DECEMBER 2014

pointoutnews.com december 2014 Vol-1 Issue-11 50 

i n s i d e 

SUV 

THE NEW 

TREND 

Akhilesh government 

game changing 

1 

initiatives 

RNI NO: DELENG/2014/55786

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Out 

2 

december 2014

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Out 

www.pointoutnews.com 

cover story 

WARNINGS FROM THE 

BANGLADESH AUTHORITIES 

P 10 

Must read 

BJP ON 

WINNING 

STREAK 

In Maharashtra, BJP 

that had to part with 

its strong ally Shiv 

Sena after the two 

parties failed to arrive 

at a conclusion on 

seat sharing managed 

to win 122 seats, 

something creditable... 

Test Drive P 44 

Editor-in-Chief – Dr. Shiv Kumar Rai 

Consulting Editor – Surya Gangadharan 

Feature Editor – Suman 

Special Correspondent – Aarti 

Principal Correspondent – Bipin sasi 

Correspondent – Ranjith Pasam 

Design – Manaswi 

Photo Editor – Sanjeev 

Editorial researcher - Kriti 

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+91- 9999280060, 011 23320740 

Business Head- South 

V Sunil Kumar +91- 9160834356 

RNI NO: DELENG/2014/55786 

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Volume 01 Issue 11 

For the month – December 2014 

Total No. of pages 64+Covers 

Head Office 

1201, Nirmal Tower, Barakhamba Road, 

Connaught Place, New Delhi-110001 

Phone- 011-23320740 

3 

Point Out Gallery 

cinema 

SONAKSHI’S 

PRODUCTION 

HOUSE 

P 20 

P 34 

FLYING 

HIGH 

KAILASH 

SATYARTHI, 

TOUCHING HEARTS 

OF CHILDREN 

Forecast P 48 

Health P 55 

Book Review P 56 

Art and Culture P 58 

Spiritual Touch P 66 

P 50 P 53 

P 63 

VILLAGE 

P 38 

ROOTS 

SAANSAD ADARSH GRAM YOJNA 

TRANSFORMING RURAL INDIA 

P 64 

KANGNA PLAYS 

ATHLETE IN 

TANU WEDS MANU 2 

spOrTS 

SANIA WINS 

DOUBLES TITLE 

AT WTA FINALS

Point 

Out 

• PIYUSH GOYAL, Minister of State, 

Independent Charge for Power, Coal and 

New & Renewable Energy 

‘I am looking at a 

billion tonne coal 

production, 100 

GW of solar power 

capacity and investments 

of about $50 billion in 

the transmission and 

distribution segment in 

the next five years. With 

hydel capacity being challenged due to a poor 

monsoon, the Government was faced with the 

Hobson choice of consuming the available stocks 

and generating more power. The electricity 

sector was able to increase production by 20 

per cent during the June-July –August period. 

Similarly, the coal ordinance is a step in the 

direction of setting right a wrong of twenty years. 

Another issue that was resolved satisfactorily 

through a dialogue with the industry was the 

issue of anti dumping duty. Going forward, I 

see a flourishing domestic Renewable energy 

manufacturing industry co-existing with a 

massive development phase which will achieve 

the ambitious target of 100 GW by 2022. 

This is also reflective of our commitments to 

environment and climate change. 

• NIRMALA SITHARAMAN, Minister of State 

for Commerce & Industry, 

‘Culture, 

Commerce and 

Connectivity will 

be the hallmark 

of India’s relation to 

the CLMV Countries. 

India’s Look East Policy 

had become more a 

more focused “Act East” 

Policy. There was now a greater stress on 

action and specific projects to help integrate 

with the Asian region. The threshold to the 

CLMV region was India’s North East and 

the government was taking steps to promote 

the development of this region as well as its 

connectivity to the CLMV countries. India- 

CLMV trade was concentrated in only a few 

items and there was tremendous scope to 

deepen and widen the trade basket. Several 

sectors hold potential for trade and investment 

between India and the CLMV countries. 

These included skill development, agricultural 

products, manufacturing, project exports, 

energy among others. 

• KALRAJ MISHRA , Minister of Micro, 

Small & Medium Enterprises 

‘15 new 

technological 

research centers 

for high end 

research to be set 

up with the help of 

the World Bank will 

devise new production 

techniques and push 

India’s products in the world market. They 

will also make India an ideal destination 

of ‘Make in India’ policy launched by the 

new government. Engineers involved in 

the MSME sector greatly assisted in the 

Mangalayan spaceship project which has 

done our country immense proud. He 

said we are continuously working towards 

skill development by introducing and 

implementing biometric system. Not only 

in terms of technical advancement support 

but we are equally focusing on the social 

problems of our country by promoting 

women and SC/ST entrepreneurship, 

especially in the rural and tribal areas. 

• DR MAHESH SHARMA, Minister of 

State for Tourism 

‘Medical tourism 

as a sector will 

be propagated 

and promoted 

in all Indian tourism 

directorates and other 

fora. There is need 

for a separate body to 

dedicate efforts to boost medical tourism. 

This, I felt, was essential given the high 

growth potential of medical tourism. No 

other sector is growing at a rate of 30 per 

cent. Medical visa on ETA was already 

being provided in SAARC countries and 

Your Voice 

would soon be extended further. I assured 

the medical fraternity of all possible help in 

realising the potential of medical tourism. I 

noted that Indian healthcare providers were 

providing quality par excellence at a fraction 

of the cost and that is what was attracting 

foreigners. 

• DR. SANJEEV KUMAR BALYAN, Minister 

of State for Agriculture 

‘The government 

is working on a 

comprehensive 

national 

insurance policy for 

agriculture sector to 

shield the farming 

community against all 

mis-fortune of their 

post harvest losses 

relating to all food and grain products 

including the damage of crops on account of 

attacks from pests and other such elements. 

In the forthcoming budget in which the 

focus would be for accelerated agri and 

horticulture production as well as increased 

yield of food grains including fruit and 

vegetables also. 

• SHARAD JAIPURIA, President of PHD 

Chamber 

‘PHD Chamber 

which largely 

represents the 

MSMEs segment 

of India Inc. is of 

the view that Smart 

Counties are also the 

need of hour as created 

with cluster approach 

with all digital facilities 

amalgamated with them will end up fuelling 

the migration and purge the present urban 

and semi-urban congestion on their 

infrastructure, economy, industry and civic 

amenities. 

It also holds that at a time when aspirations 

of masses, especially that of rural India are 

rising and hopes being aroused for their 

realization under the present dispensation 

being led by Prime Minister Modi, the 

concept of Smart Counties would be an 

instant success as it would involve optimum 

utilization of rural agriculture, land, animal 

husbandry, fisheries, forestry, housing, 

water, sanitation, school, health and the like. 

4 


Point of View 

POLITICAL CHURNING ON 

U 

ttar Pradesh has remained an enigma to most non-UPites. A state 

which can boast of one of the finest educational institutes and a vast 

talent pool and politically very dynamic that gave India its tall leaders 

but, yet the state is one the most backward in Indian union with very poor 

social indices or infrastructure. After the General Elections 2014 UP is 

again in prominence reiterating the fact that the keys to Delhi lies in UP 

and Bihar. The BJPs spectacular show in UP stunned even the most diehard 

critics of the saffron party and while it is trying to consolidate its position 

in the state, the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress is 

struggling for survival. In a do or die situation to make their existence there 

is a major realignment of forces in UP and Bihar that may have far reaching 

consequences. Stunned by its defeat, the Lohiya followers – Mulayam Singh 

Yadav, Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar have decided to join hands to jointly 

fight the Modi wave. 

Because of this reason we decided to focus on Uttar Pradesh and check 

what’s happening there get through to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav 

and find out from him the real scene in the state. We managed and Chief 

Minister Akhilesh Yadav was candid and confidant. He admitted to law 

and order situation being and problem but said it was being blown out 

of proportion by the media and opponents. He spoke about the various 

initiatives his government has taken to improve policing and law and order 

situation, besides taking the state on the path of progress. 

The Chief Minister has spelt out a slew of measures he has initiated in the 

last two and half years and is confidant the state is heading towards the right 

direction. He knows it is impossible to bring about a transformation in the 

lives of everyone in a short span, but hopes his policy initiatives will bring 

about a change in years to come. 

Moreover the Modi wave that decimated the opposition has led to political 

realignments and will be the biggest challenge for the BJP. An aggressive 

BJP is finding the Samajwadi and RJD and JD (U) with tacit support of 

Congress in an equally aggressive mood. So will the BJP be able to ward 

off the challenge in UP and Bihar is a crucial question. Riding of a series of 

electoral success, will a confidant BJP be able to repeat its magic in assembly 

polls due in UP and Bihar. Only time will tell. But, the dice for the big game 

has already been laid. 

Dr. Shiv Kumar Rai 

Editor-in-Chief 

5

Point 

Out 

TWITTERATI 

• NarendraModi @narendramodi • 

Perhaps this is 

the 1st time that 

a PM has got 

the wonderful 

opportunity of 

spending time with 

our Jawans on this auspicious 

day of Diwali. 

• ArunJaitley @arunjaitley • 

India & the UK 

to work on new 

dimensions of 

defence cooperation 

including strategic, 

regional security and 

counter terrorism. 

• PiyushGoyal @PiyushGoyal • 

PM has awakened 

our national 

conscience & 

ignited the 

flame of a new 

movement towards 

#SwachhBharatSundarBharat 

by leading from the front. 

• Swami Ramdev @yogrishiramdev • 

#RobertVadra bruk 

xqLlk djuk LokLF; ds 

fy, Bhd ughaA bUgsa 

izfrfnu izk.kk;ke djuk 

pkfg,A 

• ShekharKapur @shekharkapur • 

Are u an Ocean? I 

said. 'No I am an 

individual Drop' 

It said. I threw 

the drop back 

into the Ocean. 'Hey Drop! I 

shouted. The Ocean spoke. 

• anandmahindra @anandmahindra • 

Participated 

in a panel 

discussion at the 

Comptroller & 

Auditor General's 

HQ in Delhi on the 

'Value & Impact' of their 

Audits.Pleased to learn its 

apparently the 1st time CAG 

has invited external opinion. 

Rare for an institution to 

'Reinvent its Relevance.' Kudos 

• KiranBedi @thekiranbedi • 

Once 'Mission 

Kashmir' 

'Safe 

Kashmir' 

becomes a 

reality,rich 

need not go 

to Switzerland: Kashmir 

is India's Switz! Give it 

Business+Banks! 

• NitinGadkari @nitin_gadkari • 

The Fastag E-Toll collection 

will remove 

logistic 

inefficiencies 

at toll plazas 

and has the 

potential of 

saving Rs. 60K Cr 

of our fuel bills 

• SushmaSwaraj @SushmaSwaraj • 

Congratulations to 

ShriKailashSatyarthi. It is 

matter of honour 

for the country, 

Madhya Pradesh 

and people of 

Vidisha. 

• PareshRawal @SirPareshRawal • 

Imam says 

that he can't 

invite PM as 

his ideology 

is against 

Muslim but 

he has no problem inviting 

nawazsharif whose agenda is to 

destroy. 

• FarhanAkhtar @FarOutAkhtar • 

India will never 

become the global 

superpower that 

the Govt& we the 

citizens want if 

this twisted mindset re gender 

is not made obsolete. 

• Sri Sri Ravi Shankar @SriSri • 

Life has 3 aspects: self effort, 

time and higher power. 

And the 3 tools 

you need are 

perseverance, 

patience and 

faith in all 

possibilities. 

6 

december November 2014

Point 

Out 

TIMELY 

AVAILABILITY 

OF FERTILIZERS 

TO FARMERS 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh 

Yadav has written a letter to Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi requesting for 

ensuring immediate availability of 8.50 

lakh metric tonnes Urea for farmers. As 

per their demands and to ensure proper 

crop produce, of which 4.50 lakh 

metric tonnes would be required to the 

cooperative sector while 4 lakh metric 

tonnes Urea (fertilizer) in the private 

sector would be required. With regards 

to this, in his letter to prime minister, 

Akhilesh Yadav has mentioned the 

problems faced by the farmers of the 

state by inadequate and delayed supply 

of fertilizer and added that for supply of 

fertilizers, the state farmers depend on 

the Government of India. In his letter, 

the Chief Minister has also written that 

so far of the quota of 38 lakh metric 

tonnes for the state, only 35 lakh metric 

tonnes has been supplied, lending to a 

shortfall of three lakh metric tonnes. 

NATIONAL PANORAMA 

MAKE IN INDIA 

Recent measures on financial inclusion, connecting India with digital 

revolution, adoption of model villages by legislators and Make-In-India 

manufacturing push are “determined efforts” of the government which 

will lead to an “outpouring“ of socio-economic benefits including 

greater livelihood opportunities, said President Pranab Mukherjee at the 

ASSOCHAM Summit. “I am confident that these determined efforts will 

lead to an outpouring of socio-economic benefits …” the President said at 

the ASSOCHAM Summit on Livelihood Security of India. Pranab Mukherjee 

enumerated several recent initiatives by the government including ‘Sansad 

Adarsh Gram Yojana’, Digital India and financial inclusion programme. He 

also referred to the ‘Make- In- India’ initiative which “will lead our economy 

to be a manufacturing hub of low cost but high quality products”. The 

President has “great hopes on the “investor-friendly “ programme. 

While India’s demographic dynamism will position the country as 

the largest supplier of workforce in the world in another decade, “ we 

have to equip them with capacity and expertise to make this impending 

demographic dividend count. A skilled working population at par with the 

best in the world can reap dividends like none other”. 

SIMPLIFYING THE 

COMPLICATIONS PREVAILING 

IN AGE OLD REVENUE LAWS 

For the benefit of common man and 

farmers of the State, Chief Minister 

of Gujarat Anandiben Patel has taken 

historic decisions in form of adding 

a new section in Bombay Tenancy 

and Agricultural Land Act, 1948 and 

modifying provisions of Kutch Tenancy 

and Agricultural Land Act and Saurashtra 

Gharkhed Act. The nitty gritties of these 

decisions, cleared by the Legislative 

Assembly earlier, have been finalised in 

form of government resolutions. 

