, construction of Museums funded by the culture department and other programmes
connected with social infrastructure
such as health, education and culture.
SCM, with an outlay of Rs.48,000 crore
($7.5 billion), is expected to enhance the
quality of life in 100 cities, which will
be identified over the next few months.
Since the initial declaration of building Smart Cities in the BJP's election
manifesto in early 2014, the Modi government's plans on this front have been
taking shape slowly, and will need time
to evolve. The SCM guidelines highlight
the need for a holistic approach to ur-
ban development. This will require an
integration of physical, institutional, social and economic infrastructure. Thus
emerges the need for a strategically articulated framework to address a city's
urban challenges, which will greatly aid
this process of integration. This framework should focus on a more processoriented path than a simple projectoriented path. The guidelines provided
by the government do not mention a
specific definition of Smart City. There
are, however, four key imperatives that
emerge from the guidelines along with
various other perspectives on smart
cities obtained from both academic literature and deliberations in India over
the last 15 months. The first imperative
is that a city needs to be sustainable in
order to be smart. This will mean that
the interventions under the Smart Cities
Mission need to align their goals, objectives and processes to the overarching
principle of sustainability. The Draft
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
released by the United Nations can be
a useful and handy reference. The key
principles emerging from SDGs include
ensuring well-being, equity, efficiency,
and embedding foresight in all plans
and actions. Adhering to these principles at all stages of all programmes
will ensure consistency in the outcomes
achieved and thus enable the muchintended convergence of programmes
sought by the Smart Cities Mission
Guidelines. The second imperative that
emerges is the importance of imbibing
the characteristics of good governance
for achieving sustainability.
IANS
The views expressed in these columns are the writers’ own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Indian Horizon or its management.-Editor
8
International
Greeks vote in landmark
referendum on debt deal
Athens, July 5 (IANS) Greeks
were participating on Sunday in a
landmark referendum on terms of
agreement on the next debt deal
with the country’s lenders.
The voting was unfolding
smoothly and without problems
at polling stations throughout
the country, officials said. Greece
President Prokopis Pavlopoulos appealed to Greeks to remain
united regardless of the outcome
of Sunday’s vote, ANA-MPA news
agency reported.According to the
Greek ministry of internal affairs
and administrative reform, about
8.5 million people are eligible to
vote in the referendum. The referendum would be considered valid
if at least 40 percent of registered
voters participate in the vote, TASS
news agency reported.The polling
began at 7 a.m and is scheduled to
close at 7 p.m. (9.30 IST). It would
determine if Greece would avert a
looming disorderly default or exit
the eurozone.Ahead of the referendum, Greek Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras gave a call to the citizens to
vote against the creditor proposals
for austerity reforms, thus throwing into question the country’s
continuance in the eurozone.He
said the creditors’ proposals were
clearly violating the pan-European
rules and the right to employment,
equality and dignity. He urged the
Greek people to say “no” to the
proposals and the “no” vote would
be the chief argument which the
government would use as the basis
for improving the parameters of
the agreement during further consultations with the creditors.
Hillary Clinton accuses China of
stealing US secrets
Washington, July 5 (IANS) US
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has accused
China of stealing commercial
secrets and government information, saying the country is
“trying to hack into everything
that doesn’t move in America”,
and urged vigilance, BBC reported on Sunday.
US officials, earlier this year,
named China as the chief suspect in the massive hack of the
records of a US government
agency.
But China denied any involvement, and called US claims “irresponsible”.Speaking at a cam-
paign event in New Hampshire,
Clinton, the former secretary of
state, said China was stealing secrets from defence contractors
and had taken “huge amounts
of government information, all
looking for an advantage”.
Clintion said she wanted to
see China’s peaceful rise but
that the US needed to stay “fully
vigilant”.“China’s military is
growing very quickly, they’re establishing military installations
that again threaten countries we
have treaties with, like the Philippines, because they are building on contested property,” she
said.
‘India’s abstention against
vote on Israel significant shift’
Jerusalem, Jul 5 (PTI) India’s
abstention in a vote at the UNHCR on a UN report critical of Israel’s Gaza war last year is being
seen here as a “significant shift”
in New Delhi’s policy, a “testament to strong ties” which are
“taking off” under the new NDA
regime, experts have said.
In a “historic first” in UN votes
on Israel, India did not vote for
the Palestinians, but rather abstained, wrote a commentator
while others described it as “dra-
Deadly strikes by US-led coalition
targeting IS in Raqqa
BEIRUT July 5 (PTI): US-led
coalition aircraft unleashed a
series of airstrikes targeting the
Islamic State group’s stronghold of Raqqa in eastern Syria,
killing at least 10 militants and
wounding many others, the coalition and the group said today.
At least 16 airstrikes were
reported yesterday and today,
triggering successive explosions
that shook the city and created
panic among residents, activists said. The US-led coalition
often targets IS-held towns and
cities in Syria, but the overnight
strikes on Raqqa were rare in
matic” and an “unprecedented
achievement for Israel”.
They said the move indicated
a major “take off” in ties indicated also by an announcement by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
to visit Israel, the first by an Indian Premier.
“That India’s representative
in Geneva abstained on Friday
is a significant shift testament to
Suicide blast at northeast
Nigeria church, 5 dead
The pack passes through the city center of Utrecht during the ceremonial procession prior to the start of the second stage of the Tour
de France cycling race over 166 kilometers (103 miles) with start in
Utrecht and finish in Neeltje Jans, Netherlands, Sunday, July 5, 2015.
AP/PTI
WORLD SNIPPETS
Nepal Maoist chief to visit India
Kathmandu, July 5 (IANS) Unified Communist Party of Nepal
(Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as ‘Prachanda’, will visit India from July 14 to 19 on an invitation from
the Indian government, his party said on Sunday.
“Our chairman is visiting India,” UCPN (Maoist) vice chairman
Narayan Kaji Shrestha told IANS, adding that details of Dahal’s
visit and agenda will be made public later.
The Nepali Maoist leader’s visit to India comes at a time when
the country’s constitution-drafting process is gaining momentum and disagreements have cropped up among some sections
of the political class. Therefore, Dahal’s visit is widely seen as a
political one. Dahal’s five-day visit will give India an opportunity
to engage with the Nepali Maoist leadership and to take stock of
the political situation in the Himalayan nation. Another Maoist leader told IANS that Dahal’s visit will also help the leader to
understand as to what India thinks about Nepal’s constitutional
process, besides issues related to the country’s development and
prospects of a Nepal-India-China trilateral cooperation.
Dalai Lama to celebrate 80th
birthday in California
Los Angeles, Jul 5 (AFP) The Dalai Lama launches three days
of celebrations today in California for his 80th birthday at what is
billed as a Global Compassion Summit but which is expected to
draw protests.
Thousands of followers and fans of the Tibetan spiritual leader
are to attend events in Anaheim and at the University of Irvine,
including on his actual birthday tomorrow.“This milestone occasion is a joyous opportunity for people to come together in celebration of His Holiness’ life and achievements,” said Venerable
Lama Tenzin Dhonden, founder of the non-profit Friends of the
Dalai Lama.“On this very special birthday we will have a chance
to celebrate his accomplishments in many areas and hear his
exciting view for the years to come.” The celebrations start with
a speech by the Dalai Lama today on “awakening compassion”
and the “transformative power of creativity and art” at the Honda
Center in Anaheim, south of Los Angeles.
Lebanese Hezbollah, Syrian army
enter rebel-held border city
Beirut July 5 (PTI): The Syrian army and Lebanese Hezbollah
fighters said on Sunday they had entered the rebel-held city of
Zabadani on the second day of a major offensive to capture the
border area around the Beirut-Damascus highway. The army,
backed by Hezbollah, has long sought to wrest control of Zabadani, near the Lebanese border, from the rebels who have held it
since 2012, a year after the start of the Syrian civil war.
The Lebanese Shi`ite group Hezbollah`s al Manar television station said its fighters and the Syrian army had entered the Jamaiyat
district in the western part of Zabadani, about 45 km (30 miles)
northwest of the capital Damascus.
Footage showed ground troops entering parts of the city lying in
a lush agricultural plain surrounded by a mountain range shared
to the east with Lebanon.