Many a times, the bonafide buyers of 

land have to face undue trouble, since 

permanent tenancy of the original 

owner is questioned after the land is 

sold and thereafter resold number of 

times. The authenticity of ownership 

of the current holder gets into limbo 

because of improper decisions by 

the competent authorities in the past 

due to uncertainties prevailing in the 

interpretation in the statute. To resolve 

this tangle, the state government 

has taken a historic decision to add 

Section 70A to the Bombay Tenancy 

and Agricultural Land Act, 1948. As per 

this amendment, the person currently 

in possession of such new tenure land 

will have to pay a penalty of rupee one 

and a 25% premium as per the local 

jantri of agricultural land to regularize 

the purchase of the land. This decision 

will go a long way in easing the trouble 

of bonafide buyers who were unaware of 

the issues related to the such land. 

8 


OVERWHELMING 

RESPONSE SHOWN 

BY ENTREPRENEURS 

IN HIMACHAL 

In a major bid to woo the industrialists to invest 

in Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Virbhadra 

Singh held simultaneous meetings with the 

representatives of Godrej, TATAs, Aptech, Mukand 

Ltd, Chemtrols Ltd, Ski Himalayas who called upon 

the Chief Minister in Mumbai and discussed the 

issues and status of industrialization in Himachal. 

He said that Government was offering several 

incentives to the entrepreneurs besides providing 

them congenial environment for investing in the 

State. 

The TATA group of companies had proposed to 

invest in construction and real estate in the State 

and also extended multiple proposals. Other big 

industrial houses, who interacted one to one with 

the Chief Minister, Industries Minister Mukesh 

Agnihotri and a team of high level officers of the 

State at Mumbai were WeikField Foods Pvt Limited 

who sought investment opportunities in food 

beverages and Agro based food parks. Besides, 

Stanford English Academy intends to set up 1st 

Vocational University in the upper belt of Himachal 

Pradesh with projected investment of Rs. 200-250 

crore. The Chief Minister detailed the entrepreneurs 

about Potatoes, Peas and other veggies produced in 

the State and said that agriculture being a priority 

area of State and the Government was serious to 

the proposals of the Agro based Industrial Units in 

the State and invited them to conduct survey as per 

their needs and requirements. The Chief Minister 

appreciated the proposal of setting up a Food Park 

and the Skin care products made by Alovera and 

welcomed the proposal of Global Health Group. 

The State had also worked hard to create core and 

critical infrastructure for long run sustainability of 

industry. 

SHRAMEV JAYATE TO FACILITATE 

EASE OF DOING BUSINESS 

President PHD Chamber of Commerce 

and Industry, Sharad Jaipuria applauded 

the Prime Minister Narendra Modi 

for the launch of Shramev Jayate, a 

success mantra that would not only 

create millions of job opportunities and 

would facilitate reaping the demographic 

dividend but also enhance ease of 

doing business, which will place India 

better in comparison to other countries 

in the global economic order in the 

period ahead. With an objective of 

skill development, vocational training, 

hassle-free and conducive environment 

for businesses and employees, 'Shram 

Suvidha' portal, Universal Account Number (UAN) facility for Employees 

Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) subscribers and a labour inspection 

scheme was launched. 

“Universal Account Number for EPFO subscribers would ensure financial 

inclusion as it introduces portability for EPF accounts through Universal 

Account Number which has further been linked with bank accounts, 

Aadhaar card and other KYC details.” said. Jaipuria. 

We believe, Shramev Jayate would be critical to enhance growth of 

manufacturing sector and its value added to the GDP. It will facilitate the 

firms to deploy desired workforce in their manufacturing units vis-à-vis 

softening procedural compliance. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF 

SWACHH BHARAT MISSION 

Union Minister for Urban Development, 

Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation 

and Parliamentary Affairs, M. Venkaiah 

Naidu has called for a three-pronged 

strategy to relialize the goal of Clean 

India which should include sustained 

campaign – continue the chain of nine; 

focus more on behaviroual change - 

encourage voluntary public participation; 

and to recognize ULBs, NGOs and 

Private Sector contributing significantly 

to the success of the Mission. 

The Miniser reviewed implementation of 

the Swachh Bharat Mission in national 

capital, with the Chief Secretary of Delhi, 

senior officials of Government of India, Delhi Government, MCDs, DDA, 

Delhi Police, DTC, DMRC and other agencies. 

The Minister strongly felt that every socially conscious citizen and public 

representative should be persuaded to make nine people to take up the 

task of campaigning for Swachh Bharat and each one of them should pass 

on to nine others to keep the campaign going. Naidu said “we should rope 

in not only social but also spiritual and religious leaders for this campaign. 

Respectable persons from the society also have to be brought in to spread 

the core message of this campaign.” 

9

Point 

Out 

state report 

BOTCHED 

STERILIZATIONS: 

CHHATTISGARH 

NO ACCOUNTABILITY, NO ACTION AND 

THE SAGA CONTINUED 

AILING PUBLIC HEALTH CARE 

The death of 15 women at a sterilization 

camp in Bilaspur, in the tribal 

dominated Chhattisgarh state has 

shocked the nation and led to an uproar. 

However, it is not something new or 

unheard off, botched surgeries whether 

relating to cataract, sterilization or 

others at state-sponsored camps are very 

common. Problem is they are hardly 

reported or when reported, hardly 

anyone takes cognizance of innocent 

deaths. No accountability, no action and 

the saga continued. 

10 


Point 

Out 

state report 

In Haryana the low key and 

hardworking leader Manohar Lal 

Khattar was elected as Chief 

Minister putting to rest all 

speculations, while in Maharashtra 

party state chief Devendra Fadnavis 

was elected legislature party leader 

after and long-drawn drama wherein 

Union minister Nitin Gadkari to had 

thrown his hat in the ring. However, 

party high command stood ground 

and ensured that Gadkari gave way 

to Fadnavis 

»» 

point out team 

The death of 15 women at a 

sterilization camp in Bilaspur, 

in the tribal dominated 

Chhattisgarh state has shocked 

the nation and led to an uproar. However, 

it is not something new or unheard off, 

botched surgeries whether relating to 

cataract, sterilization or others at statesponsored 

camps are very common. 

Problem is they are hardly reported or 

when reported, hardly anyone takes 

cognizance of innocent deaths. No 

accountability, no action and the saga 

continued. 

In Chhattisgarh itself several people 

have lost their eyesight after surgeries at 

a cataract camp. State Government has 

taken some action against a few doctors in 

that particular case but it has not proved 

to be a deterrent. 

The furore over botched sterilization 

in Bilaspur, this time being, that so 

many deaths took place within a short 

span. That led to media attention and 

the knee-jerk reaction by the state and 

Union governments. A fortnight after the 

incident that resulted in the death of 15 

women and over four dozen hospitalized 

there is still no clarity over what led to the 

deaths. 

Doctors have been quick to come to the 

rescue of the surgeon, Dr RK Gupta in this 

case, who happens to be a seasoned hand, 

rather one of the best in Chhattisgarh and 

has been arrested in a knee-jerk reaction. 

Doctors have put the onus of deaths 

on sub-standard medicines supplied 

by pharma companies to the state 

government hospitals. While lab reports 

suggested poor quality of medicines and 

traces of zinc phosphate (rat poison) in 

the medicines, a government lab has ruled 

out poison in drugs and confirmed that 

drugs administered were sub-standard 

and deaths occurred due to septicemia. 

While exact reasons for the deaths are 

still not out going by the records, one can 

easily say that it is a culmination of several 

factors including poor governance, lack 

of control and transparency in drug 

purchase, poor infrastructure of public 

12 


health services and tight targets given to 

government doctors for family planning 

operations. 

The fact is despite tom-toming about 

revolution in public health delivery 

system why are people ignoring 

government hospitals and visiting private 

hospitals and consultants? No one wants 

to go under the scalpel, still government 

forces doctors to meet deadlines and 

timelines on family planning cases. The 

pressure of targets, now denied by the 

state and Union government, does push 

According a senior health official with the Union health ministry 

it is a systemic failure. The state government, doctors and 

pharma companies all must take the responsibility. The cartel 

of drug supply is behind the root cause of most problems in 

government hospitals and health centres. Just look at the 

credentials of the suppliers and you will know why? It is a nexus, 

nobody cares about public health and life. 

13

Point 

Out 

Out 

COVER STORY 

surgeons to take up surgeries in pretty 

unhygienic conditions in health centres 

and hospitals that do not have proper 

sterilized environment or OT facilities. 

According a senior health official with 

the Union health ministry it is a systemic 

failure. The state government, doctors 

and pharma companies all must take the 

responsibility. The cartel of drug supply is 

behind the root cause of most problems in 

government hospitals and health centres. 

Just look at the credentials of the suppliers 

and you will know why? It is a nexus, 

nobody cares about public health and life. 

A senior doctor from Chhattisgarh said 

state government purchases medicines 

from companies some of which are 

unheard of. What goes into purchases 

only the authorities would be in a position 

to tell. Look at some of the antibiotic 

suppliers, they manufacture the drugs 

in one or two room units with no sterile 

environment, he said. 

As the clamour over deaths of women 

got, opposition parties in Chhattisgarh 

demanded resignation of the health 

minister Amar Agrawal. However, despite 

the growing demand an unperturbed 

Agrawal ruled out resignation saying 

he has nothing to do with the deaths 

and refused to take responsibility. So, 

who is responsible? The surgeon, who 

is already under arrest, the suppliers 

and manufacturer of drugs? Why is the 

A senior doctor from Chhattisgarh said state government 

purchases medicines from companies some of which are 

unheard of. What goes into purchases only the authorities would 

be in a position to tell. Look at some of the antibiotic suppliers, 

they manufacture the drugs in one or two room units with no 

sterile environment, he said. 

buck stops there? Why Chief Minister 

Raman Singh and Agrawal cannot take 

responsibility for the deaths? After all they 

have been ruling Chhattisgarh for over a 

decade, now. 

PROBE 

An independent probe found deaths due 

to septicemia. 

Probe found that 85% of family planning 

budget in Chhattisgarh was spent on 

incentives and compensation for women. 

Only 1.3% was spent on equipment, 

transport, awareness campaign and staff 

expenses and 1.5% in spacing methods 

like oral pills and condoms. 

Team found some of the critical cases 

admitted at Apollo Hospital showed 

raised levels of pro- calcitonin that 

suggests septicaemia. 

Post mortem of seven deaths at the 

Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical 

Sciences and the district hospital suggests 

septicaemia. 

14 


Point 

Out 

foreign affairs 

16 


MODI SETS THE 

DIPLOMATIC PACE 

Six months into his tenure 

as prime minister and setting 

a cracking diplomatic pace, 

Narendra Modi has done what 

until now it seems, never 

merited the serious consideration 

of the UPA government: An 

invitation to US President 

Barack Obama to be chief guest 

at the Republic Day Parade and 

celebrations next year. 

»» 

SURYA GANGADHARAN 

Call it Modi Magic. Six months 

into his tenure as prime minister 

and setting a cracking diplomatic 

pace, Narendra Modi has done 

what until now it seems, never merited 

the serious consideration of the UPA 

government: An invitation to US President 

Barack Obama to be chief guest at the 

Republic Day Parade and celebrations next 

year. 

The Delhi rumour mills worked overtime 

as news got around, Internet chat rooms 

buzzed, the main questions centering 

around what “big ticket” announcements 

were likely given that such visits cannot 

be only about the event. One can expect 

both sides to burn the midnight oil in the 

weeks ahead with the focus on bringing to 

a successful close all the two sides agreed 

upon in 2005. “In particular this means the 

nuclear deal which next year will be 10 years 

old,” says respected strategic thinker and 

writer Dr C Raja Mohan. “We need to clear 

the roadblocks especially the Liability Act 

and fast track it.” 

Dr Mohan warns that India needs to pick 

up the pace especially after the US China 

deal on climate change. “This is an issue 

and it won’t go away. We need to focus on 

nuclear power because there are few other 

alternatives.” 

Defence cooperation is another area but 

it has to be within Modi’s “Make in India” 

framework. Would a biggie like Boeing 

be prepared to assemble and transfer 

technology to build the Apache attack 

17

Point 

Out 


helicopter or Chinook transport helicopter 

in India? Would Lockheed Martin be ready 

to do the same for the C-130? The US 

has had back to back reverses in India in 

recent years including elimination from the 

MMRCA bid and the Indian army’s decision 

to buy the Israeli Spike ATGM over the 

Javelin. But India’s defence requirements are 

huge and given the range and sophistication 

of US defence technologies and industry, 

there will always be takers provided the 

underlying principle of “Make in India” 

becomes part of the US sales pitch. 

India and the US must build on the positives 

generated by Modi’s meeting with Obama in 

Washington in September and again during 

the recent G20 in Australia. 

“It’s about two countries recognizing that 

they really have no great disputes between 

them, that neither sees the other as a 

threat in the forseeable future,” says Pranay 

Sharma, Senior Editor Foreign Affairs at 

Outlook Magazine. “But India will not be 

like any other American ally, content with 

a subordinate position. This is something 

The developments over the last few months have 

demonstrated clearly that foreign policy is being driven 

by Modi. While Sushma Swaraj is the minister, she plays 

second fiddle to the PM, which is not unusual as Indian 

prime ministers have traditionally exercised considerable 

control over foreign policy since Nehru’s days. 

Washington must learn to understand and 

accept. 

Obama’s second visit provides another 

window of opportunity, Modi has leveraged 

the opening and must follow through but 

equally, so too must Obama. 

THE CHINA ANGLE 

There is some who see the Obama visit as 

sending a powerful signal to China. Pranay 

Sharma disagrees: “It’s not about signaling 

China, the US-China relationship is far 

more sophisticated and enduring in political 

and economic terms than anything that 

either country may have with India.” 

But Prof. Srikanth Kondapalli, head of China 

Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University says 

China will closely monitor the outcome of 

the Modi-Obama meeting. “It’s not clear 

if Modi has given the same assurance to 

China which Manmohan Singh did, that 

India is not working with the US to contain 

China,” he explained adding: “China would 

be worried if India, the US got together with 

other countries, like Japan and Australia. 