The offensive began on Saturday and was preceded by several
days of aerial and artillery bombing of outposts held by a coalition
of mainly Sunni Muslim jihadist fighters defending the city.The
Syrian army also said on state television their fighters had seized
the Sultani district, east of the city, while Hezbollah said it now had
encircled the northern portion.
POTISKUM
(NIGERIA), Jul 5 (PTI): A
woman suicide bomber
blew up in the midst of
a crowded evangelical
Christian church service in northeast Nigeria
on Sunday and killed at
least five people, witnesses said.It is the latest
in a string of bombings
and shooting attacks
blamed on the Islamic
extremist group Boko
Haram that has killed
some 200 people in the
past week.Nearly 100
men and boys praying in
a mosque were gunned
down on Wednesday.
Police rushed to the
Redeemed
Christian
Church of God in Potiskum, the largest city in
northeastern Yobe state.
Wailing women and
stunned men wandered
aimlessly.
One congregant said
the blast came from a
woman who was in the
congregation. She said
she was too scared to
give her name.
An AP reporter counted five bodies from the
blast in the morgue of
the local hospital, where
a wounded woman was
being treated.Nigeria’s
the strong ties that have developed between Israel and India
over the last 20 years, and which
are taking off now under Prime
Minister Narendra Modi,” a columnist wrote.
“This is a huge development
for India, one of the leaders of
the Non-Aligned Movement,
which as a movement always
voted against Israel,” he noted.
Indian-Americans raise USD
75,000 for eye hospital in Bihar
President
Muhammadu Buhari on Friday
condemned the latest
attacks as barbaric and
said they underline the
need for an expanded
multinational army to
crush the extremists.
Boko Haram took control of a large swath of
northeast Nigeria last
year and declared an Islamic caliphate.
As it stepped up crossborder attacks, Nigeria and its neighbours
formed a multinational
army that this year
drove them out of towns
and villages.
conducted to date in Syria, and
it will have debilitating effects
on Daesh’s ability to move”
from Raqqa.
Raqqa is the de facto capital
of the so-called Islamic caliphate declared a year ago by the
Islamic State group in territories
it controls in Iraq and Syria. An
IS-affiliated militant website
confirmed the strikes on the
center of the city, saying 10
people were killed and dozens
wounded. It also published purported photos of dead victims,
including two of young boys
suggesting they were civilians.
their intensity. In a statement
issued early today, the coalition said it had conducted 16
airstrikes throughout Raqqa,
destroying vital IS-controlled
structures and transit routes in
Syria.
“The significant airstrikes
tonight were executed to deny
Daesh the ability to move military capabilities throughout
Syria and into Iraq,” said coalition spokesman lt col Thomas
Gilleran, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.
“This was one of the largest deliberate engagements we have
Washington, Jul 5 (PTI)
Indian-Americans have
raised USD 75,000 at a
recent fund raiser in California to build a state- ofthe-art 200-bed super
speciality eye-hospital in
Bihar.The Shankara Eye
Foundation and the Bihar Foundation USA have
pledged to raise USD 4
million towards the initial
capital cost of the project, that aims to conduct
25,000 free surgeries every year.
It would benefit more
than one lakh people of
Bihar every year, said Rai
Rajiv Kumar Sinha, vice
chairman of Bihar Foundation of USA.The foundation held its fund raiser
in the last week of June in
Cupertino Community
hall, San Francisco bay
area, a media release said
yesterday.
The annual function
of Bihar Foundation was
attended by eminent Bihari-Americans.
Dr Jayant Kumar, project officer of the foundation, announced the USD
75,000 donation on behalf
of the project core committee as the first foundational step towards success of the project.
Israeli daily Haaretz saw India’s
abstention as reflective of “a significant policy change” by Delhi,
which traditionally voted in favour of all anti-Israel resolutions
in UN institutions.
“Friday’s abstention was another sign of warming ties between India and Israel since the
election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014,” it said.
Runaway terrorist shot
dead in Saudi Arabia
Riyadh, July 5 (IANS) A terrorist, who escaped a raid at a house
in Saudi Arabia’s Taif city, was
killed in a shootout with police,
the interior ministry said here on
Sunday.
Yousef Abdullatif Shabab AlGhamdi was killed in a hideout
on Saturday after he exchanged
gunfire with security forces, refusing to surrender, Arab News
cited the ministry as saying in a
statement.
Al-Ghamdi on Friday escaped
the raid at a house in Taif city in
Mecca province, during which
three of his colleagues were captured, police said.Security forces
seized flags of Islamic State, gun
silencers and computers from the
house.
Indian aviation experts to inspect Nepal’s second intelligence airport
Kathmandu July 5 (PTI): A team of Indian aviation experts will arrive here tomorrow to inspect any possible damage
to Nepal’s only international airport due
to the powerful April 25 quake besides
offering help in constructing a second
international airport along the border
with India.
The four-member engineering team
led by executive director of Airport Au-
On his native
turf, Pope Francis
touches on
cherished issues
QUITO July 5 (PTI): History’s
first Latin American pope returns
to Spanish-speaking South America
for the first time on Sunday, bringing a message of solidarity with the
region’s poor, who are expected to
turn out in droves to welcome their
native son home.“The pope of the
poor” chose to visit Ecuador, Bolivia
thority of India H S Suresh will carry out
inspection of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) and also pay a field
visit to the Simara Airport proposed at
Nijgadh in Bara district, 200 km south
from here, officials said.
According to a senior government
official, the team is arriving here to assess possible damage caused by the two
major earthquakes and the subsequent
and Paraguay specifically because
they are among the poorest and
most marginal nations of a region
that claims 40 per cent of the world’s
Catholics. He’s skipping his homeland of Argentina, at least partly to
avoid papal entanglement in this
year’s presidential election.
The trip starts in Ecuador, where
falling world prices for oil and minerals threaten to fray the social
safety net woven by President Rafael
Correa, who has been buffeted for
nearly a month by the most serious
anti-government street protests of
his more than eight years in power.
Pak Urdu novelist
Abdullah Hussain dead
Lahore, Jul 5 (PTI) Eminent
Pakistani Urdu novelist Abdullah Hussain who authored the
bestseller and critically- acclaimed ‘Udas Naslain’ passed
away here.Hussain was 84.
He was suffering from blood
cancer for the past one year
and his condition deteriorated on Friday.He breathed
his last yesterday at his Lahore
residence.Hussai, whose real
name was Mohammad Khan,
is survived by his wife, a son
and a daughter.Besides ‘Udas
Naslain’ - considered a masterpiece of Urdu literature, he
will be remembered for his
other famous novels - ‘Baagh’,
‘Nadaar Loag’ - and short stories ‘Faraib and Nashaib’.
President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif expressed deep grief and
sorrow over his death that
they described as a loss to the
nation.In their separate messages to the bereaved family,
they extended their heartfelt
condolences while lauding the
services rendered by him for
promotion of the national language and enrichment of Urdu
literature.Born on August 14,
1931 in Gujrat, Hussain did his
schooling and also graduation
from Zameendar College in the
city.
aftershocks at the country’s only international airport and provide necessary
support to ensure its faultless operation.
They will inspect whether the physical
structure as well as communication and
navigation system of the airport were
damaged by the earthquake or not, said
Suresh Acharya, Joint Secretary at the
Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.
The Indian side is also willing to extend
Pope Francis is likely to raise environmental concerns with Mr. Correa
and the leader of Bolivia who have
promoted mining and oil drilling in
wilderness areas given his recent encyclical on the need to protect nature
and the poor who suffer most when
it is exploited.In that document,
Pope Francis called for a new development model that rejects today’s
profit-at-all cost mentality in favour
of a Christian view of economic
progress that respects human rights,
safeguards the planet and involves
all sectors of society, the poor and
marginalized included.
Saudi-led strikes
kill 30 in northern
Yemen, Houthis say
Sanaa July 5 (PTI): Air strikes by Saudiled forces killed 30 civilians in an attack on
a market in northern Yemen on Sunday,
the Houthi-run news agency Saba said, as
U.N. mediators pushed for a humanitarian pause in fighting that has killed nearly
3,000 since March.
Saba also said Houthi forces launched
rockets against a number of Saudi army
positions, including a military airport in
the southern city of Najran, in response
to what it described as Saudi aggression
against Yemen.
An Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia has
been pounding the Iran-backed Houthi
forces and allied army units loyal to former
President Ali Abdullah Saleh since March
in a campaign to restore exiled President
Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.
support, if necessary, to repair damage
and renovate the airport in the aftermath of the quake, he added.
International help following the devastating quake was hampered due to
congestion at the only airport at their
disposal. Cracks had developed on the
runway due to landing of heavy aircraft
following which the airport was briefly
closed down for repair.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry uses crutches as he arrives to inform the media in front of Palais Coburg where
closed-door nuclear talks with Iran take place in Vienna,
Austria, Sunday, July 5, 2015. Kerry is recovering from
surgery to repair a broken right femur he suffered during a
biking accident. AP/ PTI
Ulterior motives behind
sanctions on Iran: Khamenei
Tehran, July 5 (IANS)
Sanctions against Iran have
nothing to do with the country’s nuclear activities or
human rights record, there
are other motives behind
the bans, said Leader of Iran
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Addressing a group of
university professors and researchers on Saturday night,
Ayatollah Khamenei said
those who have imposed
sanctions on Iran were
themselves the ones who
foster terrorism and commit human rights violations,
reports Press TV.The Leader
said the sanctions against
Tehran have been imposed
because Iran has emerged
as a nation, a movement and
an identity guided by principles against the hegemonic
system.“Their objective is to
prevent Iran from reaching
a prominent civilizational
status,” Khamenei said.The
Leader also highlighted the
special role of professors in
educating a generation of
self-reliable, confident and
diligent youths who will further move Iran toward progress.
9
Business
Low inflation offers scope of RBI
rate cut to boost growth: SBI
Deutsche Bank’s
$1-bn investment
faces fresh probe
Mumbai Jul 5 (PTI): With questions being raised about a USD onebillion debt market investment of Deutsche Bank and others, financial
regulators RBI and Sebi are having a fresh look at the case to ensure
compliance to their norms. Besides, they are also reviewing their regulations for greater clarity in this area and to ensure there is no room for
any ambiguity. This follows reports that Deutsche Bank and some other
foreign investors put in nearly USD one billion in the Indian debt securities through Guernsey-based UTI International, which is registered with
Sebi as a foreign investor and is also a subsidiary of UTI Mutual Fund.
There are allegations that these foreign investors could have breached
the foreign investment limits for the debt market by routing the investment through UTI Mutual Fund. When contacted, UTI Mutual Fund
CEO Leo Puri told PTI that “the investment is fully within the existing
regulations”. “Let me tell you that it is a completely legitimate transaction which has already been approved by both Sebi and RBI,” Puri said,
but added that Sebi has “subsequently wished to look into it” again.
Deutsche Bank India refused to comment on the matter. Sebi Chairman
U K Sinha had earlier said the regulator has not found anything wrong
in the transaction so far. “In case we find the transaction to be illegal, we
will definitely have our view on it,” Sinha told PTI on the sidelines of an
industry function here last week. Replying to a query in this regard, an
RBI spokesperson said, “We are aware of the transaction. Investments
by FPIs in mutual funds fall under the corporate bond limit of USD 51
billion. “We are, however, reviewing the regulation to ensure greater
clarity in this area and that there is no room for any ambiguity.” According to the market experts, the issue is mainly about the regulations being silent on whether an foreign investor can use the foreign subsidiary
of a domestic mutual fund for investments in the debt instruments. ebi
Chairman U K Sinha had earlier said the regulator has not found anything wrong in the transaction so far. “In case we find the transaction
to be illegal, we will definitely have our view on it,” Sinha told PTI on
the sidelines of an industry function here last week.Foreign portfolio
investors throng to the domestic debt market due to higher rates being offered by the Indian papers which is 7-8 per cent, while the pricing
on similar papers offered in the US and the other developed markets is
less than 2 per cent. FPI inflows into the domestic mutual fund industry
touched USD 6.4 billion as on June 15. This was USD 16.2 billion in fiscal
2015, according to a Kotak Equities report.
New Delhi Jul 5 (PTI): State
Bank of India has pitched
for further rate cut by the
Reserve Bank to ‘pump up
domestic demand’ as inflation is low. “With ebbing
inflationary pressures there
may be further scope for
monetary stimulus to pump
up domestic demand,” SBI
Chairperson
Arundhati
Bhattacharya said.
RBI, in June 2 monetary
policy review, cut the repo
rate (short-term lending
rate) from 7.5 per cent to
7.25, but left all other policy
tools like cash reserve requirement unchanged at
4 per cent and Statutory
Liquidity Ratio at 21.5 per
cent. It had left the key rate
unchanged in the April policy fearing rising inflation.
India is poised to recover
moderately with industrial
production gaining momentum, Bhattacharya said
in a message to shareholders. “Interestingly, the risk
of deficit monsoon seems
to be dissipating with more
than adequate rainfall in
June 2015,” she said.
“Looking ahead, boost to
exports in the backdrop of
global economic recovery
and improvement in domestic investment climate,
backed by various initiatives
of the government, supports
favourable growth outlook,”
she added. She said SBI is
taking steps to clamp down
on bad loans that include
web-based tracking of assets and “regular calls” to
stressed accounts in retail as
well as real estate segments.
In addition, the bank has
initiated ‘Dynamic Credit
Rating’ review of borrowal
accounts to capture deterioration in credit quality
promptly and to initiate corrective action and facilitate
correct pricing of risk. State
Bank of India has pitched
for further rate cut by the
Reserve Bank to ‘pump up
domestic demand’ as inflation is low. “With ebbing
inflationary pressures there
may be further scope for
monetary stimulus to pump
up domestic demand,” SBI
Chairperson
Arundhati
Bhattacharya said.
“During the year (201415), the bank has embarked
on a number of initiatives to
clamp down on NPAs. Some
of them are web-based Assets Tracking & Monitoring
and regular calls to stressed
accounts (SMAs) in Retail
segment and Real Estate
sector to prevent slippages...,” she said. The bank’s
exposure in retail segment,
which includes housing,
auto, education and personal loans, increased to
Rs 2.72 lakh crore, from Rs
2.37 lakh crore at the end
of March 2014. “Looking
ahead, boost to exports
in the backdrop of global
economic recovery and
improvement in domestic
investment climate, backed
by various initiatives of the
government, supports favourable growth outlook,”
she added. Of the gross
NPAs, retail was Rs 2,528
crore at the end of March
2015. It has come down
from Rs 3,034 crore at the
end of 2013-14.
New GDP numbers based on
scientific methodology:
Arvind Panagariya
New Delhi Jul 5 (PTI): Brushing aside criticism against new
GDP numbers, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya
has said they are based on scientific methodology and there are
no compelling objections against the new series of National Accounts. “Scientifically speaking, we can’t reject a change that is
methodologically sound just because the outcome it produces
fails to agree with our intuition. In such circumstances, we must
critically examine our own intuition,” Panagariya said in an interview to PTI. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) had adopted
the new series of National Accounts with 2011-12 as base year
and subsequently revised the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
growth rate to 6.9 per cent in 2013-14 from 4.7 per cent and 5.1
in 2012-13 from 4.5 per cent. It CSO has estimated economic
growth at 7.3 per cent for 2014-15, slightly lower than its earlier
advance estimate of 7.4 per cent. Several domestic and global
experts as also RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian.
8-10% growth, anti-poverty measures needed: FM
New Delhi Jul 5 (PTI):
Pitching for passage of land
acquisition and GST bills in
Parliament, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday
said policy reforms and 8-10
per cent economic growth
are a must to eliminate poverty. With Congress and
other opposition parties
threatening to disrupt the
upcoming monsoon session, Jaitley said the message
from the Socio Economic
and Caste Census is clear
that “growth and economic
reforms help the poor as do
targeted schemes”. The Cen-
sus results, released on Friday last, have painted a grim
picture of the rural India,
highlighting that one out of
three families living in villages is landless and depends
on manual labour for livelihood. Jaitley said improving
this situation is the “number
one priority of this government”.
“Growth or redistribution?
Policy reforms or targeted
anti-poverty schemes? We
believe these are false choices. Both are necessary,” the
Minister said in a Facebook
post. The way out to elimi-
nate deprivation, Jaitley said,
“is to achieve rapid economic growth of 8-10 per cent so
that good jobs are created
for all Indians quickly. That
is why the government is
promoting investment.” He
said for the government to
eradicate deprivation most
effectively and quickly, “a
permanent, formal sector,
well-paid job is the best antipoverty measure”. The latest data, the Minister said,
indicates that the investment cycle is slowly turning
around and stalled projects
were coming on stream at a
faster pace. In this regard, he
added, “passing the GST and
reforming the land law will
accelerate this investment
turnaround.” With Congress
and other opposition parties threatening to disrupt
the upcoming monsoon session, Jaitley said the message
from the Socio Economic
and Caste Census is clear
that “growth and economic
reforms help the poor as do
targeted schemes”. The Census results, released on Friday last, have painted a grim
picture of the rural India,
highlighting that one out of
three families living in villages is landless and depends
on manual labour for livelihood. Jaitley said improving
this situation is the “number
one priority of this government”. These bills, which are
with different committees of
Parliament, may face tough
time as the opposition is expected to disrupt the functioning of the Houses in view
of the Lalit Modi controversy. The monsoon session begins on July 21. The Congress
has demanded resignation
of External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj.
Ambani gets 205-times of median
‘Compliance window not
pay; ITC’s Deveshwar 439-times revenue mobilisation measure’
New Delhi Jul 5 (PTI):
Billionaire
industrialist and India’s richest
Mukesh Ambani has not
taken a pay hike for seven
years, but his salary is over
205-times that of the median employee remuneration at Reliance Industries
Ltd (RIL). However, this
ratio stands much higher
at 439 times in case of ITC
Ltd Executive Chairman
Y C Deveshar. The same
ratio stands much lower
at 89-times in case of IT
major Wipro’s Chairman
and Managing Director
Azim Premji, and just at
19-times for mortgage giant HDFC’s Chairman
Deepak Parekh for the latest fiscal 2014-15.
However, HDFC Bank’s
Managing Director Aditya
Puri got a remuneration
that was 117-times of the
median employee pay at
the bank, while for ICICI
Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar it was 97 times and
at over 74 times for Axis
Bank’s Managing Director
and CEO Shikha Sharma.
For IT giant Infosys’ CEO
Vishal Sikka, his pay was
116 times of the median
employee pay at the company. The same ratio for
HUL’s CEO Sanjiv Mehta
was 93 times, but much
higher at 293 times for Vedanta Limited’s Chairman
Navin Agarwal.
Listed companies have
begun disclosing these ratios, as also other comparisons such as salary hikes
for the top management
personnel and an average staff, for the first time
pursuant to the new Companies Act and Sebi’s latest Corporate Governance
Code coming into force.
While a majority of the
companies are still in the
process of disclosing these
details, the disclosures
made so far by the top
companies show a wide
variance in these ratios,
while there is also a huge
difference between the
pay hike figures for the top
management personnel
and an average staff member in many cases. However, there are a few cases
where the increase in the
median employee remuneration is almost equal or
even higher than the same
for the CEOs and other key
management personnel.
In case of RIL, Chairman
and MD Mukesh Ambani
has kept his salary capped
at Rs 15 crore for seven years
now, while the median remuneration of employees
increased by 3.71 percent to
Rs 7.29 lakh during 2014-15.
The total remuneration of
Key Managerial Personnel
in fact dipped by 1.93 percent to Rs 73.28 crore. ITC
Chairman Y C Deveshwar’s
remuneration rose by 24
percent during the year, as
against a rise of 14 percent
in the company’s median
employee remuneration.
The overall Key Managerial
Personnel remuneration
rose by 20 percent. Deveshwar’s gross remuneration
in 2014-15 stood at over Rs
15 crore, but his net pay was
much lower at Rs 7.3 crore.
In case of Wipro, Premji
saw his pay decline by 53
percent to Rs 4.78 crore,
while Median Employee
Remuneration rose by 9.5
percent. Wipro CEO T K
Kurien got a pay package
that was 170 times of the
median employee remuneration, while he got a
hike of 39 percent.
At HDFC Ltd also, Vice
Chairman and CEO Keki
Mistry’s
remuneration
was 83 times of the median employee pay, while
the same for Managing
Director Renu Sud Karnad
was 77 times. The remuneration rose by 15 percent for both Mistry and
Karnad, while the increase
in the median remuneration of employees in fiscal
year 2014-15 stood at 16
percent. At HDFC Bank,
Managing Director Aditya
Puri saw his remuneration
rise by 15 percent, while
the percentage increase in
the median remuneration
of the employees.
New Delhi Jul 5 (PTI): The onetime compliance window provided
to undisclosed foreign asset holders to come clean under the black
money law is not a revenue mobilisation exercise, Revenue Secretary
Shaktikanta Das has said. “Compliance window is not meant to be
a revenue mobilisation measure.
It is the last opportunity for those
having undeclared assets abroad
to come clean,” Das told PTI, when
asked how much the government
is targeting to collect from the disclosures.
He did not comment on the
amount the government expects
during the 90-day voluntary disclosure window. Another official said
the government has not put any
target for unearthing black money
during this period. “Lets see how
it goes. We don’t want ‘x’ amount
of money to come as taxes or ‘y’
amount to be disclosed. This is an
exercise to weed out black money.
We will see how it progresses.” The
government will provide clarifications if it is felt during the course of
the compliance window that there
are any doubts on any of the provisions, the official said. The Black
Money (Undisclosed Foreign In-
come and Assets) and Imposition
of Tax Act, 2015, which came into
effect from July 1, provides for a
90-day compliance window under
which persons having undisclosed
foreign assets and income can
come clean by declaring them and
paying a total of 60 per cent tax and
penalty. Those disclosing assets
and income within the compliance
window, which expires on September 30, has to pay tax and penalty
by December 31, 2015. In case they
do not declare their overseas assets, they will be liable to pay tax
and penalty of 120 per cent and
face jail term.
The one-time compliance window provided to undisclosed foreign asset holders to come clean
under the black money law is not
a revenue mobilisation exercise,
Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta
Das has said. “Compliance window is not meant to be a revenue
mobilisation measure. It is the
last opportunity for those having undeclared assets abroad to
come clean,” Das told PTI, when
asked how much the government
is targeting to collect from the
disclosures. While the declaration can be either filed physically
or electronically, the revenue
department has said that those
who received tax notices up to
June 30 cannot take advantage
of the compliance window. The
rules said all deposits made in
an undisclosed overseas bank
account since opening will be
clubbed while assets like immovable property, shares and jewellery will be valued at fair market
price for levy of tax and penalty
under the new black money law.
The one-time compliance window provided to undisclosed foreign asset holders to come clean
under the black money law is not
a revenue mobilisation exercise,
Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta
Das has said.
“Compliance window is not
meant to be a revenue mobilisation measure. It is the last opportunity for those having undeclared
assets abroad to come clean,” Das
told PTI, when asked how much
the government is targeting to collect from the disclosures. It also
said that Indians against whom information has been received from
foreign nations on overseas accounts or assets will not be able to
file declaration under the window.
10
Sports
off the pace in the first year of their new
partnership with Honda. At the previous
race in Austria, both drivers collected 25
place grid penalties -- with only 20 cars
competing -- as a result of engine and
gearbox problems. Neither finished on
Sunday. Saturday`s Silverstone agony
was compounded when the team put
one of Button`s tyres on Alonso`s car
-- prompting another joke by the Briton
that it explained why his team mate had
been “so quick”.
“It wasn`t the highlight of the year,”
said Button, diplomatically, of once
again going out in the first phase of qualifying. “In front of the home crowd you
always want to have a great weekend and
I think the fans understand the position
Kvitova joins Wimbledon
exodus, Federer,
Murray into last 16
London Jul 5 (PTI): Petra Kvitova, the defending champion, crashed out of Wimbledon on Saturday while Roger Federer and Andy Murray both needed four sets
to secure their passage into the second week. Czech second seed Kvitova, who also
won the 2011 title, lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to veteran campaigner Jelena Jankovic who
goes on to play 2012 runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska for a spot in the quarterfinals. Kvitova`s earliest loss at the All England Club since 2009 leaves just Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki and Lucie Safarova as the last
remaining top 10 seeds going into the second week. “I`m overwhelmed. I`m so
excited. My heart is still pumping,” said the 30-year-old Jankovic on reaching the
last 16 for the fifth time. Kvitova has now bowed out of the last four Grand Slams
before the quarter-finals. “It`s not great to lose in the third round. Not to be in the
second week of the favourite tournament for me is really sad,” she said. Seven-time
champion Roger Federer defeated big-serving Australian Sam Groth 6-4, 6-4, 6-7
(5/7), 6-2. The 33-year-old Swiss, chasing an 18th major title, will next face Spanish
20th seed Roberto Bautista Agut.