18 


In fact they issued a demarche in 2007 

when these four navies exercised together. 

There were even reports at the time that 

the exercise involved shutting down the 

Malacca Straits if China invaded Taiwan.” 

“Managing China will be tough,” warned a 

serving diplomat bluntly, “simply because 

we know so little of what’s going on inside 

that country. Is the aggression President 

Xi Jinping projects outside the result of a 

power struggle within? There’s no doubt 

his crackdown on corruption has made 

him powerful enemies. Then the economy 

is slowing down. China will be a very very 

tough call.” 

China can be expected to seek explanations 

from India at the diplomatic level, about 

the Modi-Obama interaction. Will Modi 

play ball? “Not sure,” says Kondapalli. 

“There’s nothing to stop him from seeking 

explanations from China every time a 

Pakistani leader visits, or when a Bangladeshi 

or Sri Lankan leader visits Beijing.” 

But Kondapalli suspects China’s tough line 

on India could soften once the 5000 km 

range Agni-5 ballistic missile is deployed. 

The Agni-5 has the range to target China’s 

key strategic and economic sites. One could 

see China ready to engage with India on a 

host of issues including on nuclear weapons 

proliferation and possibly, entry into 

international missile control regimes. Given 

that it will be interesting to see whether 

India parades the 3000 km range Agni-4 or 

the Agni-5 on Rajpath next January. The 

Americans may be okay with the former but 

may not be comfortable with the latter. 

THE RUSSIAN ANGLE 

Another visit still in the future at the time of 

writing, is that of Russia’s President Vladimir 

Putin. With bilateral trade languishing, the 

Russians will be feeling the pressure as India 

increasingly, looks within for its defence 

requirements. 

“Russia realizes that with the shift in India’s 

attitude to defence production, they cannot 

expect India to keep buying from them,” 

says Nandan Unnikrishnan of the Observer 

Research Foundation. An expert on Russia 

who knows the language and has lived 

and worked from Moscow, Unnikrishnan 

believes “the Russians know they will have to 

look at joint ventures with the private sector 

since it’s clear the PSUs cannot deliver.” 

Not that imports are ruled out entirely, but 

as in the case of the army’s requirement 

for self propelled guns (where 100 will be 

bought off the shelf with the balance of over 

700 being made in India), the writing on 

the wall is clear. Putin is too smart not to 

Whether the foreign secretary and her staff have 

clearly understood Modi’s line of thinking is probably 

work in progress. There’s a very strong domestic 

focus in Modi’s foreign outreach. You can see it in his 

focus on black money, NRIs, in the visit to Australia 

and now Fiji. 

understand this. 

The visit of Russia’s defence minister ahead 

of Putin, could see some ground broken. 

Regarded as “professional and business 

like”, Sergei Shoigu could come up with 

ways in which Russian industry can team 

up with Indian firms in joint ventures and 

collaborations that will ensure a future 

for their military equipment. Brahmos 

Aerospace, in that sense, is the India Russia 

joint venture which provides some answers. 

The only caveat here is Russia may have 

to tie up with private firms given the clear 

direction from the Indian government to 

that effect. 

Civil nuclear energy remains the one area 

where Russia stands above every other 

international competitor. One nuclear 

plant has already been commissioned with 

another due in 2015. More plants are on the 

cards despite misgivings about the Nuclear 

Liability Act. 

Russia will remain India’s trusted partner 

when it comes to strategic systems and 

platforms. Does that mean India could go in 

for more nuclear powered attack submarines 

like the Chakra? There have been reports 

about that for some time. Russia could also 

partner India in the Indian Navy’s ambitious 

Project 75I line of conventional submarines. 

Then there’s the Fifth Generation Fighter 

project where India’s work share has diluted 

even though both sides are contributing 

equally in finance terms. Some of those 

hitches there will have to be ironed out. 

WEST ASIA 

Critics say that Modi’s “Hindutva” is to 

blame for the fact that West Asia and the 

Gulf countries, home to six million Indians, 

is off the prime minister’s radar. They cite 

the fact that although virtually on India’s 

doorstep, Modi has not visited any of these 

countries. 

But as a senior diplomat who served as 

ambassador in a number of West Asian 

capitals told this magazine: “The PM's 

major foreign visits have been mainly 

centred around multilateral commitments 

--- UNGA and G-20 --- to which a bilateral 

content has been added, as is usual. He 

has not gone to every nook and corner of 

the globe. He has yet to go to Africa, Latin 

America or large parts of Europe. I don't 

think we should at this early stage see a 

pattern in his foreign policy commitments 

or priorities.” 

He pointed out that External Affairs 

Minister Sushma Swaraj was recently in the 

UAE where she met the foreign minister, 

the Deputy PM and interior minister; more 

importantly, she had a very substantial 

interaction with the Emirati business 

community. 

“The Gulf will remain of priority interest 

to any government that is in power in 

Delhi. It is not a question of choice but is a 

requirement, he said admitting, “the UPA 

government also engaged with West Asia 

most tardily and reluctantly.” 

The serving diplomat believes that this may 

not be the right time to visit that region. “It’s 

not only about war and the Islamic State, 

there are Indians held hostage by Islamic 

extremists, there’s turmoil and instability. 

Do we need to step in now?” 

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD 

The only standalone visits made by Modi so 

far have been to Nepal (and Bhutan). In fact, 

with the SAARC summit in Kathmandu, he 

has made two visits to Nepal. In the process 

he has underscored that political neglect is a 

thing of the past. He has held out the hand 

of friendship, promised not to interfere 

in its internal affairs and committed to its 

economic development. His inability to visit 

Lumbini, Janakpur and Muktinath due to 

security concerns is a minor setback. 

But there is a sense that time and again India 

has failed to capitalize or make the best of 

its own neighbourhood initiatives. While 

19

Point 

Out 


Bangladesh is being taken seriously, India 

is yet to articulate a roadmap and timelines 

whether on sharing the Teesta waters or on 

resolving the land boundary. In the case 

of Sri Lanka India has not been able to 

utilize Trincomalee port on the east coast 

despite Colombo’s invitation. The same with 

Myanmar, Sittwe Port is getting ready but 

the highway that India had committed to 

build is nowhere in sight. 

Partly, there’s a problem of capital, 

India doesn’t have enough of it and will 

need to work out some financial model 

perhaps bringing in international lending 

institutions. That would be complicated and 

will take time. 

“Then there’s our own capacity to 

implement,” said a senior Indian diplomat 

who served in Kathmandu. “Projects of 

this kind require a level of inter ministerial 

coordination lacking in India. Ideally, 

the MEA, Finance and other ministries 

involved should work together especially 

their bureaucracies.” 

In the case of Pakistan there’s nothing to 

report. There’s been no movement since 

Nawaz Sharif attended Modi’s inauguration 

in May this year. Rather he’s back to beating 

the familiar Kashmir drum and Pakistani 

diplomats in India warn that they cannot be 

ignored. But the way Delhi sees it, Pakistan’s 

internal dynamics offer little scope for 

deliverables. 

THE FOREIGN OFFICE 

A word about the MEA. The developments 

over the last few months have demonstrated 

clearly that foreign policy is being driven by 

Modi. While Sushma Swaraj is the minister, 

she plays second fiddle to the PM, which is 

not unusual as Indian prime ministers have 

traditionally exercised considerable control 

over foreign policy since Nehru’s days. 

Whether the foreign secretary and her 

staff have clearly understood Modi’s line 

of thinking is probably work in progress. 

There’s a very strong domestic focus in 

Modi’s foreign outreach. You can see it in his 

focus on black money, NRIs, in the visit to 

Australia and now Fiji. 

His invitation to the world to come and 

invest in India is backed by reforms in 

defence, which he sees as a crucial source of 

manufacturing and therefore jobs. The push 

for FDI in major infrastructure including 

modernizing the railways and building new 

highways is another. 

The New Year could see Modi set off in new 

directions, Europe certainly, hopefully West 

Asia too. But before that a visit to Bangladesh 

is necessary to demonstrate support to 

Sheikh Hasina who, in a sense, has gone out 

on a limb for India and received nothing 

in return. Also Afghanistan where the new 

leadership seems to have different ideas and 

is looking at neighbours differently. Can 

India support and still stay relevant in Kabul. 

Watch this space in 2015. 

20 


Point 

Out 

Interview 

Akhilesh Yadav 

Chief Minister ,Uttar Pradesh 

WE ARE COMMITTED TO USHER IN 

AN ERA OF PROSPERITY 

22 


The 1090 women power line initiative of the state police 

is being lauded across the country and many states are 

emulating it. Women and girls in the state are feeling 

much more at peace because of power line, which we have 

now decided to extend to each district in the state. Quick 

Response Teams have been formed so that response time in 

situations of big crimes and communal situations is tackled 

effectively and as promptly as possible. 

M 

y government has undertaken a series of game changing initiatives in 

almost all sectors. State government has taken some serious steps to 

enhance and strengthen infrastructure in the state. We made a beginning 

by linking all district headquarters to four lane roads, the construction of 

an inner ring road in Agra, the city know for the Taj. Moreover, hundreds of bridges 

are being constructed across the state to keep every corner of the state accessible 

by road round the year. Roads are being widened and connectivity between small 

towns is being improved. State government has undertaken a series of schemes and 

projects that, in long run, would change the face of Uttar Pradesh. So I am hopeful 

and confident that the state would judge me well! Excerpts from an interview with 

POINT OUT. 

Uttar Pradesh is often termed as a 

‘lawless’ state in the Indian union. 

Why is it so? 

I totally disagree with any such 

reference. It is a false propaganda and 

the mindset of people from other parts 

of the country must change. They 

must come to UP to know what the 

situation is at ground level. 

Law & order in UP is said to be your 

biggest failure by opponents? Do 

you agree? 

Before I answer your question in 

detail, rejecting all accusations 

of failure, please recall about the 

unfortunate Budayun case. Media 

and opposition members launched 

a diatribe against my government 

over this case in which two young 

girls were found hanging to a tree in 

a village in Budayun. My government 

without hesitation recommended 

a CBI probe into the matter and it’s 

for all to see what the findings are. 

Having said that, I agree there are 

issues that need to be addressed 

and I assure you that they are being 

tackled in the most forthright and 

sincere manner. For my government, 

modernization of police force is a 

priority. In the last two years several 

initiatives have been taken to not 

only improve working of police force 

but also raise their morale. Modern 

police control rooms have been set 

up in Kanpur and Lucknow and many 

more are proposed in other major 

cities. The 1090 women power line 

initiative of the state police is being 

lauded across the country and many 

states are emulating it. Women and 

girls in the state are feeling much 

more at peace because of power line, 

which we have now decided to extend 

to each district in the state. Quick 

Response Teams have been formed 

so that response time in situations of 

big crimes and communal situations 

is tackled effectively and as promptly 

as possible. Crime branches have 

been formed in all 75 districts to 

ensure that investigations are not 

only fast but also professional. 

What steps have you taken to make 

UP Police take crimes against 

women seriously? 

As I mentioned in my previous 

response, the state government 

accords utmost priority to the safety 

and security of women. 1090 women 

power line is now the most lethal 

weapon against eve-teasers and 

crank callers who harass women 

endlessly on telephone. A large 

number of women who were quite 

and helpless to the menace are not 

only bringing it to the notice of the 

police, the high point of this project is 

that they can do this sitting at home, 

not revealing their identity. The 

success rate of settling such issues 

is phenomenal and the harangued 

women are now breathing easy. 

My government has also decided 

to establish fast track courts in all 

districts to exclusively hear cases of 

crimes against women. 

You harped on development initially. 

What do you have to showcase in 

last three years of your government? 

My government has undertaken a 

series of game changing initiatives in 

almost all sectors. State government 

has taken some serious steps to 

enhance and strengthen infrastructure 

in the state. We made a beginning 

by linking all district headquarters to 

four lane roads, the construction of an 

inner ring road in Agra, the city know 

for the Taj. Moreover, hundreds of 

bridges are being constructed across 

the state to keep every corner of the 

23

Point 

Out 

state accessible by road round the 

year. Roads are being widened and 

connectivity between small towns is 

being improved. State government 

has taken an initiative to link cities 

and tourist destinations through an 

air network and an ambitious air taxi 

plan has 

been unveiled. My government has 

taken initiatives to improve green 

cover in the state and thousands of 

acres of land have been planted with 

saplings. Sports are another area 

where our government is doing a lot. 

An international stadium is coming up 

at Lucknow and the reward money for 

medal winning 

Sportspersons at national and 

international arena has been increased 

substantially. Healthcare sector is 

being revolutionized with ambulance 

services like 102 and 108 benefitting 

millions in need. In a bid to reach 

out to every person in the state with 

health facility, government has made 

treatment, medicines, pathological 

tests, x-rays free at all government 

hospitals. The mortality rates of 

infants and expecting mothers has 

also come down. Major stake holders 

like the Unicef and the Bill and Melinda 

Gates Foundation has patted us for 

the good work in this sector. The 

free laptop scheme to class XII pass 

outs has been a great success. It 

has transformed students with rural 

backgrounds and made them at par 

with the modern day world in the era 

of internet. While we are creating job 

opportunities for the 

Unemployed, the unemployment 

allowance has been a boon for 

the jobless. Kanya Vidya Dhan is 

another scheme which reflects our 

commitment to girl education. Other 

than this we have launched the 

Samajwadi Pension scheme and it is 

to benefit 40 lakh poor families. It is 

the biggest social security scheme of 

its type in the entire country. These 

are among some of the revolutionary 

steps taken by my government. 

What is your road map for 

deteriorating power situation? 

We inherited a very gloomy power 

sector in 2012. At the very outset we 

decided that this was going to be a key 

area and priority for my government. 

I am happy to inform you that my 

government has initiated both pathbreaking 

and far reaching changes in 

the power sector, result of which will 

soon start 

coming. Hundreds of transformers are 

being set up at tehsil levels, dedicated 

and separate feeders for rural places. 

The industrial sector is being given 

24x7 power supply. Line losses 

are being contained, transmission 

improved and generation is being 

enhanced. Strict instructions have 

been issued to act against power 

thefts and if the union government 

Interview 

also begins to pitch in by giving our 

quota of power from the central pool, 

things will change considerably. 

Be assured that by 2016, power 

scenario in Uttar Pradesh would be 

much different and much better. I am 

personally determined to make that 

happen. 

Why UP is still lagging behind in 

social indices? 

There is a sustained effort by our 

government to improve on this front 

and very soon you will see a drastic 

change. You must understand that 

we have inherited a state in complete 

shamble. Time and sincere efforts 

24 


alone can change the scenario and our 

government is doing everything to do 

so. Be hopeful and assured. (Smiles) 

Can UP shed the BIMARU tag? If yes, 

how? 

I do not agree with the BIMARU tag. 

UP is out of this archaic tagging. In 

my view we are a vibrant state which 

is now on the verge of transition 

into a leading developing state of 

the country. Can a state which is the 

highest milk producer in India with the 

most vibrant IT manpower be called a 

BIMARU state? 

Does it do justice in any way to the 

dreams and aspirations of 20 crore 

people of the state. Certainly not. Time 

has come to view UP with a different 

lens. 

What initiatives did you take towards 

good governance? 

To me good governance is a mix 

of clean, honest efforts that are 

assimilated with fast changing 

modern world of transparency and 

technology edge. The CM's office 

is now completely paperless, files 

move fast and projects no longer 

wait for want of prompt decisions. 

Bureaucracy has been chastened and 

told in clear voices that they need to 

work for the people and that laxity is 

no longer an 

option. We are relying more on the 

e-side of governance and many 

important public services have 

been put on internet applications 

for fast and easy actions. The rest, 

I have mentioned earlier. In the end, 

through your magazine, I would like to 

reassure the people of the state that 

this government stands committed to 

comprehensive development of the 

state and to usher in prosperity. 

UP has witnessed a political 

churning during LS polls 2014. How 

will you counter it in? Future? 

Yes, the BJP succeeded in its 

propaganda and hoodwinked the 

people with their false promises. 

Victories and defeats are part and 

parcel of politics and we have taken 

the churning during the LS polls in 

the right spirit. While we are carrying 

on with our development mindset of 

The industrial sector is being given 24x7 power supply. Line losses are 

being contained, transmission improved and generation is being enhanced. 

Strict instructions have been issued to act against power thefts and if the 

union government also begins to pitch in by giving our quota of power from 

the central pool, things will change considerably. Be assured that by 2016, 

power scenario in Uttar Pradesh would be much different and much better. 

I am personally determined to make that happen. 

governance, even people are seeing 

through the mirage of falsehood 

floated by the BJP. Within six months, 

many of their promises have fallen 

flat on their face and the people are 

getting restless. And while all this 

happens, the Samajwadi Party (SP) 

government in the state is going ahead 

with its plank of social welfare, power 

to all, comprehensive and accessible 

development. The credo of this 

government for good governance and 

welfare of the poor, weaker sections 

and the minorities stems from the 

ethos of socialism. I am sure that after 

the Lok Sabha setback we are on track 

as was also visible in the recent state 

assembly by polls in which we wrested 

many sitting seats from the BJP. 

As a young CM there were great 

expectations from you. After 

completing bout three years, do you 

think you were able to meet public 

expectations? 

The moment I took over as the chief 

minister of UP, the most populous 

state of the country, I was aware of 

the onerous responsibility which 

came with the office. Adding to it 

were the huge expectations of the 

people of the state that they reposed 

in us by giving the Samajwadi Party 

(SP) a majority in the state assembly. 

As a young person while one has the 

freedom of thinking out of the box, 

extra 

energy, fresh ideas, it can be an 

impediment some times, especially 

when in politics (Smiles). In my 

tenure so far I have tried to initiate 

several processes that would 

usher in prosperity and all-round 

development for the state. The state 

government has undertaken a series 

of schemes and projects that, in 

long run, would change the face of 

Uttar Pradesh. So I am hopeful and 

confident that the state would judge 

me well! 

25

Point 

Out 

Impact Feature 

AKHILESH MANTRA 

Uttar Pradesh 

DOUBLE THE SPEED 

TRIPLE THE ECONOMY 

Chief Minister Akhilesh 

Yadav has laid great 

emphasis on improving 

road connectivity to make 

transportation easy. His 

unique mantra for the state’s 

development is, “Double the 

speed, triple the Economy”. 

Keeping this in mind, a 

scheme to link all district 

headquarters by a four lane 

road is being implemented in 

the state. State has embarked 

upon an ambitious scheme to 

upgrade state highways. 

For the Uttar Pradesh 

government, the Yamuna 

Expressway has come as a 

shot in the arm as it has 

been selected among the 100 

best innovative projects in 

KPMG's Infrastructure 100: 

World Markets report. 

26 



Uttar Pradesh 

redefining Road network 

UTTAR PRADESH 

REDEFINING GROWTH 

A 

mong one of the largest states in the 

Indian union, Uttar Pradesh, home to 

about 200 million people, has woken up 

to challenges of the new century and is 

poised to take a giant leap to augment its 

human and growth indices. Realising, only economic 

activity can help the state to achieve higher growth 

and generate employment for youth, state’s young and 

dynamic Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has pushed 

through a slew of policy initiatives, that would change 

the industrial landscape of the state. 

Bestowed with nature’s bounty in the form of 

mountains in its eastern part to the free flowing 

Ganga and the plains, which is one of the most fertile 

lands in the country, and immense natural resources, 

Uttar Pradesh has in it to be the crown of India as far 

as growth and development issues are concerned. A 

large pool of talented youth is waiting to grab their 

L Yamuna Expressway has been selected 

among the 100 best innovative projects 

in KPMG's Infrastructure 100: World 

Markets report 

L Build Agra-Lucknow expressway to 

connect Delhi-Agra and Varanasi 

L Connect all district headquarters with 

four-lane highways 

L 230 kms four-lane roads to be completed 

in 2014-15 

L 25 bridges out of 229 targeted for this 

year completed 

L 5500 kms of new road made, 1200 kms 

repaired and 3700 kms have connected 

different habitations 

27

Point 

Out 


Uttar Pradesh 

opportunity as investors have a re-look at the 

state that is scripting a silent revolution. 

Irony is, despite nature’s largesse, the Uttar 

Pradesh has always been termed a laggard as far 

as human development indices are concerned 

and carries the BIMARU tag right since India’s 

independence. Keen to shed the BIMARU tag, 

Akhilesh government has mooted an industrial 

policy that aims to attract investments not only 

by offering tax and duty concessions but building 

a credible infrastructure across the state. State 

government has set an ambitious growth rate 

target of 10% in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012- 

17). Highlights of growth roadmap include 

industrial growth target set at 11.2% with an 

estimated investment of USD 63.6 billion in 

manufacturing. Over 70% of investments target 

are envisaged from private sector. 

Under his leadership the state has embarked on 

an ambitious project for upgrade in infrastructure 

– be it surface transport, air connectivity, metro 

rail, power sector and the education sector. 

Uttar Pradesh has one of the largest network 

of roads connecting to every corner of India 

and with major cities. Within the state, six-lane 

expressways like the Yamuna Expressway and 

Budda International Circuit are models in PPP 

mode, which other states are following. Road 

networks are being upgraded while cargo hubs 

are being set up to facilitate storage and easy 

movement of products. 

The state is well connected on the air connectivity 

map with different cities in the country. 

Moreover, it offers direct connectivity to Gulf 

nations and the state government is looking to 

economically leverage this. Apart from this the 

state boasts a talent pool of skilled workers coming 

out of its premium and technical institutions. 

It is one state that has three Indian Institute of 

Technologies (IITs) and an Indian Institute of 

Management, besides the Indian Institute of 

Hotel Management. A pioneering state in the 

field of education it generates sufficient local 

talent pool through its 57 universities that can 

serve any industry. 

To make investors comfortable Chief Minister 

has initiated investor-friendly polices besides, 

a major boost to infrastructure development. 

Efforts to build on a road network connecting 

the entire state and start new power projects 

and doing away with the inspector raj has send 

the right message among the industrialists as 

was evident from the Investors Conclave 2014 

organised by the state in New Delhi. Investment 

proposals (letter of intent) worth Rs 55,000 crore 

were signed at the conclave that would create fast 

pedal growth rate and increase job opportunities. 

UP is the first state to conceive and develop an 

Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) 

way back in 1976, the first state to host a 

Formula 1 Grand Prix in India (2011), home to 

the longest 6-lane expressway in the country- 

(Yamuna Expressway) and Buddh International 

Circuit in Greater NOIDA. 

28 



Uttar Pradesh 

redefining power generation 

29 

UP AIMS TO BECOME A POWER SURPLUS STATE 

BY THE END OF 12th PLAN 2012- 2017 

UP government is working on a plan to provide 22 

hours of power to district headquartes and 16 hours 

uninterrupted power supply to rural areas of the state by 

2016. To make this reality Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav 

has directed for energizing all tubewells of farmers within 

this financial year and to complete electrification of all 

Lohia villages of 2012-13, 2013-14 by 

March 2015. Yadav also asked officials to 

begin electrification in 1,40,000 majra's 

in 64 districts at a cost of Rs 7,282 crore 

under the 12 Five Year Plan 

13000 MW additional 

capacity will be made 

available during 2012-17 in 

addition to existing capacity 

of about 10,000 MW 

22 hours power to district 

HQs and 16 hours to villages 

by 2016 

To energize all farmers 

tubewells by this financial 

year 

Electrification of 1,40,000 

habitations in 64 districts at 

a cost of Rs 7,282 cr in 12 th 

five-year plan

Point 

Out 


L Stamp duty exemptions 

L Concessions related to commercial tax 

L Capital subsidy and interest free loan 

L Incentives for MSMEs 

L Market and brand development assistance 

L Research and development assistance 

L Deregulation and simplification of licensing 

procedures 

L Extension and strengthening of single 

window clearance system 

L E- Governance initiatives for investor 

information, industry grievance redressal. 

L Investor tracking 

L Appointment of escort officer for mega 

project 

L Augmentation of security for industrial 

estates 

L Interest-free loan equivalent to VAT and 

Central sales tax paid by industrial units 

or 10 per cent of the annual turnover 

whichever is less 

L Provision for a period of 10 years 

repayable after 7 years from the date of first 

disbursement 

L Capital interest Subsidy Scheme for Eastern 

UP, Central UP and Bundelkhand regions 

L Subsidy@ 5 per cent on interest rate on 

loan for procurement of plant & machinery 

for a maximum period of 5 years Maximum 

annual Subsidy limit of Rs 50 Lakh 

L Maximum annual Subsidy limit of Rs 1 Crore 

for units of textile sector 

L Subsidised interest on loan taken for 

developing infrastructure facilities for selfuse, 

Such as – road, sewer, water drainage, 

power line etc. up to Rs 1 Crore 

L The Subsidy Scheme extends to setting up 

of R&D infrastructure such as testing labs, 

quality certification labs and tool room 

Food processing sector 

L Special incentives for mega projects 

L Electricity duty exemption 

L Exemption from Mandi fee 

L Industrial quality scheme 

L EPF reimbursement scheme 

New units 

Uttar Pradesh 

redefining INDUSTRIAL POLICY 

L 100% on purchase and lease of land in 

Eastern UP, Central UP & Bundelkhand 

L 100% to IT, bio-tech, BPO, Food Processing, 

Food Park & alternative energy sectors 

L 100% to private sector infrastructure 

development excluding PPP projects 

L 75% to other new units on government lands 

& 50 per cent on private lands in western UP. 

L 25% reimbursement to private industrial 

estate developers 

30 



for the people 

Uttar Pradesh 

SAMAJWADI PENSION Scheme 

Samajwadi Pension Scheme aims to benefit 

40 lakh poor families. Beneficiaries would be 

selected from among the Below Poverty Line 

(BPL) families and pension would be paid to 

their accounts. It is the only pension scheme 

in the country that will link poor families with 

education and health. 

MISSION TO END MALNUTRITION 

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has said that 

To bring down maternal mortality rate and 

infant mortality rate UP government has 

launched State Nutrition Mission to end 

malnutrition. 

LUCKNOW METRO RAIL 

Eight-km priority section between Transport 

Nagar and Charbagh under the North-South 

corridor to be built at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore 

would be completed by December, 2016.This 

elevated section would have Transport Nagar, 

Krishna Nagar, Singar Nagar, Alambagh, 

Alambagh Bus Station, Mawaiyya, Durgapuri 

and Charbagh as stations. Uttar Pradesh is the 

only state where work on Metro Rail is being 

done in three districts. 

CYCLE TRACKS 

Inspired by the success of cycling in the 

Netherlands, UP government has decided to 

incorporate cycling tracks in future planning 

of new towns. Cycle tracks will only be chosen 

from areas where cycling is a principal mode of 

commuting. 

'102' NATIONAL AMBULANCE SERVICES 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav 

flagged off 300 air-conditioned ambulances 

under the '102'National Ambulance Services. 

They have been exclusively dedicated for 

mothers and their infants. 

SAMGRA GRAM VIKAS SCHEME 

Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Samagra Gram Vikas 

Yojna aims to bring these most backward 

revenue villages, which are lagging behind 

in infrastructure development such as Link 

Roads, Rural Electrification, Availability 

of Potable water, Sanitary Latrines into 

mainstream of development by providing 

these infrastructure facilities. About 1600 

villages were selected in first year i.e. 2012- 

13 and then 2100 villages in each year for 

remaining four years i.e. 2013-14, 2014-15, 

2015-16 & 2016-17 are to be selected. 

31

Point 

Out 

UP tourism 


Uttar Pradesh 

The heartland of India 

Uttar Pradesh, the heartland of India, is known 

for its Heritage, Culture and bounties of Nature. 

It is home to some of the greatest monuments, 

the most ancient city in the world, the seat of 

Buddhism and the colours of all faiths. 

Uttar Pradesh is a favourite destination for both 

foreign and domestic tourists. It is common 

destination for a quarter of all foreign tourists to 

India and all domestic tourists within India. 

It is the land that gave a new meaning to etiquette 

and continues to redefine the true meaning of love. 