Groth had the consolation of hitting the second fastest serve ever at the tournament -- 147.2-miles (236.9-kilometres) per hour.Murray survived a shoulder injury
scare to make the last 16 with a 6-2, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 win over Italy`s Andreas Seppi.
Murray, the 2013 champion, required a medical time-out for treatment on his right
shoulder after dropping the first game of the fourth set. But the world number
three then reeled off six games in succession to set up a clash against Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals. “The shoulder is fine.
The trainer came out and manipulated my back. He gave it a few good cracks,” said
Murray. “It`s a 90-kilo guy lying on top of me so it`s not that pleasant. He said the
shoulder was like a machine gun going off when he laid on top of me.” Karlovic
became the oldest man in 39 years to reach the last 16 when he beat French 13th
seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The 36-year-old giant fired 41 aces in a 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (11/9)
win. The 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych, the Czech sixth seed, saw off Spain`s
Pablo Andujar 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3). He next faces Gilles Simon who beat Gael
Monfils 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 2-6, 6-2. Their all-French clash started on Court
One but was completed at 10:30pm (2130GMT) under the roof and lights of
Centre Court after darkness fell. Dreadlocked German qualifier Dustin Brown
was unable to follow his triumph over Rafael Nadal when he slumped to a 6-4,
7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-3 defeat to Serbian 22nd seed Viktor Troicki. Qualifier Brown
joins Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis and Nick Kyrgios who all lost their next match
at Wimbledon after knocking out Nadal over the last four years. Troicki goes
on to face Canada`s Vasek Pospisil, who beat British wildcard James Ward 6-4,
3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 8-6. It is the 29-year-old Serb`s first last-16 run at Wimbledon
since 2012 and his best performance at a Grand Slam since returning from a
12-month drugs ban in July last year.US Open champion Marin Cilic took just
two games to see off John Isner on Saturday after returning to finish their third
round match poised at 10-10 in the final set. Croatian Cilic, the ninth seed, beat
the US 17th seed 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 12-10 in a match that lasted
four hours and 31 minutes in total after it had been suspended late Friday due
to bad light. Cilic next faces wildcard Denis Kudla, the last American man in the
tournament. Danish fifth seed Wozniacki reached the last 16 for the fourth time
with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 win over Italy`s Camila Giorgi.
Virat has a lot of qualities to match
his aggression: Sir Vivian Richards
Jenson Button has little to
smile about at Silverstone
Silverstone Jul 5 (PTI): Jenson Button
joked he would like to see reverse starting grids introduced into Formula One
with immediate effect but the McLaren
driver had little to smile about otherwise
at the British Grand Prix on Saturday.
Qualifying 18th, with Spanish team
mate and double world champion Fernando Alonso 17th, the Briton was
quicker only than the two tail-end Manor Marussia drivers who have what is essentially a modified 2014 car.
McLaren, the second most successful
team in the history of the sport, are enduring a nightmare with no immediate
end in sight. They have had their worst
ever start to a season and scored just four
points in eight races with a car that is way
New Delhi Jul 5 (PTI): He has
always admired Virat Kohli’s
batting qualities and Sir Vivian
Richards feels that one should
not be too critical of the Indian
Test captain’s on-field aggression as he possesses the “quality” to match his attitude. “I
see nothing wrong in Virat’s attitude. He is very different from
(MS) Dhoni. I believe if you are
showing passion and aggression
on the field, you should have the
game quality to match that. Virat
has the quality. He can give back
as good as he gets. I like people
who have stomach for a good
fight and Virat is one of them,”
Richards, one of the greatest to
have ever played the game, told
PTI during an interview.
“Virat brings in a lot of vibrancy and the future of Indian
cricket looks bright,” he added.
Asked about Kohli’s failure in
England against the moving
delivery and the recent slump
in ODIs, the legend dismissed
the notion of any kind of technical glitch in his batting. “He
is still a very young man. He is
only 26. There is so much more
to come from him. Whatever I
have seen of Virat, he looks like
a young man, who wants to improve his game. When you play
international cricket, there will
be a few problems here and
there. But there are two things
you need -- positive attitude
and tenacity,” the 63-year-old
veteran of 121 Tests and 187
ODIs said.
Richards also gave a positive reply to a query whether he was willing to help out the Indian batsmen
provided BCCI approaches him.
“Why not? I would be quite happy
to help out the young Indian batsmen if their cricket board wants
me to help them. I believe I have
enormous amount of information and knowledge which could
prove beneficial for youngsters.
If BCCI wants, I can put my hand
up and would like to help talented
Double Jamaican sprint delight,
but Dibaba misses world record
Paris: Jamaican sprinters
Asafa Powell and Shelly-Ann
Fraser-Pryce made up for the
absence of injured Usain Bolt by
storming to double 100m glory
in the Diamond League meet in
Paris on Saturday. But there was
heartbreak for Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba who narrowly missed
out on breaking her older sister
Tirunesh`s world record in the
women`s 5000m. Former 100m
world record holder Powell held
his nerve to power through the
line in 9.81 seconds, Frenchman Jimmy Vicaut equalling the
European record of 9.86sec in
second ahead of American Michael Rodgers (9.99). “It was a
great race and I got a good start!”
beamed Powell. “I need to keep
my focus and run fast like that.
in the draw after defending
champion Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep, Ana Ivanovic,
Ekaterina Makarova, Carla
Suarez Navarro and Angelique Kerber all failed to
get past the first week. While
one of the Williams sisters
could face Sharapova or
Safarova in the semi-finals
-- both face unseeded opposition on Monday -- Wozniacki cannot meet any of
them before the final and
only has lower-ranked players in her way.
Venus said she and her
33-year-old sister knew
each other`s game inside
out. “There`s no easy points
against Serena,” the 35-yearold said. “Competing with
each other has nothing to do
with whether we`re close or
not. “Just knowing what the
“I saw Jimmy was close and I
thought `wow`.” Defending twotime Olympic 100m champion
Fraser-Pryce is not doubling up
at the world championships in
Beijing, saying her coach Stephen Francis wanted to regain
her explosive start. That certainly
did not hinder her at the Stade
de France as she blasted to an
impressive victory in 10.75sec,
ahead of Nigerian Blessing
Okagbare-Ighoteguonor (10.80)
and American English Gardner
(10.97). “When you have good
“Test cricket is the ultimate
examination for any cricketer. I
believe ICC in collaboration with
various cricket boards should ensure that Test cricket’s position
should not be in trouble. “As far
as West Indies cricketers are concerned, I would ideally want the
WICB to ensure that all top cricketers are available to play Test cricket subject to which they would
be allowed to play in lucrative
T20 leagues like Indian Premier
League. Playing in IPL is important
but it can be used as a platform or
an incentive for showing.
runners you always run fast,” said
Fraser-Pryce. “That`s the motivation for me. “But I have room to
improve in my technique and in
the start.” In a gripping 5000m,
Dibaba and compatriot Almaz
Ayana were glued together until the last lap when the former
struck out. But her efforts were
to no avail as she fell an agonising 4.26sec short of her sister`s
record of 14:11.15 set in Oslo in
2008. There was the unusual sight
in the women`s shot put of seeing
double Olympic.
Chile stun Argentina to win
first Copa America crown
Santiago Jul 5 (PTI): Chile
wrecked Lionel Messi`s dream
of a first international title with a
dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Argentina to end their
99-year wait for a Copa America
crown here Saturday. Arsenal
star Alexis Sanchez struck the
winning spot-kick for Chile, as
the hosts clinched a 4-1 shootout victory when the game ended
goalless after extra time.