Uttar Pradesh is a land of unending histories and 

charms. This state is a land gifted with rich natural 

wealth. Both international and national tourists get 

attracted to this place as there are several aspects 

worth exploring. The beauty of Uttar Pradesh is a 

myth that is never ending. 

32 



Important 

tourist sites 

Uttar Pradesh 

Connectivity to 

tourist destinations 

L Major railway stations 

Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Agra, 

Mathura, Jhansi, Ghaziabad. 

L Taj Mahal 

L Agra Fort 

L Fatehpur Sikri 

L Ghats, Sarnath (Varanasi) 

L Sangam at Prayag 

(Allahabad) 

L Forts at Allahabad 

L Jhansi 

L Bithoor 

L Airports 

Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Kanpur and 

Allahabad. 

Buddhist destinations 

L Piprahwa 

L Kaushambi 

L Shravasti 

L Kushinagar 

33 

An advertorial initiative by POINT OUT marketing team

Point 

Out 

GALLERY 

GALLA 

GALLERY 

GALLARY 

GALLE 

1 

Jammu 

kashmir and 

Jharkhand 

assembly 

elections 

Jammu 

kashmir 

state 

assembly 

elections 

2 

34 


RY 

GALLA 

GALLERY 

GALLARY 

GALLERY 

GALLA 

ALLERY 

3 

4 

5 

6 

35

Point 

Out 

Cabinet reshuffle 

NEW FACES IN MODI CABINET 

Twenty-one new faces were inducted 

in the Narendra Modi government's first 

cabinet expansion. 

H 

ManoharParrikar 

e is the first IITian to become 

the Chief Minister of any Indian 

state. Mr.Parrikar said that he had 

decided to accept the offer of Union 

Cabinet seat as a matter of “national 

interest” although he also said that he 

was extremely attached to Goa. 

H 

Suresh Prabhu 

e is a former Cabinet minister, is the 

head of a high-level panel on power 

revamp — “Advisory Group for 

Integrated Development of Power, Coal 

and Renewable Energy”. Mr.Prabhu was 

the initiator of reforms in the power sector 

during his tenure as Power Minister in the 

former NDA government when he had 

piloted the integrated electricity bill and the 

law for setting up a regulator. 

H 

J.P. Nadda 

e is the RajyaSabha member from 

Himachal Pradesh and is also the 

national general secretary of the 

BJP. He also served as the President 

of Olympic Association, Himachal 

Pradesh from 2008 to 2012. 

36 


H 

Birender Singh 

e is a Jat leader from Haryana. 

In August, Birendra Singh ended 

his four-decade-long association 

with the Congress and joined the BJP. 

Mr. Singh is one of the many Congress 

leaders to have shifted their loyalties to 

the BJP in the recent months. 

Bandaru Dattatreya 

H 

e is a former Union Minister for 

Railways and was appointed 

as chairman of parliamentary 

committee on OBC welfare. He was 

re-elected to 16th lokSabha from 

Secunderabad Constituency.law for 

setting up a regulator. 

Rajiv Pratap Rudy 

H 

e is the BJP MP from Saran 

constituency in Bihar. He was 

the civil aviation minister in the 

previous NDA government. In the 2014 

LokSabha elections Mr. Rudy defeated 

former Bihar CM Rabri Devi 

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi 

M 

ukhtar Abbas Naqvi is BJP’s 

prominent Muslim face and is 

a vice-president of the party. He 

is also the party’s youth wing president. In 

1998 he was appointed Minister of State in 

the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting 

and was also given responsibility over the 

Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. 

37 

Ram Kripal Yadav 

T 

he BJP Patliputra MP will be 

the party’s “Yadav” face in next 

year’s Assembly elections, 

challenging his erstwhile leader and 

RashtriyaJanata Dal chief Lalu Prasad. 

A 

Giriraj Singh 

senior party leader who recently 

stoked controversy with his 

speeches during the election 

campaign wherein he said that those who 

opposed Modi belong in Pakistan. The 

statement drew flak from the Opposition 

parties and Election Commission. The BJP 

distanced itself from Mr Singh’s remarks.

Point 

Out 

Cabinet reshuffle 

H 

Hansraj 

Gangaram Ahir 

e is an MP from Maharashtra 

who is credited with uncovering 

the coal block scam. 

A 

Y.S. Chowdary 

first-time RajyaSabha member, 

Mr.Chowdaryis the second MP 

from the Telugu Desam Party, to 

be inducted into the Cabinet, the first 

being Union Civil Aviation Minister P. 

Ashok GajapathiRaju, who represents 

the Vizianagaram constituency. He is 

popularly known as ‘Sujana’ Chowdary 

for founding the Sujana group of 

industries which manufactures home 

appliances. 

H 

Jayant Sinha 

e is the LokSabha MP from 

Hazaribagh constituency, 

Jharkhand. Mr Sinha, son of 

YashwantSinha was an investment 

professional and an alumunus of the 

Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 

and Harvard Business School. At 

McKinsey, Mr.Sinha co-led the global 

Software and IT Services practice. 

H 

Babul Supriyo 

e is a popular singer and BJP MP 

from West Bengal’s Asansol seat. He 

will be the first Minster from West 

Bengal in the National Democratic Alliance 

government. 

Vijay Sampla 

H 

e is a BJP MP from Hoshiarpur Lok 

Sabha constituency. 

H 

Rajyavardhan 

Singh Rathore 

e is a first time MP from Jaipur 

Rural and also an Olympian 

shooter. He is a recipient of Rajiv 

Gandhi KhelRatna and Arjuna Awards. 

38 


Point 

Out 

Point 

Out 

A conscious attempt to not just call 

attention to the ills around us but also to seek solutions 

from the stakeholders 

& 

salute where the credit is due 

A magazine that touches every aspect of the 

nation 

40 


pointoutnews.com SEPTEMBER 2014 

50 

VOL-1 ISSUE-8 I N S I D E 

PICTURE ABHI 

BAKI HAI: 

ASHISH CHAUHAN 

1 

MODI 

SETTING THE 

TONE 

RNI NO: DELENG/2014/55786 

41

Point 

Out 

MOVING TOWARDS FULL 

FINANCIAL INCLUSION 

»» 

President of India, Pranab Mukherjee with Managing Director of Hero Cycles Pankaj Munjal. 

A 

Financial Literacy Centre 

and a Financial Library was 

inauguratedat Dr.Rajendra 

Prasad SarvodayaVidyalaya 

in the President’s Estate by The President 

of India, ShriPranab Mukherjee as a 

part of Financial Awareness Festival. 

In which students ofDr.Rajendra Prasad 

SarvodayaVidyalaya as well as residents 

of the President’s Estatewere trained in 

financial literacy using a model bank 

branch of the State Bank of India. NPCI 

More revelations can be expected as the NIA probe gathers 

steam. The main conspirators in this case are on the 

run, their whereabouts a mystery as of now. Returning to 

Bangladesh may pose problems for them as the authorities 

on that side are already on the alert, raids have been 

reported on some villages, people picked up. 

42 


»» 

President of India, Pranab Mukherjee with Dy.Managing Director of State Bank of India, S.K.Mishra. 

through RuPay Cards gave Rs. 25/- 

credit to each student to buy books, 

educating them thereby about card 

transactions. Financial games, quizzes 

and other activities were also organized 

for students, children and parents. 

To develop a comprehensive strategy, an 

action plan was developed in association 

with representatives of United Bank 

of India, State Bank of India,National 

Payment Corporation of India,Pension 

Fund Regulatory and Development 

Authority, UIDAI etc.Financial literacycum-inclusion 

camps for residents 

of the Estate were organized to enrol 

residents of the President’s Estate in 

various schemes.Specialattention was 

given to senior citizens, women, special 

children, domestic help and contractual 

workers. 

Subsequent to the camp held in 

September 2014, the United Bank of 

India carried out a comprehensive 

survey through door-to-door mapping 

43 

More revelations can 

be expected as the NIA 

probe gathers steam. The 

main conspirators in this 

case are on the run, their 

whereabouts a mystery 

as of now. Returning to 

Bangladesh may pose 

to ensure that there are no households 

left without any bank account. Domestic 

help and contractual workers not 

covered under any health scheme were 

also provided benefits under the Delhi 

Government’s ArogyaYojana. 

A campaign for turning the President’s 

Estate into a financially inclusive 

township was also launched by The 

RastrapathiBhavan, The pilot project 

has been undertaken to establish a 

model of convergence in government 

programmes and services and ensure 

that benefits of various schemes accrue 

to all residents of the President’s Estate, 

who number around 5000 persons 

The campaign included:- 

•A financial literacy programme 

•Enrolling all residents in UIDAI’s 

Aadhar scheme. 

•Opening of Saving Bank Accounts for 

the unbanked under thePradhanmantri 

Jan DhanYojana. 

•Enrolment of people in ‘Swavalamban’, 

- a special scheme of the Pension Fund 

Regulatory and Development Authority 

for those belonging to the unorganized 

sector. 

•Issue of RuPay Cards to new as well as 

existing account holders of the United 

Bank of India within the Estate.

Point 

Out 

SACHIN, TAKING UP 

THE BROOM 

Tendulkar has adopted Puttamraju Kandriga village in Potti Sriramulu of Nellore 

district in Andhra Pradeshas part of the SansadAdarsh Gram Yojna. Puttamraju 

Kandriga village has around 110 families whose main occupation is Agriculture, 

Paddy, Sugar cane are the main crops harvested in 60 acres of village land. 

The village itself is “Adarsh Gram” as it is the only village in Nellore district 

where Alcohol consumption is voluntarily prohibited, As per government 

officials the crime rate of PuttamrajuKandriga is 0% since the last decade. 

»» 

RANJITH 

Exactly a year after cricket icon 

Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar bid 

the sport adieu at the Wankhede 

stadium, he took fresh guard at a 

hamlet in the Nellore District of Andhra 

Pradesh, this time batting for the poor 

and the underprivileged. Following the 

vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi 

“If we have to build the nation we have 

to start from the villages." Tendulkar has 

adopted Puttamraju Kandriga village 

in Potti Sriramulu of Nellore district in 

Andhra Pradeshas part of the SansadAdarsh 

Gram Yojna. 

Puttamraju Kandriga village has around 

110 families whose main occupation is 

Agriculture, Paddy, Sugar cane are the 

main crops harvested in 60 acres of village 

land. The village itself is “Adarsh Gram” 

as it is the only village in Nellore district 

where Alcohol consumption is voluntarily 

prohibited, As per government officials the 

crime rate of PuttamrajuKandriga is 0% 

since the last decade. 

Despite being aadarsh gram in many 

aspects Puttamraju Kandriga is facing 

many on its way towards development. 

One of the main problem faced by the 

VILLAGE ROOTS 

people of PuttamrajuKandriga is the flood 

water from the river Kaivalya, The village 

remains submerged even after a slightest 

rain as river floods, PuttamrajuKandriga 

has no proper roads, Street lamps and other 

basic sanitation requirements. Being on 

a remote location there are no cell phone 

towers which makes the village isolated 

from all the basic forms of communication. 

Above all the village has been severely 

damaged by Hudhud cyclone recently. 

As part of Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna, 

Puttamraju Kandrigawill now be getting 

24 hours drinking water, streetlights, 

roads, drainage, crematorium, cell phone 

towers, Wi-Fi zone, bank, health centre, 

veterinary hospital built under the scheme. 

Sachin also promised a playground for the 

children of Puttamrajukandriga. 

Amid cheers, Sachin inaugurated the 

development works, estimated at Rs. 5.79 

crore, of which he contributed Rs. 2.79 

crore from his MPLADS funds. Works 

were launched at this remote village on 

laying a cement road, a well-furnished 

community centre & underground 

drainage. 

The legendary cricketer spent nearly two 

hours in the village he adopted, during 

which he visited houses, interacted with 

women members of self-help groups 

(SHGs) and administered a pledge to 

residents for individual cleanliness and 

children’s education. 

In his speech, Sachin called it a very 

special day. “You should keep your home 

and surroundings clean. Do not smoke 

and drink. We are building a community 

centre here. Go there with your families 

in the evenings and spend good time with 

family members,” he told the villagers. 

Asked as to why he selected a Nellore 

village, Sachin said he did so because he 

had played cricket representing the entire 

country, and that he had the option to 

choose any village. He added that he 

was thinking of adopting a village when, 

as a coincidence, District Collector N 

Srikanth and Joint Collector G Rekha Rani, 

suggested it to him. 

During his interaction with SHG women, 

Sachin lauded their good work, saying that 

women were the backbone of the country. 

He dedicated his ‘Bharata Ratna’ to every 

woman and called upon SHG members to 

continue their development activities with 

confidence. 

44 


Chandrababu Naidu’s Vision 

2029 for Andhra Pradesh 

The state's strength and opportunities are abundant natural 

resources, fertile land, long sea coast, mineral wealth 

including bauxite, gas, coal and others, water resource also. 

According to Naidu, the state has enterprising farmers and 

also diversified cropping system and if value addition has 

been done, farmers will get better benefits. 

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister 

Chandrababu Naidu has unveiled 

his new long-term project, 'Vision 

2029'.While seeking support to 

the tune of Rs 1,00,213 crore from central 

govt. to build a new capital, along with 

other incentives and loan waiver, he also 

said the state will be number one state in 

India by 2029. 

"we are having the problem. While by 

having this problem in the last 100 days, 

I sat with my officers, cabinet colleagues 

to review the situation. We are planning 

what we have to do, that is why at that time 

I have prepared Vision 2020 Document, 

so many developments have taken place 

in the recent past including technology 

developments, resources, country's 

financial position has changed". 

"We want to place Andhra Pradesh on 

high growth trajectory, accelerate social 

and economic developments, boost 

infrastructure and industrial development, 

drought proofing of Rayalaseema, 

backward region development, poverty 

elimination and social empowerment. 

This we want to achieve before 2018-19," 

said Naidu. 

He added that by 2022, Andhra Pradesh 

would become one among three premier 

states in the country, when it celebrates 

75th anniversary of Independence. 

The state's strength and opportunities are 

abundant natural resources, fertile land, 

long sea coast, mineral wealth including 

bauxite, gas, coal and others, water 

resource also. According to Naidu, the 

state has enterprising farmers and also 

diversified cropping system and if value 

addition has been done, farmers will get 

better benefits. 

The State has chalked out seven missions, 

which include improving primary, urban 

development, industry, agriculture, 

services and social sector and skill 

development. Five grids - water, road, 

power, gas and fibre. The five campaigns 

to be pursued are taking the farmers 

back to the field, water conservation, 

personal hygiene, poverty alleviation and 

programme to minimise school dropouts. 

"State requires financial support to 

compensate disequilibrium created by 

the state's bifurcation and kickstart the 

growth momentum. Critical gaps exist in 

a number of sectors that have not been 

adequately met because of budgetary 

constraints, which are accentuated 

following bifurcation”. 

45

Point 

Out 

IN FOCUS PSUs 

NTPC FIRST OFF THE BLOCKS ONCE AGAIN - 

RAISES US$ 500 MILLION 

N 

TPC Limited (NTPC), the largest 

Speaking on the 

power generating company in 

deal, Arup Roy 

India, priced a US$ 500million 

Choudhury, CMD, 

Medium Term Note offering in the 

NTPC stated “We 

international markets. NTPC is 

are happy with 

the first Indian company to tap the 

the overwhelming 

foreign currency bond market after 

investor response. 

the Government of India, Ministry 

It is an affirmation 

of Corporate Affairs clarified recently met with very strong demand and the 

of our leadership 

that provisions of the new Companies transaction was oversubscribed within position in the Indian power sector by 

Act,2013 regarding prospectus and an hour of announcement. At Asia close, the international investors and renewed 

allotment of securities do not apply the guidance was subsequently revised to interest in India.” 

to issue of foreign currency bonds by T+205-215 bps. The final order book was Kulamani Biswal, Director(Finance), 

Indian corporates. 

Taking advantage of a strong primary 

credit market with renewed interest 

in Indian credits, NTPC launched a 

benchmark size, senior, unsecured, fixed 

rate 10 year bond transaction with an 

initial price guidance of US Treasuries 

over US$ 2.3 billion, an oversubscription 

in excess of 4.6 times, with orders from 

160 accounts. On the strength of a large 

order book, the Company could price 

the bonds at the tighter end of the range 

at UST+205bps with the coupon fixed at 

4.375% p.a which is the lowest coupon 

NTPC said “We are pleased to see the 

robust demand for our transaction 

and the strong perception of our credit 

quality by the international investor 

community. We are glad to receive a 

warm welcome from investors on our 

return to the USD bond markets after 

(UST) plus 230bps area on 19th ever achieved by the Company for its a gap and at very fine levels inside of 

November (Asia open). The offering was international bonds. 

comparable secondary levels”. 

HIGH POWER COMMITTEE FOR GAIL’S 

JAGDISHPUR - HALDIA PIPELINE 

Giving a boost to the speedy 

implementation of GAIL (India) 

Limited’s Jagdishpur – Haldia natural 

gas pipeline project in Uttar Pradesh, 

the state Government has agreed to 

constitute a high power committee to 

provide Single Window Clearance for 

the pipeline construction activities. 

During a presentation on the 

pipeline project, GAIL highlighted 

that the pipeline will bring growth 

in UP as the fertilizer plant of 

Fertilizer Corporation of India at 

Gorakhpur may be revived with 

Central Government support. 

Further, new City Gas Distribution 

networks are expected to come up 

in Varanasi, Allahabad, Azamgarh, 

Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, etc., depending 

on the potential of the city. This will 

contribute in generating additional 

revenue for the state Government. 

For timely execution of the project, 

GAIL requested for support from the 

UP Government and it was agreed to 

constitute the high power committee 

consisting of officials of various 

departments for Single Window 

Clearance. The committee will help in 

securing various statutory clearances 

like forest, environments, PWD, 

irrigation, industries, etc., and also 

give administrative support for the 

pipeline construction activities. 

GAIL’s 2,050 km Jagdishpur – Haldia 

natural gas pipeline will serve as the 

‘Energy Highway’ to carry the efficient 

and environment-friendly fuel to 

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and 

West Bengal. 

46 


SAIL’S BHILAI PLANT WINS ENERGY 

CONSERVATION AWARD 

»» 

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal congratulating Chairman, SAIL, 

C.S. Verma on the investiture ceremony of the National Energy Conservation Award 2014 in New Delhi. 

B 

hilai Steel Plant, the flagship unit of 

Maharatna SAIL has won an award 

in the National Energy Conservation 

Award 2014, in the Integrated Steel 

sector, on the basis of the improvement in 

its energy performance over the previous 

year, 2012-13 in an award function. 

Energy conservation initiatives at SAIL’s 

Bhilai Steel Plant have led to a saving of 

Rs. 364 crore during the financial year 

2013-14. 

Bhilai Steel Plant has won this award 

for achieving a 5% saving in thermal 

energy consumption and savings of 2% 

in electrical energy consumption over 

the previous year. Chairman, SAIL. C.S. 

Verma, complimented Bhilai Steel Plant 

on being adjudged the Best Integrated 

Steel plant in the National Energy 

Conservation Award 2014. He lauded 

the plant’s efforts for achieving energy 

efficiency in various areas of operation and 

urged the plant collective to continuously 

improve this performance in the future. 

Instituted by the Government of India, 

the National Energy Conservation 

Award is a prestigious award given every 

year to give national recognition to the 

selected Industrial units who have made 

systematic and serious efforts for efficient 

utilization and conservation of energy 

and reduction in energy consumption on 

year to year basis. 

BHEL SUCCESFULLY COMMISSIONS INDIA'S FIRST INDIGENOUSLY 

DEVELOPED PHASE SHIFTING TRANSFORMER 

BHEL achieves Significant Breakthrough; Succesfully Commissions India’s first indigenously-developed Phase 

Shifting Transformer Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has successfully indigenously developed, 

manufactured and commissioned India's first Phase Shifting Transformer (PST) Kothagudem Thermal Power 

Station (KTPS) Stage-VI in Telangana. Reposing faith in BHEL’s capability to successfully introduce new 

technology products, Telangana State Power Generation Corporation Limited (TSPGCL, erstwhile APGENCO) 

had placed an order on BHEL for the country’s first Phase Shifting Transformer (PST). The 400 kV/220 kV, 315 

MVA rating Phase Shifting Transformer shall be utilized to control and improve the power flow between 400 kV 

& 220 kV network in either direction by providing phase shift as per the system requirement. 

47

Point 

Out 

Govt Watch Movers & Shakers 

• ANIL SINHA IS NEW CBI CHIEF 

Anil Kumar Sinha 

has been named 

as the new 

Director of the 

Central Bureau of 

Investigation (CBI). 

A three-member 

high-powered 

committee, 

headed by Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi and including Chief Justice 

of India HL Dattu and Leader of 

Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun 

Kharge select the new CBI Director. 

He is a 1979 batch IPs officer of 

Bihar cadre. 

• GAURI SINGH NEW MD, MP URJA 

VIKAS NIGAM 

1987 batch IAS officer of Madhya 

Pradesh cadre Ms Gauri Singh 

has been appointed as Managing 

Director, Madhya Pradesh Urja 

Vikas Nigam with additional charge 

of OSD-cum- Commissioner, New 

and Renewable Energy. 

• AVIJIT GHOSH FOR CMD, HECL 

The orders of 

Avijit Ghosh, 

Director (Mining), 

HCL, for the 

appointment as 

CMD, Heavy 

Engineering 

Corporation 

Limited (HECL) 

have been issued 

by the Government of India. 

• ASHOK KUMAR SINGH IS 

DIRECTOR, FINANCIAL SERVICES 

1999 batch IAS officer of Kerala 

cadre Ashok Kumar Singh has 

been appointed as Director in the 

Department of Financial Services in 

Government of India. 

• AJIT KUMAR SETH GETS 

EXTENSION 

The tenure of 1974 batch IAS 

officer of UP cadre Ajit Kumar Seth 

as Cabinet Secretary has been 

extended for a further period of 

six months beyond December 13, 

2014. 

• KUTTY APPOINTED AS JOINT 

SECRETARY, ENVIRONMENT 

M K Kutty has been appointed 

as Joint Secretary, Ministry of 

Environment, Forests & Climate 

Change. He is a 1985 batch IAS 

officer of UT cadre. 

• CHETAN APPOINTED AS JOINT 

SECRETARY 

Chetan Bhushan Sanghi has been 

appointed as Joint Secretary, 

Ministry of Women and Child 

Development. He is a 1988 batch 

IAS officer of UT cadre. 

48 


Point 

Out 

TEST DRIVE 

SUV-THE NEW TREND 

ROUGH AND TOUGH WITH CUTE LOOKS 

The latest multi utility vehicles (MUVs) and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are the new 

trends on Indian roads and gaining immense popularity among youth. 

RENAULT DUSTER 

»» 

BUSINESS BUREAU 

T 

he 

New Renault Duster All Wheel Drive 

set to scorch Indian roads 

Priced at Rs 11, 89,499 lakhs for the 

RxL variant, and Rs 12,99,499 for the 

RxZ variant (Delhi ex-showroom). 

L Packed with class leading features led by the 

i Drive technology that enables unmatched 

performance and fuel efficiency 

L Built to make the challenges of everyday 

driving an enjoyable experience 

L Delivers the comfort and sophistication of 

a sedan along with the robust ruggedness, 

performance and agility of an SUV. 

L ECO Mode, which enables less fuel 

consumption by up to 10% and best in class 

safety features. 

L Renault Duster AWD will be powered by 

the reliable and fuel efficient 1.5 dCi THP 

diesel engine (common rail direct injection) 

delivering a powerful performance with 

110PS@4000RPM of maximum power and 

peak torque of 245NM@1750RPM. 

L The engine is mated to a 6 speed manual 

transmission. This is matched by its excellent 

fuel efficiency of 19.72 kmpl*, which is most 

effective in the eco mode. 

Sumit Sawhney, 

Country CEO and Managing Director, 

Renault Operations in India. 

“Renault is committed to the Indian 

market and our focus is to offer 

products that exceed the expectations 

of customers and set the benchmark 

for perfection. In line with this, the 

new Renault Duster AWD is built to 

negotiate the most challenging roads 

and will enable drivers to enjoy the 

thrill of everyday driving. The Renault 

Duster 2WD was a runaway success 

in India, and we are confident that 

the new Renault Duster AWD will 

resonate with auto enthusiasts across 

the country.” 

50 


51 

FORD ECO SPORT 

The Ford Eco Sport- Best of Ford, for Indian market 

L EcoSport starts at Rs 5.59 lakhs and Rs 6.69 lakh for the base diesel (ex-showroom, Delhi). 

L It’s interesting feature include pillars and a short hood and at the back, a large rear window 

that wraps around to the sides along with oblique tail-lamps. 

L Ford Eco Sport is specially meant for people for whom 

looks are more important than features and thus 

essential according to Indian market. It Ford Eco sport 

doesn’t lack in features than any other Ford. 

L EcoSport is the all-new 1.0-litre, three-cylinder 

EcoBoost engine which will be economical plus 

will be fun to drive and is set to change the way we 

think about small engines. The turbocharged 1 litre 

EcoBoost can compete with a traditional 1.6 litre 

petrol engine, delivering full torque at just 1500rpm. 

L The EcoSport Petrol EcoBoost promises 18.9 kmpl 

while the diesel will give 22.7 kmpl and the third 

engine is 1.5 110 bhp petrol. 

L Though it lacks in SUV size and pricing will have to 

be competitive but its availability in seven colours 

compensate its cons. 

MAHINDRA XUV500 

Mahindra XUV500- that drives you crazy with its style 

L Mahindra XUV 500 starts at Rs 10.80 to Rs 12.88 lakh and Mahindra XUV 500 two wheel 

drive model is priced at Rs 11.95 lakh ex-showroom Delhi. 

L Launched in September 2011 and make people crazy with its Cheetah looks and body. 

L The typical Mahindra grille and the twin exhausts and the funky ‘paw’ door handles and the 

sexy tail lamps with motif engravings. The XUV500 has a 140 hp diesel engine. It is also 

mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox and is designed for adventurous people. 

L It also comes with the start-stop feature that works when the vehicle is stationary in neutral 

for over 2.5 seconds and top speed of an indicated 195km/h. While, the top end W8 model 

is loaded to the brim including leather seats and touch screen system for various functions. 

L It was launched in 2012 in India and Mahindra sells over 75000 units of its iconic XUV500 

in just over 2 years, over 75,000 XUV500s sold within 27 months of launch. 

L Because of its aggression cheetah headlights continues on the front end, it is the details 

that leave a lasting impression and great price create long awaited period for consumer and 

delay in delivery. 

NISSAN TERRANO 

Nissan Terrano Price in India - Rs.9.63 - 12.50 lakhs 

L The petrol engine is the 1.6 

Kenichiro Yomura, 

President, Nissan India Operations, 

“Terrano perfectly embodies our spirit of 

delivering innovation and excitement to 

our customers. It proudly carries forward 

the legacy established by our SUVs like 

Pathfinder and Patrol. We are confident that 

Terrano’s stylish exterior, premium interior 

and a well-balanced dynamic package will 

appeal to SUV lovers in India. Terrano is an 

important product for us and will set the pace 

for future product launches slated for 2014.” 

Joginder Singh, 

president and managing 

director, Ford India 

“EcoSport sets new standards 

in India’s SUV industry 

classification through its 

design, development and 

sensible value proposition. 

With the launch of the 

EcoSport we stand true to our 

commitment to offer India the 

best of Ford. 

litre motor, which generates 102bhp 

of power at 5850 rpm with the utter 

refined smoothness. The diesel engine 

is the 84bhp producing unit that has 

a phenomenal fuel efficiency of 20.46 

kmpl. The diesel unit produces 109 bhp 

of power and return 19.01 kmpl. 

L The car has a long feature 

list including USB/AUX music player 

supporting the Bluetooth. ABS with brake 

assist and EBD. The interiors are very well 

built and spacious legroom gives you 

premium feeling.