Sanchez chipped the decisive
penalty down the middle past
Sergio Romero to spark wild
celebrations in front of a 45,000
capacity crowd at the Estadio
Nacional in Santiago. Chile took
control of the shoot-out when
Gonzalo Higuain blazed his penalty over the bar before Chile
goalkeeper Claudio Bravo saved
Ever Banega`s spot-kick. Argen-
tina captain Messi, aiming to inspire the South American giants
to a first international title in 22
years, could only look on distraught as Chile celebrated. The
four-time world footballer of the
year had repeatedly spoken of his
desperation to win a title with Argentina after winning everything
at club level with Barcelona.
But the 28-year-old superstar
was to suffer more disappointment, only 12 months after enduring another agonising extratime defeat in last year`s World
Cup final against Germany in
Brazil. Chile`s win was their first
ever victory over Argentina in
the Copa America.”It is a dream
come true. We have worked so
hard for this,” said Chile star Arturo Vidal. The midfielder said
Chile had been determined to
Wimbledon 2015: Williams sisters clash,
Sharapova, Wozniacki sitting pretty
London Jul 5 (PTI): Tennis titans Serena and Venus
Williams clash in the Wimbledon last 16 on Monday,
while Maria Sharapova and
Caroline Wozniacki will fancy their title chances as two
of the four top 10 players still
standing. The 26th clash between the Williams sisters,
who have won the Wimbledon title five times each over
the last 15 years, will be the
first at the All England Club
since the 2009 final. And
with either world number
one Serena or 16th-seeded
Venus certain to fall, the
second week at Wimbledon
is looking appetising for the
other silverware contenders
in southwest London. Serena, Sharapova, Wozniacki
and Lucie Safarova are the
only top 10 seeds remaining
cricketers,” said the Antiguan who
had tormented bowlers across
the globe during his playing days.
While he is associated with the
Caribbean Premier League in his
capacity of ‘Brand Ambassador’,
Richards still maintains strictly
that the traditional form of the
game is paramount for any cricketer who wants to seriously pursue
the sport. In fact, Richards feels
the WICB should ensure that top
players are available to play Test
cricket and allowing them in the
IPL should depend on their willingness to play the longer format.
other one goes through. If I
see her in a match in a tight
spot, I know exactly what
that feels like. I think that`s
a unique relationship, that
is pretty rare in sport, that
she and I share.”Serena
holds the US, Australian and
French Open titles but reckons Venus is in better form.
“It will be a really good
match. I`m practicing next
to her every day and I`m in
awe of how she`s doing,” she
said. Fourth seed Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam
champion, faces Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan for a spot
in the quarter-finals.
The Russian won Wimbledon in 2004 but since has
only made it past the fourth
round once since 2006. “I`ll
definitely go out there and
try to change that result
around,” the world`s highest-earning sportswoman
said. Danish fifth seed Wozniacki is the biggest name
remaining in her half of the
draw and the former world
number one faces Spanish
20th seed Garbine Muguruza in the fourth round.
With the men`s and
women`s last 16 all taking
place Monday, Wozniacki,
chasing a maiden Grand
Slam title, is looking forward
to a bumper day of tennis.
“It`s unique because you
get the top players playing
tough matches,” she said.
“For sure, some of them
are going to be on outside
courts. Also people who
come here and watch it live
will have a field day. It`s going to be great.”The dearth
of remaining top 10 players
means sixth seed Lucie Safarova, who ghosted through
the first week, is now also
looking like a serious contender. Last month`s French
Open runner-up, the Czech
reached the Wimbledon
semi-finals last year and
faces Coco Vandeweghe, the
US world number 47.
Another former world
number one, Jelena Jankovic, is hungry for more after
knocking out Kvitova. “I
want to get to where I think
I belong,” the Serbian 28th
seed said. She faces Agnieszka Radwanska, the 2012
beaten Wimbledon finalist.
“Right now, tennis is very on
a high level. Every match is
really tight,” said the Polish
13th seed. Victoria Azarenka, the 2012 and 2013 Australian Open champion.
win the Copa America after exiting the World Cup last year on
penalties. “We talked about it in
Brazil that we were going to win
the Copa America,” Sanchez
said. “This is really a great generation, we deserve this.”
Chile`s Argentina-born coach
Jorge Sampaoli said his side had
deserved to win. “We had to play
a great game against one of the
world`s best teams for the quality
of players,” Sampaoli said. “We
should have won in 90 minutes,
but ended up getting justice.”
Argentina`s players meanwhile
were left pondering another
heartbreaking loss. Midfielder Javier Mascherano has now played
in three losing Argentina teams
in Copa America finals, and was
also a member of the team beaten in the World Cup final. “Three
Copa America finals, three defeats ... I can`t explain the losing
streak,” a dejected Mascherano
said. “We just didn`t seem to
have that little bit of luck that you
sometimes need to have to win in
finals. Is it karma? I don`t know.”
Argentina coach Gerardo Martino meanwhile lamented his
side`s failure to take chances.
“They were very clear chances
that should have changed the
outcome of the game,” Martino
said. Earlier, Chile had begun the
final at a ferocious pace before
Argentina gradually managed
to gain a foothold in the game.
While Chile pressed forward relentlessly and launched a series
of forays into Argentinian territory, it was the tournament favourites who had the better chances
in the first half. Argentina.
Fara Williams seals
bronze for England at
Women`s World Cup
A 108th-minute penalty converted by Fara Williams gave England third place with a 1-0 win over
Germany in the Women`s World
Cup on Saturday. It was a first ever
win by sixth-ranked England over
world number one team Germany.
he third place play-off went into extra time in Edmonton`s Commonwealth Stadium after the teams were
locked 0-0 at the end of 90 minutes.
But England were awarded a penalty
just minutes into the second period
of extra time after Lianne Sanderson
was pulled down by Tabea Kemme.
And Williams slotted in past former world goalkeeper of the year
Nadine Angerer, who playing her
final match for Germany, dived the
wrong way. England`s run to their
first ever semi-final had ended with
heartbreak when an own-goal by
defender Laura Bassett in injury
time handed holders Japan a 2-1
win and ticket to the final. Germany, winners in 2003 and 2007,
lost 2-0 to the United States in their
semi-final. Japan play the United
States in Sunday`s final in Vancouver which will be a rematch of the
2011 championship game.
England had never beaten Germany in 20 previous meetings with
their most recent loss a 3-0 drubbing at Wembley Stadium last year
during which World Cup top scorer
Celia Sasic scored twice. England
skipper Steph Houghton did well to
back clear a goal-ward bound shot
after just nine minutes in an evenly
matched first half. The defender,
who had just received treatment for
a painful ankle knock, lunged to clear
after Jo Potter headed past her own
goalkeeper Karen Bardsley following
a Bianca Schmidt header across goal.
Entertainment
‘Terminator Genisys’
review: A treat for
Schwarzenegger’s fans
This film is based on characters designed by James Cameron and Gale Ann Hurd
from the “Terminator” series which began way back in 1984. A battle for survival
between the nearly-extinct human race and Cyberdyne Systems’ world-spanning
synthetic intelligence, Skynet which during the course of time created the Terminators, who were used against individual human targets, forms the crux of this
time-travel Sci-fiction series. “Terminator Genisys”, is the fifth edition of this series. Narrated from the leader of the human resistance force, John Connor’s (Jason Clarke) point of view, the narration rolls off circa Aug 2027, with his voiceover revealing, “Skynet is a threat to all humanity that existed. 3 billion people
died in a nuclear fire. Survivors called it the judgement day. I was born after the
judgement day.” And then it is revealed, that after yet another assault on a Skynet
facility, John sends his friend Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back in time, to 1984 to
protect his mother, Sarah (Emilia Clarke) from a Terminator assassin and thereby
ensures his own existence. Unfortunately, an unexpected turn of events creates an
altered timeline and instead of meeting a scared waitress, Sarah with John in her
womb, Kyle meets a skilled fighter who is protected by a Terminator guardian who
she fondly calls, “Pops” (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Now confused, Reese laments
about the time travel mechanism. Meanwhile, he also suffers from bouts of vision
which reveal to him that “When Genisys, the latest technical application comes
online, Judgement day begins.” Unsure about the turn of events and where it will
lead him, forms the crux of this edition, which figuratively leads to John’s genesis
too. On the performance front, this edition seems to be Arnold Schwarzeneggera¿s
show. He is simply dynamic and self-aware with his broad jaw-gritting smile and
pouting, “I am old but not obsolete.” It is also fascinating to see a bout of Arnold
Vs Arnold in the film. Jai Courtney as Kyle is charismatic, whereas Jason Clarke
as John Connor gets lost in his myriad avatars and Emilia Clarke, as the agile and
spunky Sarah is fairly competent. With Scriptwriters - Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier’s plot jumping timelines and narrated in a non-linear fashion, along
with the characters replicating themselves, makes this viewing a big jigsaw puzzle,
which even fans of this series will find hard to assemble. The breaking point comes
in the last scene, when you can’t relate to Kyle speaking to John who is not Sarah’s
son! Mounted on an epic scale with visuals in neon blue and golden hued frames
with cool CCI images incorporated, the film is glossy and mind-boggling. Director
Alan Taylor’s pace of the narration is racy and he is technically savvy to deliver a
well-synchronised action film, on par with the last four editions.