Point 

Out 

NEXUS 

T 

his time Google has come up with its two upgraded versions 

of Nexus- Nexus 6(phone) and Nexus 9(tab) and this time with 

Motorola. They have latest Android OS updates and superior 

software experience with longer battery pack up Its dual frontfacing 

speakers provide immersive stereo sound and big screen provide 

you the experience for movies and games. Though Nexus 9 has 8.9 LCD 

screen, it easily fits in your hands by its light, comfortable and curvy 

body also its reactive keyboard makes your work easy by its quick typing. 

According to Motorola deal it is available on Flipkart Nexus 6 price Rs. 

43,999 and Rs. 49,000 for 32 GB and 64 GB respectively. And Nexus 9 is 

available in 28,900 and 44,900 for 16 GB and 32 GB respectively. 

GADGETS 

NEXUS 9 

L Display: 8.9" IPS LCD 

L Battery: 6700 mAh 

L Camera: 8 MP Primary camera, 1.6 MP 

Secondary camera 

L Processor: CPU: 64-bit NVIDIA Tegra K1 

processor 2.3 GHz 

L GPU: 192-core Kepler 

L Memory: 16 GB & 32 GB 

NEXUS 6 

L Display: 5.96" 2560 x1440 QHD AMOLED 

display (493 ppi) 

L Battery: 3220 mAh 

L Camera: 13 MP Primary camera 

with optical image stabilisation 2MP 

Secondary camera 

L Processor: CPU: Qualcomm® 

Snapdragon 805 processor 

L GPU: Adreno 420 

L Memory: 32 & 64 GB 

52 


Contacts + 

Contacts+ is your everyday contacts 

and dialer app, in which you can send 

free and regular text messages without 

switching apps, autosync 

beautiful 

pictures to your 

contacts from 

Facebook, 

and get 

birthday 

reminders 

so you’ll 

never forget a 

birthday again. Besides sharing 

contacts it also has many features: 

Beautiful contacts design with Light/ 

Dark theme 

Groups & favorites contacts display 

Send FREE & regular text messages to 

your contacts from one place 

Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin 

& Foursquare integrated in your 

contacts 

Navigate to your contacts addresses 

from their profiles 

Auto pictures and birthdays sync with 

Facebook and Google+ including cover 

photos 

Fast T9 & Gesture search by names, 

numbers, emails and company 

Quick call - press & hold a contact pic 

to call from your main contacts screen 

POP messenger 

Chatting is a basic necessity to stay in 

social circle and now 

POP messenger 

let you chat 

with pictures 

from the web, 

your photos, 

a snapshot, 

or just a 

background 

color and choose 

from a variety of fonts and colors with 

great speed and easily. 

You can easily move the size of your 

screen and adjust colour, image and 

text font accordingly. 

APPS 

If you don’t want to send a picture, use 

the on screen color picker to pick a 

background color and your favorite font. 

Easily pop in a background image from 

the web with instant on screen search 

because image search is built-in. 

POP is now available in Spanish, 

German, French, Italian, and 

Portuguese. 

HealthifyMe 

Calorie 

It is the World’s First Indian Fitness 

Tracker. HealthifyMe works as personal 

coach that gets you to eat healthier, 

lose weight and get fitter with 

features like voice 

and photo 

tracking, its ease 

of use makes 

it extremely 

simple for you 

to track your 

food and exercise. 

You can track your 

run, walk or you’re cycling with our GPS 

tracker and smart feedback designed to 

improve your lifestyle. 

How does HealthifyMe work? 

Foods in 13 regional and local Indian 

languages 

Live experts for consultation - Dieticians 

and Fitness Trainers to guide you 

Easy assist features like Photo Tracking 

and Voice Tracking 

Detailed macro nutrient breakdown of 

your food and comprehensive advice 

including what to eat next 

12 Week comprehensive program designed 

to help you lose weight. Each week is an 

awesome new custom Health Challenge 

Additionally Support: 

Calories burnt based upon your height 

and weight as well. 

Take a photo of your food or what you 

ate and it track it for you 

Multiple serving sizes in the Indian 

Context like ‘Katori’ 

Detailed breakdown of macro-nutrients 

- Proteins, Fats, Carbohydrates and 

Fiber 

53

Point 

Out 

FLYING HIGH 

ZERODHA 

no barriers and obstacles 

NITHIN KAMATH 

FOUNDER AND CEO, ZERODHA 

Today with over 4,000 members and an average daily 

turnover over of Rs 3,000 crore, venture capitalists 

who shunned him once are making a beeline to 

pump money into his company. But as Nitin told in an 

interview, "VCs did not understand my business model 

at that time. Now, after seeing the results, they are 

coming back. But I do not need the cash now." 

His father was a banker and 

hailing from a middle-class family, 

he wanted to take stock broking 

as a profession. But, like most 

he too had little or no resources 

to spend and there were very few 

who took his idea of providing 

discounted brokerage, that too 

at a time when the markets and 

economy was still facing a tailspin 

effect of the global economic 

crisis. 

»» 

AARTI 

The 29-year-old stock trader, 

Nitin came into limelight after 

winning the 2013 Confederation 

of Indian Industry (CII) Emerging 

Entrepreneur Award for pioneering and 

scaling the discount broking model in 

India with Zerodha. As the name suggests 

Zerodha is a combination of two letters 

– Zero meaning nil and Sanskrit word 

Rodha meaning barriers, obstacles. 

His father was a banker and hailing from 

a middle-class family, he wanted to take 

stock broking as a profession. But, like 

most he too had little or no resources to 

spend and there were very few who took 

his idea of providing discounted brokerage, 

that too at a time when the markets and 

economy was still facing a tailspin effect of 

the global economic crisis. 

However, he took professional trading for 

over a decade. As a retail trader, he became 

familiar with the nuances of the broking 

industry and then decided to take a plunge. 

He set up Kamath Associates, an advisory 

firm that went on to be Zerodha- India’s 

first online discounted brokerage website. 

He started Zerodha on August 15, 2010, 

with the goal of breaking all barriers that 

traders and investors face in India, in 

terms of cost, support, and technology. 

Today, we are amongst the fastest growing, 

top volume contributors on NSE, BSE, 

MCX-SX and MCX, with average daily 

turnovers of over Rs 3,000 crore. 

Zerodha continously strives to empower 

the retail community by sharing 

knowledge, providing superior tools and 

intuitive support, all at minimal costs and 

have been instrumental in introducing 

and popularizing “discount broking” in 

India, the way most developed markets 

trade. 

By offering discounted, very nominal 

rates for brokerage, Zerodha has broken 

the barriers and myths of the industry. A 

charge of Rs 20 or .01% / .1% whichever 

is lower per executed order is charge 

which was unimaginable in the market 

. It also offers same pricing for equity, 

F&O, currency, and commodity across all 

exchanges and no upfront fee or turnover 

commitment, no special penny stock 

brokerage or minimum contract charges. 

Today with over 4,000 members and an 

average daily turnover over of Rs 3,000 

crore, venture capitalists who shunned 

him once are making a beeline to pump 

money into his company. But as Nitin told 

in an interview, "VCs did not understand 

my business model at that time. Now, after 

seeing the results, they are coming back. 

But I do not need the cash now." 

54 


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55

Point 

Out 

Sports 

INDIA'S BLIND CRICKET 

TEAM IN THE SPOTLIGHT 

WINs BLIND CRICKET WORLD CUP 

»» 

SPORTS BUREAU 

They are blind, hail from 

financially weak backgrounds, 

lack training facilities and are 

not recognised by the Indian 

cricket board, but have more than made 

up for this with their fighting spirit. 

Their valour and confidence saw India's 

visually impaired cricketers emerging 

Pt. Chhannulal Mishra has been blessed with an extraordinary musical 

fluidity. He wears his natural genius easily, displaying easy mastery over 

rhythm and melody, any listener at a Pandit ji concert is dazzled at, the 

majestic ease with which he renders musical sequences without any obvious 

effort or deliberation. 

56 


champions after beating Pakistan in 

the quadrennial 40-overs World Cup 

in South Africa."It's a great feeling that 

we won the ODI World Cup for the first 

time. Prior to this, we lost in the finals 

of the first event in 1998 as well as in 

the 2006 tournament. So, the victory at 

the first T20 World Cup gave us a lot of 

confidence and motivation to do well in 

this World Cup. That victory also gave 

us the confidence that we can win big 

titles," says coach Patrick Rajkumar. 

"For that we took inspiration from 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It was on the 

back of our minds that he did that and 

we can also do it. But it's also a matter of 

coincidence," he added. 

And the victory couldn't have been 

more memorable and sweeter as it came 

against arch-rivals Pakistan. Though 

the coach ruled out the rivalry part, he 

takes sheer joy in beating a strong team. 

"More than the rivalry, it was great that 

we defeated the two-time defending 

champions. They are a great team. But 

we defeated them in the T20 World Cup 

final and we had the belief that we can 

overcome the challenges in this final as 

well," Rajkumar said. 

Rajkumar and his boys have the same 

amount of hunger and passion to do 

well in the sport for the country. But 

their lives are completely different to the 

adulation and financial security enjoyed 

by the likes of Dhoni, ViratKohli or 

Suresh Raina. 

"First of all, we don't get good grounds 

to train. The Board of Control of Cricket 

in India (BCCI) is yet to recognise us. 

So, we don't get to train in their good 

facilities. This time, we trained at the 

Barabati Stadium in Cuttack," he said. 

"Most of the players come from 

financially-weak families. So, that is 

a genuine struggle. And when they 

play for the national team, they don't 

get anything out of it. They get to live 

in ordinary hotels. The team travels in 

unreserved (train) compartments." 

Rajkumar also said that he couldn't 

concentrate on the development of 

individual players as he doesn't have 

support staff. 

Skipper ShekarNaik however said that 

the sheer joy of representing the country 

helps them forget these problems. 

"We don't think that we have any 

weaknesses. The joy of representing the 

country drives us forward. Once we get 

on the field, we don't think about these 

problems," Says Naik. 

BCCI recognition to 

Indian blind cricket team 

A 

day after meeting prime 

minister NarendraModi, 

and receiving a windfall 

from various ministers for their 

recent World Cup victory, the 

contingent met finance minister 

ArunJaitley on Thursday. And the 

minister is said to have promised 

to help them in their effort to 

get recognition from the Board 

of Control for Cricket in India 

(BCCI). 

The Cricket Association for the 

Blind in India (CABI), which 

governs the visually impaired 

cricketers, has been seeking 

recognition from the board 

for a while, only to be left 

disappointed every time. But 

things are likely to change after 

the team's spectacular win over 

Pakistan that saw them clinch the 

country's first-ever Blind World 

Cup. Mr Jaitley promised to help 

CABI to get BCCI recognition and 

also promised to give the CABI 

association a special grant that 

will be allocated in the budget 

every year. The grant might be a minimum of Rs 10 crore per year. Not only 

that, a top soft-drink brand might also step in to sponsor the team. 

57

Point 

Out 

TAROT FORECAST 

»» 

Nandita Pandey 

ARIES: (22nd March- 21st April) 

Professionally this is the month which shall though start up with a lot of inner 

confusion but as you embark on your journey’s towards expansions of 

your projects, you will realize how easily it was to manifest the desired 

targets. Business strips shall be growth oriented and successful. Financial 

dealings require you to be firm and strict in your actions and decisions 

then and then only shall you gain from your investments. Being too possessive in 

matters of heart might back fire on you. Subtle positive changes are reflected in life 

as the month comes to its close. 

LUCKY COLOUR: Turquoise. 

TAURUS: (22nd April - 21st May) 

Journeys, holidays and outings with loved one shall be extremely pleasant and 

romantically inclined. This is an excellent time to take your love 

relationship to greater and stable heights. Professional strength supports 

you in all your endeavours. You shall be happy with the way things are 

progressing and a property matter shall resolve in your favour. Creative 

investments shall be prolific and any investments made jointly will give you excellent 

returns as the month progresses. 

LUCKY COLOUR: orange. 

GEMINI: (22nd May- 21st June) 

The more action oriented you are the better the results are at the job front. Growth 

and success comes to you through your own efforts and determination. 

Planetary positions are favouring you as you shall be able to suddenly 

come out of your financial crisis in the latter half pf the month. There are 

also possibilities of getting confused in between two important decisions 

in your life. at times the cards also indicate liking two people with equal intensity at 

the same time and then not really knowing which one to go ahead with. Using your 

PR skills to its best helps you in overcoming many a hurdles by the end of the week. 

LUCKY COLOUR: green 

CANCER: (22nd June - 21st July) 

Financially this is an excellent time to make fresh investments. Financial opportunities 

are knocking your door throughout this month and you shall explore a 

number of options before finally going ahead with one. Money matters are 

favourable and prolific. Professionally, though there are subtle positive 

changes that one will have to witness quite unlike the speedy ones that 

you had been expecting. You might feel a little lethargic in pursuing matters of your 

heart. Also a bit of carelessness on your part might create further rift in between the 

two of you. LUCKY COLOUR: black and white. 

LEO: (22nd July - 21st August) 

This is a period when your own inner wisdom and patience helps you in overcoming 

stress and hindrances in life. Be careful about any cheques that you plan 

to sign in this month. Chances are that you might be misunderstood by 

others which will reflect poorly on your life. Expenses are on the higher 

side during this month. However, the end of the month shall bring in some 

respite with tides changing sides and now flowing in your favour. 

LUCKY COLOUR: silver white. 

VIRGO: (22nd August- 21st September) 

Matters of heart shall be extremely pleasant and romantic. You shall be in planning 

and contemplation mode and will keep thinking about what to do next 

in your relationship area. This is also a positive reflection as you shall 

be taking your relationship towards more stable status. Professionally, 

you shall be relaxed with the way things are manifesting at your end. The 

cards guide you to take a back seat for a while, relax and let the projects flow in their 

own course. This way you shall be able to judge their performance and will also 

understand that you have good folks to attend to your emergency needs. 

LUCKY COLOUR: Grey/ Indigo. 

LIBRA: (22nd September- 21st October) 

Financially partnerships shall suit you a lot throughout this phase of your life. Joint 

investments will be favourable and prolific. Property matters shall be 

beneficial and thoughts about renovating your own house will be high on 

your mind. The more decision oriented you are the better for you in the 

latter half phase of the month. A firm and determined attitude helps you in 

sailing through your blockages in life. 