There is nothing new about a love triangle. One has
witnessed it a million times and so, “Bezubaan Ishq”
lacks novelty and offers nothing spectacular. This love
story revolves around Suhani (Mugdha Godse), an ultramodern Gujarati girl who addresses her grandmother
(Farida Jalal) “Cinderella dadi” for being strict. Her life
is all about partying, drinking and enjoying herself.
She also breaks into bouts of impulsive, aggressive and
violent behaviour at the slightest provocation, and it
is soon diagnosed as Intermittent Explosive Disorder
‘Second Hand Husband’
review: Fails to impress
“Second Hand Husband” may
sound interesting enough to
get you to enter the theatre, but
within minutes of the film you
realise that the title is a wee bit
deceptive. The narrative as expected is not from the girl’s point
of view, but quite the opposite.
Set in Model Town, Punjab, the
film revolves around the painstaking efforts by a divorced hotelier Rajveer (Gippy), to get his
ex-wife Neha (Geeta) married off
in order to escape paying a hefty
alimony. Of course, his motive
behind this is also to get married to his love interest, Gurpreet
(Tina). Packed with rom-com
tropes, the plot meshes the lives
of Ajit (Dharmendra), Rajveer’s
boss and owner of a four-star
hotel, along with that of Rajesh
(Vijay), a widowed police inspector, who is constantly in search of
a life partner.
The writing in Smeep Kang’s
script is devoid of freshness. The
characters are stereotypical and
not well-etched. Set in a Punjabi
milieu, the situations and their
treatment, though realistic, offer
no novelty to the narration. The
punches and gags too are oftheard and the dialogues cheesy.
The performances after a while
get monotonous and irksome to
watch, as the script itself is limiting. Dharmendra, as the philandering and alcoholic hotelier,
though charming, is jaded. He
neither reinvents himself nor
gives a fresh perspective to this
oft-played Punjabi character.
Similarly, Ravi Kishen in a min-
iscule role as Gurpreet’s brother
is nondescript and tedious to
watch. Constantly screeching, he
hams his way through his screentime. Rati as Beant Kaur, and
Deepshikha as Kajal Varma are
equally wasted. Most of the actors look as if they have stepped
out of their typical moulds, with
no newness in their portrayals.
On the contrary, Sanjay Mishra
as the other divorce lawyer,
though typecast, is amusing and
natural, as is Vijay. Gippy, a well-
‘Bezubaan Ishq’ review:
This love story says nothing
(IED). Her doctor suggests, “Get her married as love is
the only solution for this medical problem.” And seemingly so, her father Rashmikant Patel (Darshan Jariwala)
broaches the subject with his best friend and business
partner, Vipul Shah (Muni Jha). The families decide
to get Suhani married to her childhood friend, Vipul’s
son, the caring Swaagat (Nishant Malkani). Though
not in love with Suhani, Swaagat agrees to marry her
as he feels that, “Suhani should be happy for ever.” For
the wedding, Rashmikant’s brother, Mansukhbhai (Sa-
chin Khedekar) arrives from London, with his wife and
daughter Rumzum (Sneha Ullal). After the engagement
ceremony and before the wedding, the youngsters plan
to visit Rajasthan. There, the inevitable happens when
Swaagat realises that he is falling in love with Rumzum.
Nishant Malkani has a fairly decent screen presence. He
is charming and by far the best of the trio. There is something pleasant and appealing about him. Doe-eyed and
with a half-smile, he is endearing as Swaagat. The girls
are a big let down.
‘Guddu Rangeela’ review:
Worthwhile entertainer
‘Guddu Rangeela’; Language:
Hindi; Cast: Arshad Warsi, Ronit
Roy, Amit Sadh, Aditi Rao Hydari,
Shri Swara, Sandeep Goyat and
Dibyendu Bhattacharya; Director:
Subhash Kapoor While the mere
mention of ‘Guddu Rangeela’ conjures the image of a frivolous and
frothy tale of two bumpkins, in reality this one is quite a dynamite.
What starts of seemingly as the
tale of two small-time musicians
with an orchestra in Haryana,
Guddu (Amit Sadh) and Rangeela
(Arshad Warsi), who are also parttime informants aiding robberies
to make a fast buck, unfurls as a
layered revenge saga with khap
politics as the backdrop.
While Guddu is always aspiring
to strike it big, Rangeela is principled, even if he indulges in petty
crime. His single-handed motive
is to collect money to pay his lawyer for a case he has been fighting
for the past ten years. Again, it is
only to earn a large sum of money
quickly, that he agrees to kidnap
Baby (Aditi Rao Hydari) and that
too because he is in the dark about
the real purpose behind it. A sound
and nuanced screenplay with
well-etched characters, Guddu
Rangeela is a ‘paisa vasool’ (worth
the money) entertainer, with social messages, action, drama and
humour in abundance. The dialogues are sharp, hard-hitting and
witty, laced with the right amount
of humour, albeit in the Haryanvi
dialect. Amit Sadh as the jovial,
flirtatious and ambitious Guddu,
brings the right amount of energy
and realism to his character, play-
ing his role with convivial ease and
flourish. He is the perfect complement to his cousin Rangeela on
screen.
Arshad Warsi as Rangeela, is in
full form after a long time and an
absolute treat to watch. His entry
with the famous song, ‘Kal raat
Mata ka mujhe email aaya hai’
seems a tad frivolous, but his character blossoms into a well-rounded one, as his story is unravelled.
Humour, action and emotions,
Arshad as Rangeela is always in
command and has the audience
one with him in empathy. Ronit
Roy as the powerful and corrupt
self-proclaimed muscleman Billu
Pehalwan portrays his character
effortlessly with the right degree of
rugged ruthlessness. Aditi Rao Hydari unfortunately pales in comparison to these three actors. She
is convincing, but does not render
a powerful performance.
Some of the lesser known actors who essay the characters of
‘Bangali’ the Informer, the police
inspector and his aide, light up
the screen with their brilliant performances. The antakshari scene
with the constable outside the
bathroom, is nothing short of absolute talent, proving that an actor
needs only one scene to shine.
The background score by Hitesh
Sonik and music by Amit Trivedi
enhance the flavour of the film.
The lyrics, are not only poetry, but
enmeshed with humour too, capture the essence of the film’s setting so aptly. The cinematography
by Jamie Fowlds is smooth and
picture perfect and can’t go unnoticed. Quality writing apart, Subhash Kapoor’s direction exudes intelligence and maturity. His astute
handling of a complex drama, with
strong messages, camouflaged in
entertainment, is extraordinary.
There is never a dull moment and
the script is crisp and well-contained. It is after a long time that
one witnesses action scenes which
are engaging and not merely technically-sound and robotic.
11
known face in Punjabi films, in
the lead role as Rajveer, though
sporting the demeanour of an actor of a bygone era, displays some
promise. He seems earnest and
delivers what is required of him.
He is aptly supported by Geeta
and actor Govinda’s daughter
Tina. Unfortunately, in a significant but small role, Tina has
no scope to display her talent
and the film is probably a wrong
choice for a debut vehicle. They
have saved the best for the last.
Indeed, the only good part of
“Second Hand Husband” is
perhaps the surprise element
which comes in the penultimate scene of the film. This is
a wasted opportunity.
Equally unexploited is the
rap song “Bad baby meri’ with
funny lyrics, although poorly
rendered. Steeped in mediocrity
in every aspect, “Second Hand
Husband”, has no riveting or
dramatic moments to wow you.
Nothing grips you in this convoluted rom-com. Watch it if Punjabi humour pleases your palate.
‘Papanasam’ review:
Where actor Kamal
supersedes the star
The Kamal Haasan we get to see in “Papanasam”, the Tamil remake of Malayalam blockbuster
“Drishyam”, is the actor that made him a legend;
an acting idol for many contemporary and upcoming actors. Not the star he has grown into in recent
years trying to don multiple hats - direct, write,
sing, and produce - all at once. And it had become
a major concern not because Kamal is bad at these
things, but mostly because it made the actor we all
love overpowered by the star. So when Kamal, in
“Papanasam”, showcases what he can do when he
concentrates on only acting, plain acting, it’s a treat
to watch him on screen, even if it means for three
long hours. For those who’ve watched the original,
its faithful remake “Papanasam” doesn’t come as a
surprise, yet Kamal’s presence along with the flawless ensemble performance of the supporting cast
makes it a riveting thriller. The Kamal Haasan we get
to see in “Papanasam”, the Tamil remake of Malayalam blockbuster “Drishyam”, is the actor that made
him a legend; an acting idol for many contemporary
and upcoming actors.
Kamal plays Suyambulingam, a cable-TV operator and a cinematic fanatic, whose world revolves
around his family; his wife and two daughters. If
one of the joys of watching “Papanasam” is to see
Kamal, for once, just act, the other is to see the
ease with which he slips into the shoes of a villager.
Because it’s been a long time since he has played
anything close to what we see of him in this film.
And it’s terrific to see Kamal play a role that doesn’t
require you to brush up your basics about bombs,
chemistry, world economy, terrorism, chaos theory et al. “Papanasam” is a thriller as much as it’s a
family drama. It’s about two families and how difficult it is to raise children today. For instance, when
Gautami eavesdrops on a conversation in which
her daughter talks about being photographed by
some kid in school, her instant reaction is funny,
but totally understandable. There’s also a wonderful stretch where Kamal feels bad for making his
children do things they are not supposed to do and
feels guilty about it, only to quickly realise anybody
in his place would’ve reacted the same way.
In another beautiful scene towards the end, members of both the families meet and talk about their
children. While one family admits to have not raised
their child well, the other talks about how selfish
they were to save theirs. The film also focuses on so
many other things like class divide, abuse of power,
police brutality, and finally on the impact of cinema
on our lives. In cinema, it’s tough to differentiate
between a truth and a lie because everything that’s
shown is mostly taken for granted. We get exactly
that in “Papanasama, in which Kamal is the creator,
who makes everybody around him believe the lies
he shows them. The film also has a few lovely meta
references like the onscreen romance between Kamal and Gautami, who are real life partners. Like
Suyambulingam, Kamal too has two daughters and
is an avid film lover. Director Jeethu Joseph needs
special mention for bringing back the Kamal we
love watching onscreen and also for extracting stellar performances from other actors such as Ananth
Mahadevan and Asha Sharath. Ananth’s scene with
Kamal in the end is one of the reasons why the film
shouldn’t be missed. Nivetha, who missed being
part of the original, is terrific. “Papanasam” is the
best and the most faithful remake of the original.
12
Entertainment
Indian Horizon
Salman Khan
unperturbed by
protest against
'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'
Kohli enjoys
Anushka's
performance
at IPL opener
While
several
religious
groups, including the VHP
and the Bajrang Dal, have led
protests against Kabir Khan's
"Bajrangi Bhaijaan", Salman
Khan, the co-producer of the
film, is not bothered at all.
"If they are a religious group
then the basic thing they
should know that every religion respects the other person's religion," Salman said at
an event here Friday to launch
special Eid song "Aaj ki party"
from the film, along with Kabir
Khan, composer Pritam and
singer Mika Singh.
"Every religion preaches only
one thing: 'to follow your religion and to be respectful and to
respect the other person's beliefs and religion.' I don't think
anyone can protest on this," he
said. A right-wing groups are
demanding the film's title be
changed as it hurts the sentiments of Hindus.
Courtesy:SantaBanta.com
Star batsman and Royal Challengers Bangalore
captain Virat Kohli was seen savouring the moves
as his girlfriend, Bollywood beauty Anushka Sharma, set the floor afire with her performance at the
glitzy opening ceremony of the Indian Premier
League here on tuesday. TV cameras kept zooming at Kohli as Anushka gyrated to the tunes of her
popular movie songs at the Salt Lake Stadium here.
eemingly embarrassed at first, the cricket icon
was later seen smiling and watching the actress.
The hot and happening couple was on Monday
spotted at the Kolkata airport together during their
arrival for the IPL opener.
Courtesy:Bollylife.com
When Deepika drove on a
highway for the first time!
Fawad Khan signed by Farhan
Akhtar for Mr. Chaloo
While we all know that Shoojit
Sircar's family comedy drama,
Piku is a very special film for
Deepika Padukone, not many
know that one of the reasons the
film is close to the actor's heart
is because it helped her brush
her driving skills! A source close
to the film tells us that one of
the sequences in the films required Deepika at the wheel as
she drives Amitabh and Irrfan on
the highway and that shot infact
gave Deepika to drive once more!
The actor reveals, " For the
first time in my life I drove on a
highway while shooting for Piku.
In fact, on one of the last days of
Is
Shraddha
Kapoor
turning into
a method
actor for
Rock On 2?
the shoot, I drove my team back
from the location on the highway
to our hotel. It was a great experience. I have now started driving
more often in Mumbai too."
Now we bet her fans would
love to catch a glimpse of their
super star doing that!
No actor from Pakistan in recent years has made the kind of
impact that Fawad Khan made
with Khoobsurat. For this Fawad
cannot thank the Khoobsurat
producers Anil and Rhea Kapoor
enough.
Says a source, "Fawad is suddenly
a hot proposition in Bollywood. Every major production house is woo-
ing him. He has agreed to do Karan
Johar's Kapoor And Sons to be directed by Shakun Batra, and Farhan
Akhtar's production Mr Chaloo to
be directed by Reema Kagti."
In Mr Chaloo Fawad would be
paired with Priyanka Chopra.
Fawad's role was originally offered to Saif Ali Khan who backed
out due to monetary differences.
Shahid Kapoor was under negotiation after Saif. But he didn't want
to do a role rejected by Saif.
Fawad's entry into Mr Chaloo
means the end of Reema Kagti's
ordeal of waiting for a replacement hero after Saif backed out so
unprofessionally leaving the project in the lurch.
Courtesy:Bollywoodhungama.com
The Rock On 2 actress
will be visiting the
North East to meet
indie bands
Shraddha Kapoor has signed Excel Entertainment’s Rock On 2 opposite Farhan
Akhtar and Arjun Rampal. She will definitely be singing in the film and in order
to understand the nuances of her character the actress has decided to visit Shillong and meet the indie bands and artists
there because she has heard about how
talented, zesty and innovative they are.
Shraddha’s trip to Shillong will be a
learning experience for her in two ways.
Firstly she will learn new details about
her own character in Rock On 2 by meeting musicians in Shillong and secondly
she would get to know a lot more about
music from the indie bands!
About her prep work for Rock On 2,
Shraddha says, “There are a lot of talented
artists in Shillong and I would really like to
meet them. I am sure spending time with
them would be a great learning experience.” Ms Kapoor’s journey to Shillong to
understand music and artists better can
be seen as her attempt at method acting.
Shraddha will visit Shillong, where Rock
On 2 will be shot, she will spend time in
the locales with musicians trying to get
under the skin of her character!
We think it’s pretty chill of Shraddha to
try out new things for her Rock On 2 role!
What do you think?
Printed, published & Owned by Dr.Rahimuddin Kemal, Printed at Kemal Publication's, H.No-8-2-618/3, Road No. 11, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. 500034, TS. Editor Mr.Fahim
Kemal. Published from Dil-a-Veez, H.No.8-2-618/3, Road No. 11, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad-500034.TS. India. Phone Nos: 040 66839818: Fax No: 040 23373717.
Email: indian1horizon@gmail.com feedbackhorizon@gmail.com

Hyderabad, Thursday, April 2, 2015

Transcription

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