LUCKY COLOUR: Indigo. 

SCORPIO: (22nd October- 21st November) 

This is a month of planning and working out in details especially if it has to do with 

your financial upliftments. You are being blessed n this front and your 

intuitive instincts helps you in enhancing your financial status further as 

the month progresses. Professionally, it’s a stalemate situation however; 

you shall still gain further in life with your inner insights. Keep a check on 

your text messages or written messages sent to your loved one. Chances are that a 

minor mistake might create further rifts in between the two of you. Subtle romance is 

the key player in your love life during this period. You will be in absolute control of 

situations in your environment as the month comes to its end. 

LUCKY COLOUR : pistachio white. 

SAGGITARIUS: (22nd November- 21st December) 

A woman who has a dignified personality and has been very hard working helps you 

in your financial endeavours throughout this period. Gains from property 

or agricultural matters will be easy and good. The cards guide you to be 

on guard against emotional outbursts of any sorts as it might hurt the 

sentiments of your own team and create further delays in achieving your 

targets and desired results in your projects. Being too blunt in matters of heart might 

also be a cause of ego clash and stressful time through out this month. 

LUCKY COLOUR: silver white. 

CAPRICORN: (22nd December- 21st January) 

You shall be your romantic and charming best in matters of heart throughout this 

phase of your life. Love life takes a new leap with love and romance floating 

all around you creating zones of happiness and contentment. Although, 

the first half finds you being stuck up in unnecessary financial obligations, 

sudden financial gains can be expected in the latter half phase of the 

month. Children would seek a lot of attention from you throughout this period. Subtle 

positive changes are reflected in your life as the month comes to its end. 

LUCKY COLOUR: Turquoise. 

AQUARIUS: (22nd January- 21st February) 

Professionally, this is a very attractive time when two or more lucrative projects allure 

you with equal intensity. The problem lies in the fact that you have to 

choose only one amongst them. Bouts of insecurities rise and confusion 

persists regarding the same. The cards guide you to listen to your inner 

voice and do the needful as that will be the right course of action for your 

final gains in life. However, a lot of promises are being made at the financial area 

which might get fulfilled as per desired expectations. 

LUCKY COLOUR: blue. 

PISCES: (22nd February- 21st March) 

New beginnings in matters of heart shall be romantically blessed and harmonious. 

A fresh outlook towards your love life helps in strengthening it and in 

bringing about desired changes in life. Financial help comes in from 

many resources especially a man with a dominating personality helps 

you in your endeavours. Professionally, this is a planning stage and 

a lot of positive reflections can be expected as the month progresses. However, 

indulging into a little bit of charitable activities helps you further in attaining a 

peaceful and happy life. 

LUCKY COLOUR: dark green. 

(Nandita Pandey is an internationally renowned and acclaimed Astro Vaastu Tarot Consultant, Spiritual healer and Past Life Regression Therapist based at Delhi. Email soch.333@gmail.com ) 

58 


59 

touching every aspect of the nation

Point 

Out 

BOOK REVIEW 

NEHRU AND BOSE 

ABOUT THE BOOK 

• Sub title: Parallel Lives 

 

• Publisher: Penguin 

• Price: Rs 599 

• Author: Rudrangshu Mukherjee 

has done more harm to me ... than Jawaharlal Nehru,’ wrote 

Subhas Chandra Bose in 1939. Had relations between the two great 

nationalist leaders soured to the extent that Bose had begun to view 

‘Nobody 

Nehru as his enemy? But then, why did he name one of the regiments 

of the Indian National Army after Jawaharlal? And what prompted Nehru to weep 

when he heard of Bose’s untimely death in 1945, and to recount soon after, ‘I 

used to treat him as my younger brother’? Rudrangshu Mukherjee’s fascinating 

book tracks the growth of these two towering figures against the backdrop of the 

independence movement, delicately tracing the contours of a friendship that did 

not quite blossom as political ideologies diverged, and delineates the shadow 

that fell between them—for, Gandhi saw Nehru as his chosen heir and Bose as a 

prodigal son. Nehru and Bose: Parallel Lives brings to light the riveting story of 

two contrasting personalities who would go on to define modern India. 

About the Author 

Rudrangshu Mukherjee 

Rudrangshu Mukherjee is vice chancellor and professor of history at Ashoka 

University. Earlier, he taught at Calcutta University; he has held visiting 

appointments at Princeton University, Manchester University and the University 

of California, Santa Cruz. He was the editor of the editorial pages of the Telegraph, 

Calcutta, and continues in that role as a consultant. He is the author and editor 

of several books which include Awadh in Revolt, 1857-1858: A Study of Popular 

Resistance, and Spectre of Violence: The 1857 Kanpur Massacres, as well as 

ThePenguin Gandhi Reader. 

60 


INDIANS AT HEROD'S GATE: 

A JERUSALEM TALE 

• Author: Navtej Sarna 

• Price: Rs 375 

 

• Publisher: Rupa Publication 

ABOUT THE BOOK 

E 

ight 

hundred years ago Baba Farid, the great Sufi saint of the 

Chisti order, visited Jerusalem, freshly wrested back for Islam from 

the Crusaders by Saladin, and meditated there for forty days in an 

underground room. Later, an Indian Hospice was born through a waqf 

endowment around that room and has welcomed Indian pilgrims—and soldiers— 

to Jerusalem ever since. For close to a century, through the tumultuous years of 

the British Mandate, the Second World War, the birth of Israel and the ensuing 

decades of conflict, the Hospice has been looked after by an Indian family—first 

by Sheikh Nazir Hasan Ansari, a police inspector’s son from Saharanpur, and then 

by his eldest son, Sheikh Munir Ansari. 

Following in the tradition of literary travellers such as Bruce Chatwin and 

Paul Theroux, Navtej Sarna wanders through the timeless narrow lanes of Old 

Jerusalem, sifting through fact and fable to tease out the unique story of the Indian 

Hospice and the Ansari family. What starts off as a personal conversation becomes 

a deeply researched but lightly told account that weaves historical narrative with 

telling personal detail. 

About the Author 

Navtej Sarna is the author of the novels The Exile and We Weren’t Lovers Like That; 

the non-fiction works The Book of Nanakand Folk Tales of Poland; the short-story 

collection Winter Evenings; and translations of Guru Gobind Singh’s Zafarnama 

and Mohinder Singh Sarna’s short stories on partition (Savage Harvest). Navtej 

Sarna’s short stories have been broadcast on the BBC World Service and he 

contributes regularly to The Times Literary Supplement, The Hindu and other 

magazines and journals. 

61

Point 

Out 

CINEMA 

LIPSTICK 

WALE 

SAPNE 

Director- SiddharthAnand 

Genre- Action/Comedy 

Production- Fox Stars Studio 

Cast-HrithikRoshan, Katrina Kaif 

Music- Vishal Bhardwaj 

Background Score: Salim Sulaiman 

Music by-Vishal–Shekhar 

Budget- 80-90 crore 

A 

fter ‘EK THI 

DAAYAN’ 

Konkona 

Sen 

Sharma comeback 

to Prakash Jha film 

‘LIPSTICK WALE 

SAPNE’. It is the 

latest hindi film 

starring Sushant 

Singh and Konkana 

Sen Sharma in lead 

roles is busy with 

its shoot in some 

locations of Bhopal. 

‘LIPSTICK WALE 

SAPNE’ is women 

oriented film which 

deals with the life of 

middle class. The film 

will be completed in 

December. ‘LIPSTICK 

WALE SAPNE’ 

revolves around lives 

of four women, who 

are trying to live their 

'lipstick' dream. 

62 


AAMIR KHAN : ROAD SAFETY AMBASSADOR 

I 

ndian celebrities supporting social causes, Aamir Khan who was face of the 'Atithi Devo Bhava' campaign will become road safety 

ambassador. Aamir met the transport minister Nitin Gadkari for his new role as the road safely ambassador. In India, rash driving kills about 

1.4 lakh people in a year. The actor has been brought in to help curb dangerous driving. 

63

Point 

Out 

SATYAJIT RAY'S 

'FELUDA' NOVEL 

ON SCREEN. 

CINEMA 

SREESANTH TO MAKE 

BOLLYWOOD DEBUT WITH 

'B 

adhshahi Angti' is out. The Bengali 

film has been directed by Satyajit 

Ray's son, Sandip Ray and has 

been extensively shot in 'Lucknow' where 

Feluda and his nephew and assistant Topshe 

travelling to the heartland in search of ring 

which dates back to the Mughal era. The 

first trailer of movies gives a glimpse of 

Satyajit Ray's signature music which was first 

composed for Soumitra Chatterjee starrer ' 

Sonar Kella' way back in 1974. 

POOJA BHATT'S CABARET 

A 

fter a long controversial career in Cricket Former cricketer Sreesanth is set to make his 

Bollywood debut in Pooja Bhatt's next production venture Cabaret. Sreesanth will be 

portraying the character of actress Richa Chadda's mentor, while Richa Chaddha will 

be lead actress who will play a dancer. Sreesanth will represent the role of 'Chetta', which is 

the Malayalam word for brother. Pooja is quite excited about casting sreesanth in her 

movie and mentioned that Sreesanth is suitable for the role as he speaks Hindi with a 

Malayalam accent which will give authenticity to his character. Cabaret will be directed 

by Kaustav Narayan Niyogi. Cabaret will also star Gulshan Devaiah in the lead role and 

is schedule to go on floor in January 2015. 

64 


AMALA 

IN HAMARI 

ADHURI KAHANI 

A 

mala is all set to act and croon 

in Mohit Suri film HAMARI 

ADHURI KAHANI. She will 

sing the title song for the film. The 

film is a love triangle which be set 

in two different periods. Producer 

Mahesh Bhatt said, we chose Amala 

for HAMARI ADHURI KAHANI 

and Amala is the heart of the 

film and conveys a sense of 

romantic idealism. Hamari 

Adhuri Kahani will be ready 

to hit the theaters in June 

2015. Other stars who 

feature in the film are 

Emraan Hashmi 

and Vidya Balan. 

65

Point 

Out 

SPIRITUAL TOUCH 

STAND ON YOUR OWN FEET 

»» 

Swami Vivekanand 

W 

ithin 

you lies indomitable 

power. Only thinking, ”I 

am nothing, I am nothing”, 

you have become powerless. 

Why, you alone! The whole race has 

become so. Go round the world once 

and you will find how vigorously the lifecurrent 

of other nations is flowing. And 

what are you doing? Even after learning 

so much, you go about the doors of 

others, crying, ”Give me employment”. 

Trampled under others’ feet doing 

slavery for others, are you men anymore? 

You are not worth a pin’s head! In this 

fertile country with abundant watersupply, 

where nature produces wealth 

and harvest a thousand times more 

than in others, you have no food for 

your stomach, no clothes to cover your 

body! In this country of abundance, the 

produce of which has been the cause 

of the spread of civilization in other 

countries, you are reduced to such 

straits! Your condition is even worse 

than that of a dog. And you glory in your 

Vedas and Vedanta! A nation that cannot 

provide for its simple food and clothing, 

which always depends on others for its 

subsistence- what is there for it to vaunt 

about? Throw your religious observances 

overboard for the present and be first 

prepared for the struggle for existence. 

People of foreign countries are turning 

out such golden results from the raw 

materials produced in your country, 

and you, like asses of burden, are only 

carrying their load. The people of foreign 

countries import Indian raw goods, 

manufacture various commodities by 

bringing their intelligence to bear upon 

them, and become great; whereas you 

have locked up your intelligence, thrown 

away your inherited wealth to others, and 

roam about crying piteously for food. 

Laziness, meanness, and hypocrisy have 

covered the whole length and breadth of 

the country. Can an intelligent man look 

on all this and remain quiet? Does it not 

bring tears to the eyes? Madras, Bombay, 

Punjab, Bengal- whichever way I look, I see 

no signs of life. You are thinking yourselves 

highly educated. What nonsense have you 

learnt? Getting by heart the thoughts of 

others in a foreign language, and stuffing 

your brain with them and taking some 

university degrees, you consider yourselves 

educated! Fie upon you! Is this education? 

What is the goal of your education? Either 

a clerkship, or being a roguish lawyer, or 

at the most a Deputy Magistracy, which 

is another form of clerkship- isn’t that all? 

Open your eyes and see what a piteous cry 

for food is rising in the land of Bharata, 

proverbial for its wealth! Will your 

education fulfill this want? Never. With 

the help of Western science set yourselves 

to dig the earth and produce food-stuffs – 

not by means of mean servitude of others 

– but by discovering new avenues to 

production, by your own exertions aided 

by Western science. Therefore I teach 

the people of this country to be full of 

activities, so as to be able to produce food 

and clothing for themselves. For want of 

food and clothing and plunged in anxiety 

for it, the country has come to ruin – what 

are you doing to remedy this? Throw aside 

your scriptures in the Ganga and teach the 

people first the means of procuring their 

food and clothing, and then you will find 

time to read to them the scriptures. If their 

material wants are not removed by the 

rousing of intense activity, none will listen 

to words of spirituality. Therefore I say, first 

rouse the inherent power of the Atman 

within you, then, rousing the faith of the 

general people in that power as much as 

you can, and then teach them religion. 

There is no time to sit idle – who knows 

when death will overtake one? 

Tear off the folds from your eyes and 

you will see the whole world lighted by 

the rays of the midday sun. If you cannot 

procure money, go to foreign countries, 

working your passage as a Lascar. Take 

Indian cloth, towels, bamboo-work, and 

other indigenous products, and peddle in 

the streets of Europe and America; you 

will find how greatly Indian products are 

appreciated in foreign markets even now. 

In America I found, some Mohammedans 

of the Hooghly district had grown rich by 

peddling Indian commodities in this way. 

Have you even less intelligence than they? 

Onward! Upon ages of struggle a character 

is built. Be not discouraged. One word 

of truth can never be lost; for ages it 

may be hidden under rubbish, but it 

will show itself sooner or later. Truth is 

indestructible, virtue is indestructible, 

purity is indestructible. Give me a genuine 

man; I do not want masses of converts. My 

son, hold fast! Do not care for anybody to 

help you. 

66 


Point 

Out 

68

DECEMBER 2014

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